By Philly Bubaris
Joe Stapleton is a sixth-grade English and social studies teacher of 11 years at Accompsett Middle School in Smithtown. In 2005 he asked his sixth grade English class students to write letters to themselves to be received in the future. He promised to send the letters to them in their senior year of high school.
Many of them forgot about it, like Chris Biancaniello and Kevin Harty, both 2011 graduating seniors at Smithtown High School West. They recently received their letters in the mail and were surprised at how much they have changed in six years.
“I was a weird kid,” Harty said, explaining the laughter that came with opening his letter. He wrote that he hoped by his senior year of high school he would have a cool nickname like “Moosehead.”
“It made me feel good to see I reached the goals I set for myself,” Harty said.
Biancaniello says he remembered writing the letter, but was only reminded of it when he received it. He said that he asked a lot of questions to himself in the future. “It put in perspective how much I improved in pretty much everything,” Biancaniello said.
Stapleton wanted quick gratification with this project, but he had to wait years to mail the letters. So two years after he started this project, he decided to replace it with a letter writing activity at the beginning of the year that would show students at the end of the year how much they improved since the start of sixth grade.
“After sending them out and receiving responses, it is gratifying to see the students remember,” Stapleton said. He said because of the positive reaction he received from seniors this year, he has reinitiated the project.
He still has another batch to send out for next year’s seniors, but after that, he will have another six years to wait.
“I hope when they receive them it allows them to see the bigger picture and that there are things that are constant,” Stapleton said.
In these letters, students write down their goals and where they see themselves six years from now. They are allowed to add pictures and basically anything that can fit into a standard envelope. Stapleton said the students are excited about it and although technology has changed since six years ago, students still must hand write their letters.
Currently, he is the only teacher in the school doing this activity, but he has told two other teachers who say they will start this next year.
“I think it is fun for kids to see how they change,” said Amy Olander, also a sixth-grade teacher at Accompsett. She says she cares about her students and hope’s that through these letters she will hear back from them when they are graduating high school.
According to Biancaniello and Harty, Stapleton was always a special teacher with a sense of humor and love for teaching that is unforgettable. “I always remember he would do special things and explore the creative aspects of writing,” said Biancaniello.
“He was a unique teacher,” Harty agreed. “I remember learning a lot from him.”
At the end of his letter Harty wrote, “no matter how far you’ve gone, never forget the little man.” Thanks to Stapleton, these students will be able to reflect on their improvement in education through the years.