Hay hombres que luchan…

4.02.11 By José Valenzuela

Dear students,

Recently, I haven’t been able to get this quote out of my head. It’s from this dude Bertolt Brecht. He was an old German playwright, and he was this real radical. Well anyway, in one of his plays he had one of his characters say this one line. It was deep. I only know it Spanish, but I translate it after:

“Hay hombres que luchan un dia y son buenos. Hay otros que luchan un año y son mejores. Hay quienes luchan muchos años y son muy buenos. Pero hay los que luchan toda la vida: esos son los imprescindibles. “

OK, so roughly translated, it means, “There are men who fight for one day, and they are good. There are other men who fight for one year, and they are better. There are men who fight for many years, and they are very good. But there are those who fight their entire lives: they are the irrepraceable ones.”

This quote has stuck with me for a very long time. You were probably just starting elementary school or pre-school when this quote first resonated with me. Yeah, seriously. My father wrote this to me on the card he gave me on the day I graduated high school. I liked it enough, and I’ve kept it ever since.

So now I want to pass it on to you. You’re probably asking, “Why now?” Great question! Well, we are getting to the last three months of the school year. It scares me to tell you that because it feels like just last week that I met you for the first time in Room 119 and we undertook this strangely beautiful journey together. I wish we had many more months together because I have so much to teach you. And no, not all of it will turn up on the Civics Final Exam. Actually, they’ll be things instead that you will probably encounter in your life. And that life starts today. So here is what I want to make sure you learn before you leave my room for the summer.

1. I am proud of your accomplishments. Many people probably helped you get to where you are today, but be proud of yourself. You did it. It’s a great feeling.

2. You have a teacher in your corner. I will fight for you, advocate for you, advise you… I will be there. No matter what. Just call me (but I really I know you’d rather send me a text…LOL)

3. You are an amazing group of students. I see that now. I’m sorry that there were doubters. Will you forgive us?

4. Make sure that next year, you come back and visit. Let the new 8th graders know what you went through to get to the 9th grade. You are the future leaders. We are expecting a lot from you.

This isn’t a goodbye letter. Luckily, I get your company, energy, and growth for another three months. Let’s make the best of it, okay? We will all be better for it. For saying that we made it to the finish line together. Because as Brecht said, there are those few who are willing to fight every single day of their lives. I know you are ready to join that fight. Ustedes son los imprescindibles.

Sincerely with love,

Mr. V