birddroppings posted: Bird Droppings May 6, 2014 Always try and see through eyes wide open “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” Dolly Parton It has been nearly eight years since we last moved and seems we might stay here a while. Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on The daily meanderings of a teacher Always try and see through eyes wide open by birddroppings Bird Droppings May 6, 2014 Always try and see through eyes wide open “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” Dolly Parton It has been nearly eight years since we last moved and seems we might stay here a while. I recall seven or eight years back when we made several quick moves and one time as I removed the last bits and pieces from our then house and bagged up the trash putting it on the pile sort of like saying goodbye. As I drove over to our new house I was wondering about where and when and why. I remember several emails had been about our move, they were sorry we had to move or sorry since moving is so hard. Moving is hard, always hard I am finding as I get older. We had raised our kids in a house for nearly 23 years that I built in the middle of several hundred acres. Since that time we have moved four times, but in our moves there was a temporary sense hard to explain and then we moved here there is something a bit different as I plant my herb garden a sense of permanency. I was thinking of expanding my garden this spring, maybe planting tomatoes, squash, and a few beans, actually have some Anazai bean seeds from heritage heirloom seeds. First time in seven eight years I had even considered that. I am still stiff in my old age from the little yard work I currently do but the thought of a garden somehow made the day brighter. “Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.” R. I. Fitzhenry “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Hal Borland So often during the day I will check the weather just pull up the weather on the internet and check radar pictures from the southeast and see what projections are to be had. Will it be rain or be cold or combinations of both I check the predictions about tomorrow’s weather just so I can plan my gardening. Yesterday on channel 2 a weather person made a comment about the cold front pushing from the Midwest and how this mass of artic air high pressure was the highest at 30.99 inches he had ever seen. As I came home yesterday a small bird flew into the open screen door of the back porch and puzzled by the space that she was confined within flitting about clinging to a wire back to a closed door thud, back to the wire. I carefully walked to where the bird continually went to an opened the door. I talked for several minutes to the little bird calmly reassuring it all was fine several times during our conversation as it looked constantly for an out reminded me of my students eyeing the door to escape and freedom. The bird flew to the window sill and out the door. I apologized to the bird for leaving the door open and said comeback any time. I will need bird seed today to fill feeders just in case my new friend understands English. But as I wander aimlessly we have forgotten an aspect of our world that we once knew. In a disaster in Asia several years ago the stories tell of a tribe of fisherman who listened to their elders and safely moved to the mountains. The elders had read the sea and knew what was coming. Today we count on radar and air pressure but in days gone by a small birds antics may have been enough. Does a squirrel gathering more food mean a hard winter? Why in Asia did so many animals move away from the impending disaster? “Man shapes himself through decisions that shape his environment.” Rene Dubes “You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success — or are they holding you back?” W. Clement Stone Within certain parameters we alter and manipulate that around us yet we find ourselves at the mercy of our environment as well. Snow storms paralyze cities and rainfall creates devastation in other areas. Yet we think we control our environment. I keep thinking back to the first quote today and the simplicity so often of Dolly Pardons words. It has been several years since Matthew my youngest son and I were driving back to the college when the sky lit up after a rain the entire landscape was gold from the brilliant rainbow and soon a second joined it and the road and countryside were bathed in light literally I understood the search for gold at the ends of rainbows it was so brilliant. But we drove through rain to get there. I have wandered through so much today it is how we look at what we see that is so important and seeing what we see. We have lost so much in our ability to see and to understand. Many years ago my wife and I attended several concerts presented by Harry Chapin, a very active and avid environmentalist and out spoken in that regards. But he was a songwriter extraordinaire. A song came to mind today as I wandered about in my thinking and finishing of my graduate papers. It is a song of rainbows, of seeing the world with different eyes, and of understanding. The song