I wrote this on a day when I had a new parent as the parent-helper in the classroom. She did a wonderful job and told me how much her child enjoyed our little corner of paradise. It was a dreary day and her comments warmed my heart.
Not every parent walked into the classroom ready to jump right in to being active and in a teaching role. I always kept an eye and ear turned towards those tables and times when I knew concepts were more challenging. Parents accepted my jumping in and, quite often, I just sat and listened. Parents brought skills and perspectives I lacked. I had a doctor down on his hands and knees teaching the Grade 8’s where the spleen was on the life-size body systems they were drawing. Or, an artist parent who taught the students how to do a particular art form. One grandmother brought her rock collection in each year for the Grade 3 Science unit. The junior high students always found a way to go and check it; some because it was new to them and others because they recalled the joy of it in Grade 3. The educational assistant led in our Food Science class, along with parents and students.
We are each called to do something in our lives. It is our vocation and provides us with a voice to share with the world.
Day breaks,
Cool and wet–
Greying one’s life.
If allowed,
Dampens one’s spirit;
Letting the dullening prevail.
Yet, glow emerge,
Warmth radiates,
Shared within community.
A communal spirit,
Exploring, discovering
Edges of others’ worlds.
I took this picture of Frank Slide in Alberta’s southwest corner. The slide that took place lasted about 100 seconds and about 110 million tonnes of Turtle Mountain covered part of the community of Frank. When I took this picture, it was a dreary day and I was not having any luck getting what I considered great shots. When I wrote the poem, I remembered the picture and it fit.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 
I think is a great story, great job you do and overall a great post.
Thank you Charly.
Beautiful words 🙂
Thank you Karen
Always great when parents participate in classroom learning. I remember the time a parent brought us the loveliest large beehive in the middle of winter. All was fine until it warmed up in the classroom and bees started coming to life. Lucky there was an outside door nearby. But it did teach a lesson!
That would have been interesting and educational. Cool allows bees to sleep and warm awakens. Sometimes, experiences teach more than we can.
Beautiful message 💗🙏💗
Thank you MaLu
Each one of us has something unique and special. All of our voices can make a difference, we are all here for a purpose. Isn’t it beautiful, that we all matter in one way or the other?
It is beautiful we each have something unique about us.
Hi Ivan,
What a wonderful post! The image is perfect for the poem and reminds me that every day is a beautiful day. We are having one of the coolest summers on record, I think. It reminds me of a San Fransisco “summer” which are mostly 50 degrees and foggy. I can’t complain, because I am one of those who melts in the heat.
Living in intentional community I have found the blessing of having many “teachers” around me. Each person here (and there are close to 60 of us now) has a special interest, skill or gift to share — and we all share freely. It has been most extraordinary to live with “specialists.”
Grey days or sunny days — they are all beautiful and wonderful to me. Thank you for bringing this forward, Alia
Thank you Alia. Every day is beautiful. Our summer has been interesting. We had a late spring and it was cool with snow on the ground into early May. It has not warmed up and stayed warm. Most days are below or at average, about room temperature and we have had no shortage of rain with more in the forecast. Farmers are having trouble with plowing and seeding as water is pooling in fields.
As a teacher, I found I learned from the others around me, including parents, students, and support staff. They each had something to offer. When I had an ah-ha moment, I told my students. It demonstrated we are learning throught life.
You are welcome. Take care and stay well.
amazing work
Thank you Nancy
This is so sweet and heartwarming to read about. Kudos to you!
Thank you Shruba
Yes, your poem does fit the photograph. By the way, it sounds like you have fascinating classes.
Thank you Emilie. It was/is an interesting PhD process. We had a real mix of backgrounds e.g. teachers, non-profit, health care, ministers/priests/nuns, etc. The result was a wide range of dissertation topics and great conversations in classes and outside.
Such a nice post…thanks for sharing it.
Thank you Priya.
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YES! We each bring our gifts, talents, experience to everyday in so many ways – holding the space for those moments to happen, unimpeded is, to me, the most pressing challenge we have faced in so many systems, over the years – 🙂
That is the challenge, holding a space safe. William Isaacs writes brilliantly about dialogue as a safe container that expands and contracts to meet the needs of those gathered to explore challenging topics.
Yes!!! I believe a basic human yearning, past survival, eating and procreation drives, is the ‘desire to be heard’ and the ‘desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves.’ – This is another of our greatest gifts AND our most rampant vulnerabilities – IMNSHO – (In my not so humble opinion) – I might updated it, but so many things, over the history, recent and far reaching – seem to indicate, “um, yeah, remember that as being so, until you learn more…”
TamrahJo, “yearning” is a lovely word to describe what draws us forward in life.
Amazing 😍
Thank you Taruna
My pleasure 😊