How I've Persisted in the Classroom for Ten Years
A decade of my teaching practice, through my students’ eyes
Hey, how’s it going? I’m Erik Johnson—a veteran social studies teacher, university professor, and educator coach. In this newsletter, I share practical teaching tips, deep dives into education topics, and the occasional piece on my personal interests. If it’s your first time here, take a look at my coaching homepage, and don’t forget to subscribe!
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No matter where you go, there you are.
—Buckaroo Banzai
Sometime in the next week or so, I’ll wrap up my tenth year of teaching. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet.
I still remember a professional development day during my second year. A former principal hosted a ceremony honoring veteran teachers, recognizing individuals who had reached 5, 10, 20 years and beyond. I sat in the audience watching them walk across the stage and thought, There’s no way I’ll make it that long. When I eventually hit year five, we had a different principal who didn’t continue the tradition. Instead, A colleague kindly handed me their old five-year pin. And now… here I am: year ten.
A few years into my career, I started ending the school year with an assignment called “Mr. Johnson’s End of Year Reflection.” I ask students to respond to a few prompts:
How was Mr. Johnson's class this year? What went well? What didn’t go well?
Next year in class, what should Mr. Johnson keep doing as a teacher? What should Mr. Johnson change?
What will you remember most from our class this year? What did you learn from our class this year?
What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?
What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?
How did you grow or change over the course of this school year?
What is something that was hard for you at the start of the year, but is easy now?
When you consider the rest of your life, what percentage of what you learned this year do you think will be useful to you?
Did you receive a letter from your past self during this class period? If you did, write a letter back! If you already did this, skip it!
Write a letter to Mr. Johnson about anything!
The first time I gave this assignment, I was immediately struck by the depth and range of the students’ responses. Their comments, memories, and words of appreciation revealed an impact I hadn’t fully realized I was making. It was deeply affirming and probably one of the reasons I’ve stayed in the profession as long as I have. I highly recommend that any teacher try something similar.
Today, I took some time to revisit the responses I’ve collected over the years. Below, I’ve shared one standout response from each year: something meaningful, funny, or especially poignant. These serve as reminders of the work I’ve done and the connections I’ve made, work as an educator that I’m incredibly proud of. In any case where a student’s name appears, I’ve changed it.
Please read and enjoy! I hope these give you some insights into my teaching practice. They’ve been lightly edited for clarity.
2015-2016
For a first year teacher, this class was one of the best run, if not the best out of my classes. Learning is simple and comprehensible, and you’re understanding and lenient (not a pushover, but lenient.) Keep on doing what you’re doing… The best moment in this class would be when you were GENUINELY upset because you didn’t get your chicken nuggets and honey mustard…
2016-2017
What I think I am going to remember this year is when I told you that my fish died, you gave a great speech that made me laugh and almost cry... What I learned every day I came to this class is: there wasn’t a day where I didn't laugh or want to be here.
2017-2018
Mr. Johnson’s class went very well, I honestly think it was my favorite class. One, because I found Sociology very interesting. It made me think and realize a bunch of things. Another reason why I enjoyed this class was because you were just an awesome teacher, very easy to talk to. I personally think I was the most talkative to you and to my classmates even though the two juniors at my table found me annoying, haha… Something that I’ll remember from this class is that you eat tuna flavored cream cheese [this kid seriously misunderstood my explanation of lox cream cheese]. I think that’s what it was, it sounds so gross, I don’t think I’ve seen it at stores. Besides the outrageous flavored cream cheese, I think I’ll always remember social norms. Like when we were learning about that I was like WHAA, it just made me think a lot… My mentality grew over the year and it’s because of this class. I always ask myself why? Why did he open the door for her? Why is that considered polite? Who taught them this? I’m always thinking of social norms. I wouldn’t think about anything before and now I think all the time. Humans are so interesting in their actions… Something that was hard for me in the beginning was communicating with anyone. I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone because I would get nervous. Now I talk too much and people want me to shut up. I can talk to my peers and even you, Mr. Johnson. I talk to you like if I’ve known you for awhile.
2018-2019
Mr. Johnson’s class was great. I liked that I learned many things that I didn’t know and now I am glad that I am aware of these things such as the importance of getting 8 hours of sleep or the 2000 calorie diet or how to confront my challenges… What I will remember from this class is many things, but especially when we were in groups and it was quiet until Jessica said, “help!” and we looked up and she had cheetoh dust all over her face and we were all laughing and so were you, Mr. Johnson.
2019-2020
There was… stuff going on in 2020. I’m sure I did an end of year reflection assignment, but I can’t find it in my files and I’m guessing the response rate wasn’t super high. Instead, here’s some student artwork of me from right before we went remote.
