Post-it power: Lake Elmo teacher lifts student with supportive messages

Mary Divine, Pioneer Press
·5 min read
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When Maggie Helwig opened her youngest son’s locker at Lake Elmo Elementary School, she didn’t know what to expect.

Maybe a forgotten homework assignment, candy wrappers, a collection of Tupperware containers or “a bunch of garbage and old food,” she said.

Instead, the locker was papered with a collection of colorful Post-it note messages that her son Finn, 10, has received from his fourth-grade teacher, Pam Mohs.

The colorful notes, which Finn had stuck to the sides, back and roof of the locker, are handwritten messages of love and support for Finn, who has struggled in school since kindergarten, Helwig said.

“Great job in reading yesterday!” read one. “You worked hard on Friday afternoon!” read another.

“I didn’t even know this was happening,” Helwig said. “He never mentioned it. I cried when I saw them.”

The notes, she said, are a reminder of the power of a teacher’s words and proof that even a simple gesture can have a profound impact. “It’s such a little something, but it just fills up his love tank every single day,” Helwig said.

‘Makes me want to work harder’

When asked to pick a favorite Post-it, Finn pointed to a yellow one he stuck on the right-hand side of his locker just the other day. “You had such a perfect day yesterday! Do it again today!” it reads.

“I like this one, too,” he said, pointing to a note that read “I want you to have a great day. Work hard. Do your job. Be kind. Follow expectations. You’ve got this.” “I actually like all of them,” he said.

Finn’s parents, Jed and Maggie Helwig, told Mohs during parent/teacher conferences last fall that Finn responds to positive feedback. Mohs decided to start leaving the notes in his locker overnight so he would see one when he got to school in the morning.

“I like how they make me feel,” Finn said Tuesday. “They make me feel good, really good, and it makes me want to work harder, so then I can have a better day than what I had the other day.”

Finn has about 30 of them posted in his locker; the others are at his house in a box for safekeeping, he said.

Mohs said she noticed an immediate change in Finn’s behavior once she started leaving the notes.

“I saw that it was working, and I felt like I was making a connection with him, so I just kept it up,” Mohs said. “He sometimes struggles with staying positive and getting stuff done. If he doesn’t want to do something, he won’t do something, but when he has a positive attitude, he does so well.”

Before being assigned to Ms. Mohs’s fourth-grade class, Finn often complained about having to go to school, Maggie Helwig said. “He disliked it. I mean, he really disliked it,” she said. “Many mornings were spent arguing about whether he had to go.”

But Mohs understands that Finn’s “tank is filled” by positive praise, Helwig said. “He soaks it up like a sponge. I mean, he craves it. The number of arguments about going to school have significantly decreased. They’re almost non-existent now.”

Veteran teacher

Mohs, a 25-year teaching veteran, got to know Finn when he was in the third grade, when he would sometimes come to her classroom for a “reset,” she said. “I saw that he had a twinkle in his eye, and he would just smile sometimes. I just saw such a great kid, but he wasn’t really showing how great he was.”

Back in December, Finn struggled at school for a few days, she said. When he got back on track, Mohs posted this note: “Finn is back!”

Finn said he loves that one, too.

“He had a little bump in the road, a hard couple of days, but he turned it around,” Mohs said. “I wanted him to know how happy I was that Finn was back and doing a great job.”

A note last week thanked Finn for helping during gym class. The students are learning how to play baseball – one of Finn’s favorite sports – and Finn has been a great helper, she said. “He’s showing people how to use the bat and really encouraging them.”

Another note posted last week praised him for getting caught up on all his work.

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“He got a little bit behind on some work, but he put his mind to it and was able to get through it,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated, especially when you don’t want to do something or you think it’s boring — right, Finn? Sometimes the things we make them do are not always the most fun things, but he got it done.”

Finn said he knows that Ms. Mohs will always rank as one of his favorite teachers.

“She’s just a really good math teacher, and she’s really nice,” he said. “It’s fun to come to school when she’s there.”

A good teacher like Mohs should be celebrated, Maggie Helwig said. She had shared a post on the Stillwater Area Public Schools Facebook page about the Post-it notes left for Finn.

“I want her to get the accolades she deserves,” she said. “Being a teacher is so emotional and heart-wrenching, and I just want her to be recognized.”