is entitled “Flowers are red” the words and music are by Harry Chapin. Please if you get a chance pull up the utube version and listen to this song. It is a powerful song in its simplicity. Flowers are red By Harry Chapin The little boy went first day of school He got some crayons and started to draw He put colors all over the paper For colors was what he saw And the teacher said.. What you doin’ young man I’m paintin’ flowers he said She said… It’s not the time for art young man And anyway flowers are green and red There’s a time for everything young man And a way it should be done You’ve got to show concern for everyone else For you’re not the only one And she said… Flowers are red young man Green leaves are green There’s no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen But the little boy said… There are so many colors in the rainbow So many colors in the morning sun So many colors in the flower and I see every one Well the teacher said.. You’re sassy There’s ways that things should be And you’ll paint flowers the way they are So repeat after me….. And she said… Flowers are red young man Green leaves are green There’s no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen But the little boy said… There are so many colors in the rainbow So many colors in the morning sun So many colors in the flower and I see every one The teacher put him in a corner She said.. It’s for your own good.. And you won’t come out ’til you get it right And are responding like you should Well finally he got lonely Frightened thoughts filled his head And he went up to the teacher And this is what he said.. and he said Flowers are red, green leaves are green There’s no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have bee Time went by like it always does And they moved to another town And the little boy went to another school And this is what he found The teacher there was smilin’ She said…Painting should be fun And there are so many colors in a flower So let’s use every one But that little boy painted flowers In neat rows of green and red And when the teacher asked him why This is what he said.. and he said Flowers are red, green leaves are green There’s no need to see flowers any other way Than the way they always have been seen. What a powerful voice we have as teachers. It has been teachers that taught children not to listen to the elders, and instead to listen to the news and weather stations because science knows all. It has been teachers who stopped watching squirrels gather nuts and it has been teachers who altered our environment with new ideas and changed all the flowers to red and leaves to green. The sad part is some will say that is what we are to do as teachers. That is what the Common Core or QCC’s or whatever curriculum we are doing is about, uniformity. So I write each morning for the teachers who like rain because rainbows follow and watch for leaves changing colors and who see flowers in many colors and can share that enthusiasm with students and inspire and change our world. Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your heart and to always give thanks namaste. My family and friends I do not say this lightly, Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all related) bird birddroppings | May 6, 2014 at 9:21 am | Tags: Albert Einstein, Alfie Kohn, Black Elk, Chief Dan George, Chief Luther Standing Bear, Confucius, D. Svinicki, Dalai Lama, democratic classroom, Dr. Bill Reynolds, Dr. Carl G. Jung, Dr. Dan Rea, Dr. Frank Bird III, Dr. Grant Bennett, Dr. Hilton Smith, Dr. James Sutton, Dr. Julie Weber, Dr. Stronge, Dr. Wayne Peate, Dr. William Glasser, Dr. William Takaki, Dr.Marilla, Early Childhood education, Education, Eldridge Cleaver, Elliot Eisner, Elliot Wigginton, Esther S. Bird, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Foxfire, Foxfire Approach to teaching, Frank Bird III, Frank Bird Jr., Franklin P. Jones, Geronimo, Giving thanks, Great Mystery, Henry David Thoreau, Indian, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, John Lennon, Kenneth Hildebrand, Kent Nerburn, Learning, Life, Lisa Delpit, Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm S. Forbes, Muhammad Ali, namaste, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Native American, NCLB, Nootka, Ralph Waldo Emerson, respect, Sandy Grande, Sauk, Sitting Bull, Spirituality, Stacia Tauscher, Standardized tests, Steven Tyler, Sudbury School, Sydney J. Harris, Teacher, Teaching, Thomas Carlyle, Thomas Moore, Vine DeLoria, Wakan-Tanka, WIlliam Pinar, William Stafford | Categories: A teachers journey, The Art of Learning: Using the Foxfire Core Practices as a pallette, The daily meanderings of a teacher, The Foxfire Approach to Teaching | URL: wp.me/p16aL-Um Comment See all comments Like Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from The daily meanderings of a teacher. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: birddroppings.me/2014/05/06/always-try-and-see-through-eyes-wide-open/ Thanks for flying with WordPress
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 23:46:24 +0000
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