As I was adding food to my wormery and watching the rain fall during Monday evening, the first for months, I was reminded me of this little piece I wrote some time ago:
From a teacher’s diary: Pablo 2013
From a teacher’s diary: Pablo 2013
February 25th, 2013
Jack and his son Reno had a great time at a recent science workshop [1] I ran for parents and their kids.
“You have such passion for science, John Paull,” Jack said after the class.
“Bet you had a great science education as a kid………your school must have had a wonderful science program.”
That made me think.
No, My elementary school focused absolutely on reading and writing. [2]
And my science classes (biology, chemistry and physics) in my secondary school did not capture any part of my brain – or my curiosity.
So, where did my passion come from?
Well, it must have come from my childhood. When I was a very young kid, the family went on Sunday afternoon walks to the beach and to the quiet country lanes. Although my dad left school at 14, he knew a great deal about wild life and the wild countryside. Spotting tiny blue crabs, bullcods, wishing rocks, birds’ nest, mammal tracks, and everything else that caught his eye, was infectious.
Thinking more about those times reminded me of a very interesting email that a colleague of mine received from a friend.
Pablo, her friend’s young son, had a great summer helping his mum and dad keep their gardens in shape.
One day, Pablo's Mum, when digging, accidentally cut a worm in half. Pablo became very upset when he saw the two halves of the worm writing on the ground. Sensing his anxiety, Mum reassured him that it was ok – a worm cut in half can, in fact, develop into a full bodied worm again.
Here is the lengthy email the mum sent my colleague, describing Pablo’s first week in his new kindergarten.
After getting school supplies the day before the first day of school, Pablo was VERY excited about school and the possibilities. He turned to me and said:
‘I think I know what’s going to happen is the teacher will say, “Class, does anyone know what happens when a worm gets cut in half?”
‘I will raise my hand.
‘I will raise my hand.
If she picks on me, I’ll say, “Um………..it grows a new body?”
She will say, “Pablo - YES!! Exactly!!”
So, Thursday, when I picked him up (almost exactly at the end of his first week), I asked him how school was and if he had chance to raise his hand yet……
He looked up at me with a sad face and said:
“No. No one is asking things like what happens when a worm cuts hisself…
They’re talking a lot about rules and stuff, like no chewing gum and things.”
I think maybe I’m at the wrong kindergarten.”
Think I need to take him in the garden again…..and again….and again.
Pablo’s mother, personal email
The moral of the story?
Perhaps Pablo was unlucky with the choice of school, but he is very lucky to have parents who share with him the delights of nature.
Perhaps Pablo was unlucky with the choice of school, but he is very lucky to have parents who share with him the delights of nature.
John Paull
[1] I’m a scientist……Workshop at Mountain View K-2 School
[2] Two teachers, though, validated my passion for nature, Miss Harvey and Mr. Jones. See my account of being in their classes, Through My Eyes, published by Xlibris, 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment