A teacher posted his students’ summer homework online, now he’s famous

Cesare Catà, a teacher from Italy who works at the Polo Scolastico Paritario Don Bosco school in the coastal town of Fermo, gave his students some homework to do over the summer. It was a list of 15 tasks. And it may just be the best thing he’s ever done for them.

The list has already received tens of thousands of likes online. Here it is:

1. Go for a walk along the coast every morning on your own, look at the sunlight reflected on the water and think about what makes you happy.
2. Try to use the new words we learnt in class this year. The more things you can say, the more thoughts you’ll have. The more you think, the freer you’ll be.
3. Read as much as you can. Not because you have to, but because summertime is the inspiration for dreams and adventures, and reading is like flying. Reading is the best form of rebellion (for advice on what to read, come to me).
4. Avoid people, things and situations which make you feel unhappy or empty. Search for inspiration, and friends who enrich your life, who understand you and value you for who you are.
5. If you feel sad or afraid, don’t worry. Summer, just like every other wonderful thing in life, can lead the soul into confusion. Try keeping a diary and describe how you feel (if you want, we can read it together in September).
6. Dance, without feeling embarrassed. Do it anywhere and everywhere you can — on the dancefloor or alone in your room at home. Summer is about dancing, and it’s foolish not to take part.
7. Watch the sunrise at least once. Stand silently and breathe deeply. Close your eyes, and be thankful.
8. Play a lot of sport.
9. If you’ve met someone who you really like, tell them, and do it in the most eloquent and sincere way you can. Don’t worry if they don’t understand. If nothing happens, then it’s not meant to be, and follow the instruction in point 8. If things go well, then you will spend summer 2015 together, and it will be glorious.
10. Reread your notes from our lessons. Compare all the things we read about with everything that’s happening in your life.
11. Be as happy as the sunshine, and as free and untameable as the sea.
12. Don’t swear. Be polite and kind.
13. Watch good films, with heartbreaking scripts. If possible, watch them in English. That way you’ll both improve your language skills and develop your ability to dream and feel. Don’t let the film end with the final credits — recreate its plot in your own life, again and again, make it part of your summer experience.
14. Summer is magical. In the sparkling sunshine of the early morning and during the hot summer evenings, dream about what life should and could be. Make everything that happens depend on you — that way you will never give up on the path to your dreams.
15. Be good.

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This guy clearly loves his work and cares about his students! What a teacher!