Dear Mr. President...

The nice thing about teaching is that I don't have to write my own blogs; I just steal my students' writing and post it here.

My students wrote letters to President Obama that I need to mail this week. I've been putting it off because I want to excerpt some of what they wrote here.


"You might not know where Carson is, but here are some clues. We live near Long Beach where a famous haunted baot is, the Queen Mary. Here is another clue. We also live in the same city as where they Home Depot Center is, home of the Chivas USA and of the LA Galaxy."
(It's like a scavenger hunt!)

"My goal is to do well in school, do all my homework, and pass my classes so I can go to college. I want to do this so I can be the first one in my family to go to college."

"I wish you luck and a Happy Halloween."

"My family and I work in the swapmeet at Los Angeles and my family and I had suffer so much. I carry heavy boxes to help my mom and dad. I have been working in the swapmeet for twelve years, and since the economy started it went really bad, so I started to work harder, and I put in effort so I won't stop working. I always wanted to be a president of the United States, the first woman, so I dream of it and I work and go to school to study."
(This one made me tear up.)

"When I culminated from elementary school I got an award signed by you. It was a Presidential Achievement Award. Nobody from my mom's part of the family has ever graduated from high school."

"I too agree and symptahize with you the way you described our needs thoroughly."

"I will have a great career like you Mr. Obama. And you're better than George Bush, I got to say."
(I told them not to do this...but "he got to say" it.)

"My goal was and is to get straight A's in my report card. That is one of my goals, but the one I am going to tell you sir, it comes with the straight A's because my second goal is to get into a great, amazing, fantastic college when I grow up. I do want to get good grades as I told you sir, in my own goal."
(I think she thought the letter was to Peppermint Patty.)

"I really appreciate you worrying about the children in the world, but what about the adults need to get some kind of booster to keep on moving toward a better life."

"I hope the economy problem goes away. You can make America better, you just have to try."

"I would like to have the opportunity to meet you or another president. If you, for some reason, do not have time, well that's okay. I culd start my own team to start healing the Earth. I would be happy either way."

"I wish that you caould come to our school and recite one of your outstanding speeches. But since you can't, I wrote you a letter to show I appreciate your other speech. On the other hand, our school is located on Bonita Street, near the Queen Mary."
(Apparently I need to teach them how to correctly use the phrase 'On the other hand.')

"I realy want to do something important in the world that will make a difference and do something important with my life and not just throw it away like my dad and my real mom...I just don't know yet...any ideas?"

"Just three years ago I as new going to school here in America. I went to tutoring classes and summer schools because I came from another country. I never gave up, I studied hard, and here I am in the honors class."
(This one is for sure my favorite. The American Dream!)