An interesting question on a Monday morning. Would life be better with fewer or more picnics? Personally, I think more.
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This applies at all levels of education although it comes from a university professor. Recently, it was suggested we need to quantify or refer to our students as numbers. This depersonalizes and dehumanizes the beloved other we are attempting to build relationships with.
I was reminded of my slightly overloaded calendar today as students came and went throughout the day, I raced in and out of project meetings and RV and I worked on some papers that we’re trying to get together for an upcoming submission date in the next few months. I wish I could talk about the research but, given that it will all have to go into peer review and some of the people reading this may end up being on those panels, it will all have to wait until we get accepted or it comes back on fire with a note written in blood saying “Don’t call us…”
For those following the Australian Research scene, you might know that the Australian Federal Government had put a hold on releasing information on key research funding schemes and that this has led to uncertainty for those people whose salaries are paid…
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What a beautiful and peaceful pastoral setting. It is a great way to end the week and begin Friday.
An excellent analogy to begin the day with.
the elder trees encourage
the young sapling to
show its joy in color
The picture is terrific and the words speak volumes. Einstein made a similar comment about imagination and so did John Lennon in his wonderful song Imagine. The world is better if we can imagine it as a better place, have faith it will be better, and love those around us.
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” ~ Robert Fulghum
Here is a message of hope and helpfulness for each other. Have a wonderful day.
With all fairness and respect to you.
I have to say I care very much for you and your well being.
I have an insight on your emotions.
Feels like a daily basis, where I ask if your doing well.
If things aren’t to your liking, I would do whatever it takes to make you all better.
I know you have standard and they may seem high at time.
But I know I can help you reach them.
It only takes one day at a time to get all you need and ask for.
But, I can promise you will get there.
Whenever Mike posts an image of his part of the world and its rural history, I am reminded of trips to the farm and the found memories they hold. It is a great way to start the week.
What an interesting thought; I should ask myself everyday, “Am I living or simply dead and not buried?”
The Poet Speaks
Yesterday, after I posted a Vaclav Havel poem, It Is I Who Must Begin, I realized there was more than just the poem at play. Sam Intrator in Teaching with Fire, which he co-edited with Megan Scribner, commented in a section entitled Tending the Fire: “Poetry, by its capacity to touch the human soul and tap into the deepest wellsprings of our being, opens up opportunities for us to stay vital and alive” (p. 210).
As I reflected on yesterday’s poem and the role that poetry plays in my life, I realized poetry is a series of conversations. It is both an internal and external process. I turn in with each word, symbol, and term and ask “What does that mean in my life?” I also, in that internal conversation, hear the poet, who is present, through his or her words.
I sit
Book in lap
Each word, space, punctuation
Each has meaning
A personal truth
For each heard differently.
I listen closer
My body leans in
I don’t want to miss any essence
I hear a voice
As in the company of another
Is the poet here with me?
Here is a quote that makes sense to me on many levels. We are constantly in an ocean of personal change, so it is only those who accept us for that element of our humanity that truly care for us.
If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go. ― Steve Maraboli
Teacher as Transformer 