Left to right (back row): Hingham Middle School Teachers Lauren Ciocca, Caroline Farris, and Alan Freedman with sixth-graders holding letters they wrote to themselves that will be returned to them several years from now, when they are about to graduate.
May 24, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham Middle School sixth-graders have an unusual assignment every spring -- to write a letter to their future selves in English class with the intention of their teachers returning them to the students just before they graduate from high school.
"This has become a tradition among English teachers to have students in their classes write letters to themselves," said sixth-grade teacher Caroline Farris. "We hold onto them until they are seniors then send them out in May right before they graduate."
The teachers do their best to track down every student, including those who have moved away or no longer attend Hingham Public Schools, with assistance from current seniors who would have been their classmates.
When she returns her students' letters, Farris usually includes a letter with some kind of message from herself in the envelopes of the ones who left their letters unsealed in the sixth-grade with that intention. "I might say something like: "Just remember when you come across times in your life when you think you can't do something because it's too hard and you want to give up, you can do it -- it just takes practice and patience." Sometimes she receives responses to her letter from students.
"About 99 percent of my sixth-grade students this year left their letters open, which was awesome!" Farris said. "We give the students topics that we think they might like to touch base on in their letters to their future selves, such as describing what they are like now; their hobbies and other interests; their personality and physical appearance; their family and friends; what sixth-grade has been like for them; career aspirations; current events; trends (technology, music, etc.); future goals, predictions, etc."
Students also include photos of themselves, friends, and family members. "The teachers don't read the letters, so the students don't have to worry about that, and they can really write whatever they want in them," Farris said.
"It was nice to see the letter after six years," said HHS Senior John Lindner, who received his back from Farris recently. The letters bring back memories and show how much each student has changed and progressed over the years.
'Friendly letters'
Fellow sixth-grade English Teacher Alan Freedman has been having his students write these "friendly letters" to their future selves for the past 14 years. "I'm not sure where I came across the idea, but I thought it would be a great way for students to look back upon their 'early life,'" he said. "I find the assignment to be an important one for my students."
That's because when they are graduating from high school, it can be difficult to remember the person they were in sixth grade. "Students change and mature so much between sixth grade and their senior year that we decided as a team [that also includes Lauren Ciocca and Ashley Stedman] to have all of our sixth-grade students write a letter to themselves," Freedman said. "It is handwritten (not typed), so students can actually see what their writing looked like back in the sixth grade."
Freedman asks his students to share as many details about themselves as possible (as well as a photo), including their family and friends, life in the sixth grade, accomplishments, future plans, career aspirations, "other goals and stuff," secret(s) and advice. This is their final writing assignment of the year. "Some students enjoy putting a memento or small flash drive inside with a video message. This idea actually came from one of my students!" Freedman said.
He doesn't include a letter to his students when he returns theirs back to them just before graduation, but he does ask them to write back or email him when they receive their letters in the mail.
"Occasionally I will receive a very thoughtful email from a student thanking me for sending his or her letter. I would love to hear from many more of my former students, but I understand that they are very busy planning college," Freedman said. "I know they accomplish so much in those six years, and it would be great hearing about their future plans including college and beyond."