Why This Teacher Wrote All Over Her Students' Desks on the Day of an Exam

Not everyone is meant to be a teacher, but this teacher certainly doesn't fall into that category.

As soon as Chandni Langford picked up on her fifth-grade students' jitters about upcoming high-stakes exams, she decided to do something about it. The creative teacher decided to fill her kids with an extra boost of confidence before the first of seven days of testing began by surprising them as they walked in with handwritten, motivational notes scribbled across each of their desks.

The notes, which were written with dry erase marker, were personalized for each kid and came complete with two doughnut holes along with the reminder, "Donut stress. Take your time and do your best."

"A lot of my kids were nervous that if they don't pass this test with good scores they won't go to the next grade," Langford told Philly.com. "They feel a lot of anxiety about that. I thought this would be a cute thing for them to walk into."

Langford has been teaching her students with a growth mindset strategy since the beginning of the year and decided to incorporate that idea into her inspirational notes. Even though the photos have gone viral since Woodbury City Public Schools first shared them on Facebook, the most important response to this creative form of encouragement came from Langford's students. "When I read the message, my fear went away," said her student Julissa Gomez. "I knew I could actually do it."

This post was originally published on May 11, 2016.