Kyle Schwartz, a third grade teacher from Denver, Colorado, has taken the internet by storm over the last few weeks with her “I Wish My Teacher Knew” lesson plan, which has seen her share notes that third graders have provided her.
Schwartz, who teaches at Doull Elementary in Denver’s Harvey Park, orchestrated this lesson in order to try and learn more about her students. She found herself so overwhelmed with her responses that she has since shared them on her Twitter account.
Some notes were unintentionally hilarious, others were a reality check for Schwartz, and some even proved to be quite inspiring.
Had my students write “I wish my teacher knew___” It’s a reality check. #edchat #fellowschat pic.twitter.com/8vFUZqQnu0
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) March 28, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew how much I miss my dad since he got deported #edchat #ImmigrationReform pic.twitter.com/yUK0FCwwiO
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew sometimes my reading log isn’t signed because my mom is not around a lot #edchat pic.twitter.com/mUsm4zRdKc
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew she gives too much homework #edchat pic.twitter.com/YrIeUMK4ZK
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 9, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew I don’t have a friend to play with me. Honest answers from kids #edchat pic.twitter.com/5H0EPgRzPQ
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
@doodlinmunkyboy Lame jokes are the best! I got #iwishmyteacherknew I love school. Guess it’s elem vs high school pic.twitter.com/a1he3hAdwU
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 7, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew that I want to go to college #edchat pic.twitter.com/pal9Y4L846
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 7, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew Vietnamese because then she can say words I forget pic.twitter.com/lEFdKxe136
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
Kyle Schwartz has now been speaking to ABC News about the impact that these notes have had on her relationship with her students, most of which she insists are from underprivileged homes, and she also explained that she conducted the experiment because she’d only just arrived at the school.
“Ninety-two percents of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. As a new teacher, I struggled to understand the reality of my students’ lives and how to best support them. I just felt like there was something I didn’t know about my students.”
Schwartz’s “I Wish My Teacher Knew” lesson plan was extremely open, and even though she let students determine if they wanted to “answer anonymously,” most of them included their name. In fact, Schwartz remarked that they “also enjoy sharing with class.”
These notes and Schwartz’s lesson plan have already started to have a positive impact on the children. “Building community in my classroom is a major goal of this lesson,” she explained. “After one student shared that she had no one to play with at recess, the rest of the class chimed in and said, ‘we got your back.’ The next day during recess, I noticed she was playing with a group of girls.”
[Image via Some ECards ]
