Back to Basics
Back to basics
Remember why you came
If you're going to give off light
Then you must endure the flame
Time has its toll
And some may call it pain
Transcend it all
And turn a loss into a gain
Death to the cloud
Is birth to the rain
This poem came to me at a time when I was questioning my ways about engaging with the world. The feeling of complexities that ended up going in circles, and in the end not being as helpful as I wanted them to be. The Buddha has a saying that "One candle can light 10,000". Now if that isn't simple effectiveness then what is! The wood that we burn in a fire is an expression of the tree's life. All the warmth and light given to it by the Sun has been "captured" in the wood and upon burning is then "released". The life-giving flame transmutes that which the tree has once been given and we then participate in this process. Thich Naht Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist who wrote many books about how to live a meditative life and how mindfulness is essential to this practice. In his book No Death, No Fear, he draws the reader's attention to the interconnectedness of Life; how the pages that one is holding came from the tree, how the tree grew from the rain, Sun, soil, and air. These elements needed to be there for the book to come into expression. By witnessing this holding of world connection, the possibility is there for peace to arise. In the lawfulness of connection, we are not bound like a chain but rather free to express ourselves, knowing that every element is there as well.
Day 1: Slavi
Day 2: Angel
Day 3: Slavi
Day 4: Benjamin
Day 5: Elisha
Day 6: Angel
Day 7: Parker
Time and Measurement
a Poem by Sean Goddard to support the third grade curriculum as they study measurement
Time flows in a circle
But one that always grows
It's something I can count on
Like fingers and my toes
The seasons are a gift
and offer me their power
Each month has its turn
Like minutes in an hour
The second may be small
But without them, there's no year
When the night is gaining strength
I know the Sun is near
At the Otto Specht School, I find that the "basics" are a golden rule for success. Laying a strong foundation is essential if any further growth wants to be formed with a firm footing. The students remind us how they see the world and if we can hold this perspective with their future in mind, our cooperation will help them flourish. The rate at which they change can make one's head spin! Within this capacity to change is the adaptability to life's circumstances and challenges. Resilience is effective to the extent that our connection can be sought and found, again and again.
Allowing for the forces of growth to metamorphosis into thinking forces is a natural step of becoming fully human. The reverence of being able to witness this change in the students has been a force of growth for me as a teacher. How much there is to learn from one another!