PATTERNS

Looking at a small patterned rug in my living room this morning made me think of my students and the patterns of our studies in English class. I often fret that my lessons may not always follow a noticeable pattern – may not always flow in an artistic manner so as to set up a seamless design for the students – but then I suppose there’s always a pattern to things, whether I am perceptive enough to see it or not. Even a spring day of seemingly disorderly winds and storms has a definite design that would be evident to any meteorologist. Even the most furious forest fire rages on in a certain distinct process, following a pattern a forest service scientist would easily understand. I must continue to make orderly lesson plans for class, but I must also have a little more trust in the unseen patterns that sometimes influence my classes. I intend my lessons to follow certain blueprints, but there may be other undisclosed blueprints shaping themselves even while I teach the lessons. As I trust the weather to follow its intrinsic systems, I must learn to trust the teaching and learning in my classroom to do the same. If I do my best to prepare orderly lessons, all I can do then is have faith that various useful patterns will materialize in a smooth and certain manner.

© 2010 Hamilton Salsich