2020-2021
Mr. Johnson’s class was very fun and quite calm (Was it calm? I don’t know!). It was kinda wild sometimes (because on Friday we got to watch Spongebob. What am I even saying? I’m getting off-track.). Many things went well and some things went a little bad (but let’s not focus on the negative stuff, okay?). The things that went well (IDK if I’m correctly writing this, who cares? It is not like all the teachers are seeing this document and there we go again I’m getting off-track again!!!). The things that went well this year were the personality that Mr. Johnson had towards the students and parents (What do you mean by that, Raul? I’M GETTING TO THE POINT OKAY!!!). The personality that Mr. Johnson had towards the parents and students was phenomenal because he would understand both the student and the parent. Like I said in the beginning there were no bad things about this year. Next year, Mr. Johnson should keep doing the same things. That’s because he teaches these humans/students like no other teacher. Quick question, why does it say what should Mr. Johnson change? This incredible teacher SHOULD NOT AND WON’T CHANGE FROM being the calmest teacher! The thing that Mr. Johnson and I will remember is me falling off of my chair (just for me to be a clown at a circus), and I learned so many things like time management and communication (which is kinda smart considering that we need it IN THE REAL WORLD, like these teachers have been telling us). (This might be the best question ever) The things that I (sorta accomplished, not really), were being a clown (I was looking like a maniac at a circus, A LITERAL CIRCUS MANIAC) and getting my homework done and managing my emotions (what do you mean by managing your emotions, Raul?). Well, it means that I was changing and playing around with some of my emotions (that whole sentence was a lie). I truly mean (without lying) that I was always trying to play the funny card instead of the normal card. (Okay, so now I’m being asked to give the future freshman some advice, really!!!!) They expect advice from some 15-year-old kid who falls out of his chair (yeah, no). The advice I would give is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK ON TIME AND DON’T FALL OUT OF YOUR CHAIR LIKE ME. (Let us be serious for now, okay). The way I grew (do they mean height or how I changed over the year, idk!), anyways, the way I grew over the year was surprising because I went from being the weird and annoying kid to a much more thoughtful and creative person due to Mr. Johnson giving me the space to express myself.
2021-2022
You always checked in on me when I was struggling with my anxiety and I really appreciate it. Thank you for being a great teacher and I hope you continue to be just as great for other students to come. Thank you again.
2022-2023
Mr. Johnson’s class has to be one of my favorites. Not only did I learn about civics, but I also learned a lot about the outside world. I took a lot of life advice from him. Mr. Johnson is very enthusiastic but at the same time very serious. I would like to thank this man for being very comprehensive and open minded. I believe that every single soul needs a Mr. Johnson in their life… Thank you for being such an open minded person. Keep being you because I will do anything to become you one day. Thank you for those times that you let me step out of class when I needed it. I wish nothing but the very best for you Mr. Johnson.
2023-2024
Thank you for being the coolest teacher I’ve ever had. You got this thing about you that I don’t know how to put in words. I’ll never forget all the little small talks we’ve had about stuff that interested us. You also made me feel welcome even though I was a senior in a class full of freshmen and I appreciate that. I never once dreaded coming to your class because you weren’t a teacher that made me feel that way. I also appreciated the Buckaroo Banzai recommendation because I thought it was a cool movie. I liked that I could talk to you about cool stuff from the past because most freshmen don’t know about those kinds of things. I saw you as a teacher but also a little as a friend that was cool to talk to. Thanks for being the best teacher I’ve ever had. I know you’ve probably heard that a lot or it seems like I’m just saying it to say it but I genuinely mean it.
2024-2025
Mr Johnson's class this year was really enjoyable, the students acted well. I think Mr. Johnson taught some great lessons and that made the year great and awesome. Also, Mr. Johnson's attitude, keep that up! Always having smile on your face, that really helped a lot for me and lots of students, giving students a good feeling in school that also made the year really great… Mr. Johnson should never change. I call him a good man, who also is a great teacher with a very diverse personality. You know how to act or speak with students and you should keep doing it. It really improves students’ days and overall makes them feel good about this class and you… My advice for students is to talk to Mr. Johnson, it makes class go faster but you can also learn some great life advice from him, and he’s funny and you can get a laugh from him. Ask him for advice, minor or big, he's a combination of positive character traits, ethical behavior, and a commitment to making a positive impact on the world… I think I changed this year by realizing time goes so fast, the older you get it goes so fast, and I should cherish these momenta, like having Mr. Johnson at 15 years old and just being a teen… I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all the advice and support you've given me. You've always been such a great teacher, and I really appreciate everything you've done to help me grow, both in and outside of the classroom. The way you approach teaching has really made a difference for me. You always explain things clearly and you encourage me to push myself further than I thought I could. I’ve learned so much from you not just about the school but also about how to approach challenges and stay focused on my goals. Your positive attitude and willingness to help students like me does not go unnoticed and I’m really grateful for everything you've taught me. I know I’ll carry these lessons with me for a long time.
Reading through these reflections reminds me why I’ve stayed in the classroom for ten years. I’m deeply thankful for the hundreds of responses like these that I’ve collected over my career. I’m thankful for my students, my colleagues, and the many conversations, laughs, and challenges we’ve shared (or survived) along the way. I’m especially thankful for my wife, for dealing with me giving so much of my soul to this work.
Thanks to you, too, for reading, and thank you to every student who took the time to express their appreciation at the end of the year. It means the world to me.