Mr. Olsen's English Class Celebrates T-Shirt Tuesday at Heritage Middle School

This year, Mr. Olsen's English class celebrated what they call "T-Shirt Tuesday" every Tuesday in their classroom at Heritage Middle School. Mr. Olsen began "T-Shirt Tuesday" in October to give those quieter and more timid students the opportunity to speak and share in class.  Even though a student(s) may not often want to share their ideas/thoughts on a text or a character; T-Shirt Tuesday gave them the chance to speak and feel more comfortable sharing.  Often students could be scared or nervous to share or participate because they are fearful that they maybe have the wrong answer.  All year long this gave students in Mr. Olsen's class the chance to share any T-Shirt of their choice.  The shirt they wore to class on Tuesdays could be one that was given to them by a special person or is a t-shirt that has one of their favorite memories attached to it.  Mr. Olsen explained that the idea was a bigger hit in his classroom than he ever imagined. "It was heartwarming to see kids in class share out loud a story or memory that they have who are normally quiet most of class.  It also gave students a chance to see what places each-other have been or hobbies they have outside of school.  Sometimes it even got emotional when a child would wear a shirt they were given by a loved one that had passed away or they had not seen in years," said Mr. Olsen, "This is something I will surely be incorporating into my classroom for many years to come."

"T-Shirt Tuesday has been very fun during the year.  You get to learn what other shirts mean to kids and tell others what your shirt means to you.  I've learned that even a t-shirt can have a big meaning to a person" - Jack Mummery

"It really helped students find things that we had in common!" - Noah Fucciola

"T-Shirt Tuesday has been one of the best show and tell ideas ever.  You learn new things about everyone like where they have been, what they have done, and lots of things.  It has been a really fun experience and  hope he continues doing it!" - Sidney Hope

"The thing I loved the most was that I got to see what other people liked outside of school" - Joey Lopez

"I liked T-Shirt Tuesdays because you get to see cool things other people did and kind of got to experience them yourself in a way" - Sam Esposito

"I thought T-Shirt Tuesdays were awesome! It really lets kids express their style, culture, likes and hobbies!" - Kiera O'Shea

"I liked T-Shirt Tuesday because it is a creative and fun way to open up and get to learn about one another" - Miakoda Sarvis

"It gave me a chance to be unique!" - Therese Antunovic

 

Story and photos submitted by Mr. Olsen.