Dear Boys & Girls, love learning and love people and you’re a person and you’re here to learn.

Sometimes  you fail and make mistakes. We  will help you but sometimes we ’ll need help from you.

We cannot let you be passive. We hope you understand.

We will push you without losing you and  will not give up on you.

We understand the walls outside of this classroom and think about them as context for everything we do here.

We  are responsible for everything in this class and therefore at times what we  say and do may confuse you or even seem unfair or wrong. We are  always here to talk to you about things so that you understand.

We are here for you. It’s literally our life’s work to help you grow.

We have expertise/credibility and we care about you and your success; these are equally important and together why you can trust us. We love different things than you do and you love different things than most everyone else; learning is about sharing that love.

You are the reason we are here. This is all for you and if it doesn’t feel like it, let’s talk about it.

You have a story. Let’s use it, then add to it together.

You are creative and intelligent. You have genius somewhere inside you. Let’s find it. You’re not ‘bad at math/science/reading/writing.’ If you think this, you’re wrong.

You are loved and cared for and have infinite value but that value is only potential if you don’t use it to grow.

You have a future and your best days are ahead of you; sometimes the mountain you’re climbing can obscure the view you’re about to enjoy.You will learn ‘things’    here that should be clearly relevant to you and your life. We will gain knowledge and skills to help you live a better life. If not, let’s talk about it.

You have an active and constant role in your learning. It may not always seem like it, but you’re in control of your own failure or success.

You are not a letter grade, grade point average, test score, certificate, or ‘data point’ in this school .

You are the guys who inspire us.

We will learn through curiosity, joy, affection, and thought.

We are all on our own journey but in this class, we all need one another and will help one another grow. We will not punish mistakes and errors. Mistakes are how we learn.

We will learn through humility. We will own our mistakes and admit what we don’t know and the limits of what we do.

We all have individual geniuses and abilities but we can go farther together than alone. We will strive to understand and leverage this truth

We will strive to be honest, efficient, and pragmatic. We will not use inefficient tools, technology, strategies, sources, or technology just for the sake of forms and appearances.

We can and will learn from anything. As a result, we will always be learning no matter where we are or what we’re doing.

We will never forget why we’re learning what we’re learning and if we do, we will talk about it.

We’re going to learn to question everything in this class. The word “Why?” is like a lantern and we’ll use it constantly.

We will value affection over thought and thought over knowledge and knowledge over academic performance but we will see all as intertwined.

With Warm Wishes & Best of Luck.

Prof.   Dr. Mahesh Gandhi

Director