Letters to 2022
It's here! The time has come once again to mail off the Letters to the Future.
To the Scullen graduates of 2018, which is this year's high school graduating class of 2022, congratulations!
And so, here we are. Living in the future of your 8th grade experience, the present constantly becoming our past.
The COVID Pandemic
I guarantee no one predicted any potential viral pandemic or quarantine as they wrote to themselves in their 8th grade year. Nonetheless, here we are working through an unprecedented and uncertain time.
Although your final high school years will be memorable for reasons beyond the typical sports, music, dances, performing arts, and social life, I hope you are safe and healthy and coping positively during this time. Only those graduating under these circumstances can comprehend the complicated emotions you had these past couple years. I sympathize, and perhaps your letter from 8th grade is a fun blast from the past to take your mind off any current stress.
In turn, you also might be feeling hopeful as we phase out of social distancing and create a new life as societies around the world. To that end, this year may have helped you realize all the great things that truly matter in life. My guess is it’s physical, mental, and social well-being— all of the essentials to a healthy, happy life.
The Social Experience
In evolving with the times of teaching Health Education, I have continued to incorporate social media as an extension of my classroom. Online interaction keeps me in touch with thousands of other students, past and present. This portion of my website is dedicated to you, students of the past.
I continue to incorporate Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram into my Health class content.
You can find me on all outlets under my pen name: @ScottAmpersand.
We have continued our class YouTube channel, where students help create discussions and other teaching content. Feel free to view and subscribe! YouTube.com/MrTodnem
And, we have also continued our class Podcast! You can listen in on our episodes with 8th grade hosts as we talk through Health Ed, middle school, and life in general. Anchor.fm/LifeIsTheFuture
The goal is that my profiles exist as a model for safe and appropriate use of social media. I have also learned a lot about my own teaching by reflecting each week with students.
The Same. And Different.
I still teach at Scullen Middle School in Naperville, Illinois, in the same classroom in which you sat back in 8th grade. Some assignments and activities stick around, others have run their course so that new ideas, articles, and video clips can suit the ever-changing teenage life.
I have had a successful couple of years of teaching, and was honored to be awarded the 2019 National Health Teacher of the Year. I am overwhelmingly proud to be selected for such a distinction among the great teachers in the nation. I have been presenting more at teaching conventions and traveling out of state to speak and give back to this great profession.
In other personal news, I am officially a published author! I have two books out— they are books for young people as well as parents, one entitled "Growing Up Great!" for boys ages 10-14, and the other is “Sex Ed: A Parent’s Guide” for adult readers. I can’t wait to do publish more self-help and education work for all genders. Check them out if you get a chance!
I will continue to write as well as teach. And so I urge you, young readers, to do the same. To write for yourself, and to share with others that which you feel necessary. I did this for you in your 8th grade year; I offered a chance to write to your future self. Ultimately some decided against it, and have nothing to be delivered in the mail this month, unfortunately. But if you're reading this, and you're one of the graduating alumni from the 2017-2018 Scullen school year, then well done. You did it! You wrote a letter to yourself, from your past, to your future. Not only that, you survived four years of high school, and we all know how tough that can be.
If you received your letter, you'll see my personal note and links to social media. Perhaps you remember some of our class actives, including our Sticker Wall activity that we always did in 8th grade. If you recall, you were motivated enough to put stickers on a wall...haha. That means, with the right motivation, you can do anything in life. So get to it.
After all, life isn't about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.
Say "Hi!"
I encourage and challenge you to use whatever media accounts you have to send me a note. I know time is precious, but today, see if you can let me know you received your letter-- send me a quick message, a picture, or anything you decide to let me know it has arrived. Use your favorite media outlet to connect if you are willing.
Use the hashtag #LettersToTheFuture and let me see what everyone is up to.
Want to write for me?
Please consider writing for my Alumni Page to share stories and give back to this world that we share. Contact me if you'd be willing to contribute! Once we are back in school, come say hi for a quick visit... my door is always open.
Congratulations once again, and I hope your letter finds you well.
Stay healthy, and enjoy life in the future!
- Mr. Todnem, May 26, 2022
Facebook: @MrTodnem
YouTube: @MrTodnem
Twitter: @ScottAmpersand
Instagram: @ScottAmpersand