Bird Droppings August 20, 2012

Why should we listen more closely?

 

            I was out in the back yard walking the dog, weeding and watering my herb garden when a commotion caught my attention last evening. Three crows were chasing a red tailed hawk. One on one the hawk would be able to dispatch the crows but in the air three against one sent the hawk into retreat. It has been one week since school has started and now I am getting a bit more serious about getting to know kids. Why is this one so quiet and this one over here so often depressed looking and why does this one talk so much? I will often avoid looking at permanent records for a week or two so I can figure kids out on my own.

“Making the judgment that there is something wrong with a person inevitably takes away choice. Taking away choice means taking away opportunities for growth, for change, and for the courage to meet life’s demands with an open heart and an open mind.” Dr. J. T. Garrett and Dr. Michael Garrett, The Cherokee Full Circle

 

            As I think back to the commotion yesterday evening of the crows chasing the hawk I wonder what was really happening. I heard the crows cawing and it was obvious the hawk was going away from the crows although it was really not in a hurry, almost gliding along. Sort of more annoyed than running in fear by the loud obnoxious cawing. I am thinking back to students I have had over the years many obnoxious and annoying and I would want to walk away from them much like the hawk. I would rather listen to a soothing melody on the seven note Native American flute than the loud boisterous jabber of teenagers.

 

“Forgiving ourselves is the wellspring of all true forgiveness. It is the deep work of the heart that allows us to grow toward the light instead of struggling constantly with the darkness. Yet it is one of the most difficult tasks we face, because we very often are unaware of the thorns and brambles that hold our heart captive” Kent Nerburn, Calm Surrender

 

One day last week during first block I had a student I did not think would make it to fourth block. He did go to all of his classes and as he came in our room his eyes lit up. Is that a California king snake he asked and I was fired up another snake lover. It turns out his brother in law has several large snakes and he really likes reptiles. So I was left sort of embarrassed and ashamed for not thinking this kid could get through the day.

            As I wondered about my student and why I had assumed the worse he got his homework finished and was polite and clam and I felt not so good about my assumptions. I have generally considered myself an advocate for the students and often find myself at odds with administration in the interactions and discipline of students with behavior disorders but for some reason at times I do succumb to the wiles of normalcy and give into the general trend of thought.  As I looked this morning for passages and thoughts Kent Nerburn’s books kept offering me solace.

 

“Some of us are able to persevere against hopeless odds. Some of us are able to see light in a world of darkness. Some are able to give selflessly with no thought of return, while others bring sense of importance into the hearts around them.” Kent Nerburn, Calm Surrender

 

            I got up this morning a few minutes earlier than I had planned as our dog wanted out and she had been doing good waiting for me to wake up for several days it had been nice no four or five dog nights lately. As we walked out into the darkness the sky was filled with a light high cloud cover giving a lacey feel t the morning blocking many of the stars. Last week in one of my classes I had used a compass to started the class offering what does this item do? At first there was little response and soon most agreed a compass provides direction. We talked about finding direction and I even asked which direction was the window in the room at school. After thinking most agreed it was facing east. The sun came up on this side of the building. We talked about being able to find direction without a device such as a compass the sunrise being one way. I offered the North Star and how in olden days it would be used at night to guide travelers. But this morning I would have been lost. The splattering of clouds while beautiful in the wee bit of light blocked most of the stars from sight.

 

“Whenever in the course of the daily hunt, the hunter comes upon a scene that is strikingly beautiful, or sublime – a black thundercloud with a rainbow’s glowing arch above the mountain, a white waterfall in the heart of a green gorge, a vast prairie ringed with the blood red of the sunset – he pauses for an instant in an attitude of worship.” Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman, (Ohiyesa) Santee Sioux 

 

            It has been a many weeks since I was surprised by a small package at my doorstep as I came home. Contained within a book and a note from a person I Have not physically talked with in over forty years. We have emailed and talked through various technological devices and software but a gift for me. It was one of Kent Nerburn’s books and the note read I saw this and was thinking of you. Many of Nerburn’s writings deal with the spirituality and philosophy of the Native Americans. Some of you might recognize the name of Dr. Charles Eastman who was one of the first Native Americans to receive a medical degree and served his people at numerous reservation hospitals till he retired to his writing in later life. Dr. Eastman was one of the physicians handling the wounded and dying at the Wounded Knee Massacre in the Dakotas. As I think about the horrors and inhumane acts that he witnessed I wonder how he could write words so calm and serene.

            Last week in joking with a student I made a comment about writing a referral and I  was met with Mr. Bird you would never do that it is not in your heart. It is true so seldom that I write a referral I cannot remember the last time. But it stuck with me and made me think. As I walked through Kroger another person came up to me and thanked me for writing each morning and posting online, she read every day and it meant so much to her. Within a short span compliments and so where do I turn next.

 

“We create ourselves out of silence or out of noise, and we chose our supreme rhythms by which we move with different shades of emotion and thought. Hence we are music.” Dr. J. T. Garrett and Dr. Michael Garrett

 

I sit each day or walk about my room at school immersed in sounds of R. Carlos Nakai’s seven note Native American cedar flute. Seldom does anyone complain as it permeates and offers a calming effect in more ways than most would care to admit. I was asked by a teacher about my music and I pulled out my file drawer of ten or twelve of Nakai’s CD’s. Actually I have lent a few out.
            One of my students made a comment that my room did not feel like school it was so calming for him. Going back to the fellow I did not expect to show up for class. He worked for an hour and a half on makeup work from other classes. Each time I meet a new student I wonder where and why and how has this student ended up in my room. I was asked yesterday what was the prerequisite for my class by a student who wanted to take my class and I offered I was not sure but and I caught myself thinking funny in twelve years I have had hundreds of students pass through my doors because of Emotional and Behavioral issues and everyday it seems I get asked how can I take this class and I never have a quick sarcastic answer. I have had one student who wanted out and one this year whose father wanted him out after a day or two, but in general most find sanctuary in the calm surrender, borrowing from Kent Nerburn, of a room that is not a classroom in the typical sense.

 

“When a child comes into your life, you must take care to give it family, however you define it, and history, and community. For the child learns of life from its context.” Kent Nerburn, Calm Surrender

            As I opened up the internet each morning I recall a few years back the first news story in Yahoo was Ted Kennedy passing away after his battle with brain cancer. While I was at the corner store a man came in yesterday in suit and tie and was addressed by the clerk and owner why are you dressed up and he responded he was going to his brothers funeral that had died from brain cancer. I know there is no connection and yet in some ways there is.  We are all connected and intertwined in the fabric of this world and while miles apart and I am sure these two men never met they are aspects of this puzzle of life as we know it. I have never met Ted Kennedy yet I was touched by his passing as I was in eighth grade when his older brother was shot in Dallas Texas and my then Social Studies teacher came into the room with tears flooding his eyes. I will never forget that or the image of Roosevelt Greer a former all-pro hall of fame football player a mountain of a man holding Robert Kennedy as an assassin had taken his life.

 

“Most of all have faith in your path. Follow it as you can; change it if you must. But do not give up the search for the sea.” Kent Nerburn, Calm Surrender

            In closing a thought that has been with me for nearly fifteen years now please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts and to always give thanks namaste.

 

Wa de (Skee)

bird