The Seeds of Knowledge

"Seeds of Wisdom" @ risingtidesart.com

"It's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." ~Frederick Douglass

My best lessons grew out of seeds of heartbreak. When I taught math, I used a lot of visuals mixed with a healthy dose of patience, because I remembered how challenging it was for me to grasp mathematics concepts. My science lessons were almost always full of fun or gross topics that my class could dive into and get their hands dirty, because I was not allowed to get dirty as a child and was frequently told I wasn't smart enough to learn science. Writing lessons became an artist's palette of words used to paint the topics my students were passionate about, and books were a safe place to travel anywhere, be anything, or just hide away in the pages of a good story for awhile.  Social Studies opened up the world, as we delved into the past, talked about injustice, and listened to those rarely heard voices that didn't make it into stuffy ol' history books, i.e. Native Americans, women with little or no rights, and children around the globe telling their stories.

None of these things make me a unique teacher, as I see these topics approached from many angles, including my own, in a wide variety of classrooms. The goals are (...or should be) the same: help students unlock as many doors for themselves as possible; give them the courage to walk through ones they are passionate about; teach them how to use their voice and remind them that it has value! Ignorance sparks those who believe that educating our youth is easy. Foolishness drives sayings like, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." Whether it's in a classroom, or from a parenting/family platform, or merely as an adult, we are all responsible for, have a hand in the education of our world's youth. It's actually one of the most important things for us to NOT get wrong, as kids watch everything we do, say, and the way we treat one another. They soak up our language (...especially when it's foul), mimic our people skills (...or lack thereof), and model our behaviours. I hope you'll take the opportunity to thank a teacher that's inspiring, hug a teacher that means something in your or your child's life, or just be a positive example for all of our children to look up to...not just this week, but every week.