At the end of every school year, I have students write letters to the rising eighth graders who will have me in English.

“Don’t lie, and don’t exaggerate too much,” I tell them, “but I want you to give them advice and scare them. Just a bit.”

I also use excerpts from these letters on my class website, Our English Class.

Some of the excerpts I selected:

• The Dreaded Mr. Scott is an extraordinary teacher and will become one of your favorite teachers this year but his work is no easy walk through the park. It will be difficult and really make you think. This class is not like any class you’ve ever had before. But at the end you will feel ready and prepared for what comes next, high school.
• Mr. Scott’s class is made for those who like and can put up with everyday disasters.
• Mr. Scott has impossibly hard standards, but he is there to help you meet those high expectations. This will probably be one of the most difficult classes that you will take throughout your education, but Mr. Scott is there to assist you along the way. He is one of the best teachers that you will ever have, and his class will thoroughly prepare you for high school.
• Mr. Scott is arguably one of the most difficult teachers you will have, partly because of his high expectations and teaching style. Mr. Scott will always expect the best from you, and will accept nothing less.
• This class that you have joined, can and most likely will be the toughest class you will ever take in middle school, but, it will teach you some of the most valuable lessons in writing and literature you will ever encounter.

To read these things makes me feel that I finally have reached the goal as a teacher I have always sought: to be demanding but fair; to be challenging but just.