This morning, a lovely one, I started wishing I could teach the way blossom-filled branches behave. There’s a tree outside my classroom that’s laden with purple blossoms these days, and I admire the way it sways with even the softest breezes. The tree doesn’t appear to exert any effort; it simply lets the spring winds shift and shake its blossoms. It seems to feel the slightest influence of even the mildest breezes – seems to slightly transform itself with every passing gust. I wonder if I could teach that way. I wonder if I could I put aside some of my useless fussing and distressing, and just focus on being a sturdy, sensitive teacher for my students. They bring their breezy ideas and words to class, and, like the blossoming tree outside, perhaps I could simply let the ideas and words stir me in their various ways. What’s interesting is that the tree’s limbs rustle with even the gentlest puff of wind, and maybe I could be that kind of teacher – a truly responsive one, a teacher whose thoughts are genuinely influenced by the students’ thoughts that waft and float around him in class.
© 2010 Hamilton Salsich
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