Bird Droppings June 8, 2011
John Dewey might appreciate Ralph Waldo Emerson

It has been a few days since I wrote in the morning perhaps the summer laziness has come upon me although last night it I was sitting and wondering where the loud sound outside the bedroom window was coming from. I got home from my day in the mountains at Foxfire around ten o’clock. I worked on some reading and writing till nearly one in the morning. I sat down and dosed only to be awakened with the dog needing to go out and saw a half moon trying to peek through the clouds. I will take a break today play with my grand daughter and cook some dinner and a ponder bit of one of my favorite authors Ralph Waldo Emerson although I might read a bit of John Dewey to get ready for Friday to inspire me.

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

A seemingly simple thought or is it. I work in a world or class room where trust is a perishable commodity and most do not trust. It is far too easy to extend a hand or simply smile and act the part of a trusting person. I have found trust comes when a student knows they can call you when a problem arises on your cell phone and you will answer and not hesitate. Trust begins when you say hello.

“What is a weed, a plant whose virtues have not been discovered?” Ralph Waldo Emerson

So often we hear that in saving the rain forests we may find the cure for cancer and other ailments of mankind. Often the weed could be even closer to home. My first thought was to a one of my many visits to The Foxfire mountain museum and a lecture by the former curator and his vast knowledge of mountain folk medicine. Every plant had a use and a cure for something. Each twig, piece of bark and leave could be of use in mountain life. But actually when I read this quote I was not thinking of Sean Connery in Medicine Man in the Amazon jungles and or of the late Robert Murray at the Foxfire museum. I was thinking of students. Each student comes to us as a weed in a sense. The baggage of others perceptions wrapped tightly around them, every note and referral placed in their permanent folder for the next person to assume this kid has issues.
I was thinking last night as I had a very eventful day, talking with sixteen teachers and future teachers at the Foxfire Approach to teaching class. As we talked in our discussion groups and reviewed the Core Practices I continued to focus on my class room and recalled a day or two a few years back when most of my students were in out of school and or in school suspension. Each of these students had serious emotional and behavior issues. Each had antecedents to behaviors that caused their consequences, ABC a good behavioral term. It is always it seems about antecedent, behavior and consequence. But as I thought of how we so often we address our perception of that behavior and our perceived antecedent as we the teacher and seldom review the student’s perspective. THIs is paramount to Dewey’s educational philosophy seeing through the eyes of the student. My thinking reminded me of Piaget’s thoughts on children’s thinking that children and adults think and perceive differently. Actually Piaget came up in our talks yesterday.
We create a weed rather than looking for virtues. We push aside so quickly because it will take time to cultivate and propagate that virtue. So more often than not, we do this since the alternative may not be an easy task. It can take a lot of work to cultivate and propagate virtue in children.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why is it we so often choose to see through others eyes, accepting the precepts of others and not taking the time to really know someone on our own? Buried deep within who knows what we may find. It has been a number of years since a bedraggled student who in the first four or so days I was teaching never raised his head. I took in Dylan Thomas as an example of a poet and I was reading aloud he sat up and was seriously listening. Shortly there after he asked me to read another paragraph or two and then asked to borrow the book. He read it or his mother read to him the entire book cover to cover over the weekend. It turns out he was diagnosed as a severe dyslexic, and it was never posted in his files only all the behavior issues.
While this student probably has lived up to expectations of many with several jail sentences and such to his credit even now at 21 or so he still keeps in contact and will ask about new authors to read periodically. Hopefully one day some of it will sink in. We should be about cultivating the pieces we can find. After a few mishaps along the way he is now a motorcycle mechanic and married with kids and doing great.

“Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who knows what great poet, philosopher and future wise person is now being misunderstood. Each day as I meet new students I hope I will let them be who they really are and not a figment of my own perception and imagination. I will let them come to the self realization of their own humanity and understanding. As I do so often as I am sitting here early nearly midweek pondering who is the teacher and who is the student. A beautiful day but please keep all in harms way on your mind and in your hearts.
namaste
bird