IF I could say anything to you, if I was ever asked what I really wanted to say, I would tell you that school matters - but that is NOT what I want you to think of when you look back on this year.
IF I could give you one thing to take away from this year, if I could have just one small thought stick with you for the rest of your life, it would be this. No matter what happens to you, not matter what you do, there is one thing you must always remember: Never give up on your superlatives.
IF I use the word "superlative" in class, if you are all really listening, I'm sure I'd get a lot of questioning looks, maybe a few laughs, but mostly I'd get "superwhat?"
IF I wasn't so worried about the test you have to take at the end of the year, if I didn't feel the weight of your future upon my shoulders, collapsing my limbs and drowning me, if the pressure of "growth data" and "effective teaching" wasn't suffocating me, if fear wasn't convincing me otherwise, I would say the things that really matter.
I would say: "Never give up on your superlatives."
