Dear Henry,

I am a student teacher and have had the privilege of sharing your book with my class of fourth graders. As I read your story out loud, I hoped that someone would become inspired by your courage to be authentic. What I didn’t realize was that the person would be me.

I am in the process of becoming credentialed by the state of California. During this procedure it is easy to lose yourself and become the product of a system. The day I introduced your book my teaching methods were being evaluated. Under the pressure, I began to conform to advice that did not feel right to me. I started yelling. One of the students looked up at me with tear filled eyes and said, “Mrs. Tiner this is not you! You never yell.”

As I lay in my bed that night I began reflecting. I needed classroom management but how could I do it and still be true to myself? Then I remembered something I had observed another teacher do a few years earlier. Whenever her class got out of control, she didn’t yell, she ignored the chaos and practiced putting a golf ball into a cup. When she started putting, the children grew quiet and sat in their seats ready to learn. I didn’t know how to putt but I knew what I could do.

The next morning I asked the students if they remembered what jm stood for at the end of your name. The students proudly blurted out, “JUST ME!”I congratulated them and went on to explain that I was not being me the day before. I had yelled and I was sorry. I explained that from now on instead of yelling I would knit. It was amazing; it worked. Thank you Henry for helping me be, just me.