Latest / The Grammar of Classical Education / Week 139: Gardening with Solid Boots, Strong Gloves, & an Open Heart | Small Shifts - Lasting Formation #16

Transcript

Week 139: Gardening with Solid Boots, Strong Gloves, & an Open Heart | Small Shifts - Lasting Formation #16 · The Grammar of Classical Education

0:01
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Grammar of Classical Education,
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SPEAKER_00: a podcast that examines the philosophical foundations of classical education,
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SPEAKER_00: and then seeks to help classically minded educators bring those ideas to life
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SPEAKER_00: in their classroom, co-op, or homeschool settings.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm your host,
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SPEAKER_00: Dr. Darlene Gomes, from Leading to Wonder, and I am so glad you've joined us today.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back, or welcome if you're joining us for the first time.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: If you are here for the first time,
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SPEAKER_00: I might suggest that you go back about 15 episodes to the very beginning
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SPEAKER_00: of our Small Shifts Lasting Formation series,
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SPEAKER_00: since you are literally jumping in at the second to the last
1:02
SPEAKER_00: of this delightfully garden-themed look at education.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: The garden itself has been our guide as we discuss what it looks like
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SPEAKER_00: to be wise gardeners in our classrooms, co-ops, or homeschool settings.
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SPEAKER_00: It's been pretty amazing to see how very much like a gardener we are as teachers
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SPEAKER_00: and how our small shifts can make lasting formation in the lives of our students And
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SPEAKER_00: to be honest,
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SPEAKER_00: those same small shifts can result in lasting formation in our lives as well.
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SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly where we are focused this week.
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SPEAKER_00: We've talked quite a bit about the garden,
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SPEAKER_00: the lovely plants and the tending they require,
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SPEAKER_00: but today I'd like to take a look at the gardener.
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SPEAKER_00: What does a wise gardener look like?
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SPEAKER_00: Or maybe better yet,
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SPEAKER_00: what small shifts do we need to consider if we want
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SPEAKER_00: to truly be wise gardeners caring for this beautiful garden we've been called
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SPEAKER_00: to tend?
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SPEAKER_00: It would be very easy for this episode to become a you-gotta-do-this list
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SPEAKER_00: of seven habits of highly effective gardeners a la Stephen Covey.
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SPEAKER_00: But that's not what we're going to do.
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SPEAKER_00: This isn't a checklist that you brush through, mark off, and move along.
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SPEAKER_00: You see, being a wise gardener, being an effective wise teacher, It doesn't work that way.
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SPEAKER_00: It's really an issue of tending yourself as much as you tend to garden.
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SPEAKER_00: You are a living, growing, breathing person with a strong heart and a solid mind.
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SPEAKER_00: You don't plant a garden and then walk away expecting it to tend itself any more
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SPEAKER_00: than you can plant good intentions in your heart And just expect them to grow
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SPEAKER_00: on their own.
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SPEAKER_00: So instead of a checklist, we're going to draw ourselves a picture.
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SPEAKER_00: What are just a few things that we really need to be mindfully considering
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SPEAKER_00: in our lives to help us on our growing journey?
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SPEAKER_00: Because I'm sure you realize growing is never truly finished.
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SPEAKER_00: The first thing I want you to consider is the gardener's footwear.
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SPEAKER_00: A wise gardener will have a solid, closed-toe, waterproof shoe or even boot.
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SPEAKER_00: So consider then your feet as teachers, and I don't mean your footwear choices.
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SPEAKER_00: Although admittedly,
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SPEAKER_00: it is quite a challenge to find cute shoes that offer proper support when you are
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SPEAKER_00: on your feet all day.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not that kind of foot gear we're talking about.
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SPEAKER_00: As a teacher,
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SPEAKER_00: the question must be asked,
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SPEAKER_00: are you grounded and solid as you walk daily amongst your students?
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SPEAKER_00: You need to walk with solid footing.
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SPEAKER_00: You have to know what you believe and why you believe it.
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SPEAKER_00: I don't just mean the proverbial know your why either.
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SPEAKER_00: I mean you have to be able to say that you are exactly where you should be
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SPEAKER_00: at this moment in your life.
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SPEAKER_00: As a Christian myself even
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SPEAKER_00: in uncomfortable almost unpleasant educational situations I was able to stand firmly
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SPEAKER_00: in my trust that God had put me in that particular place for that particular time
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SPEAKER_00: to tend that particular group of students.
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SPEAKER_00: My footing and my confidence was in Him, regardless of what was going on around me or inside me.
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SPEAKER_00: So Just as a gardener may not always like the part of the garden he is called
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SPEAKER_00: to attend, it may be messy or muddy or incredibly lonely.
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SPEAKER_00: He knows he is right where he needs to be for that season.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe not for forever, but for right now.
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SPEAKER_00: Teachers, we need to have that kind of solid footing.
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SPEAKER_00: But our solid footing isn't limited to just where we're standing, but what you're standing on.
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SPEAKER_00: It's reflected in your understanding of what is true.
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SPEAKER_00: What is good?
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SPEAKER_00: What is beautiful?
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SPEAKER_00: What is the purpose of education?
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SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to be human?
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SPEAKER_00: We have to work to establish our footings in matters like,
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SPEAKER_00: what is my responsibility as a teacher?
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SPEAKER_00: What is my responsibility as an employee?
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SPEAKER_00: What responsibilities belong to God rather than to me?
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SPEAKER_00: You see,
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SPEAKER_00: Your footing,
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SPEAKER_00: your solid understanding of yourself
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SPEAKER_00: and your responsibilities is absolutely crucial.
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SPEAKER_00: Oh, and one other aspect of a gardener's boots.
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SPEAKER_00: That solidness sticks around even when they are moving.
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SPEAKER_00: You see, solid isn't the same as stuck.
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SPEAKER_00: You will need to move,
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SPEAKER_00: to walk through various areas under your care,
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SPEAKER_00: to slog through some of the ick, to pick your way through thorny undergrowth.
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SPEAKER_00: You see, a gardener must be on solid footing, but those feet also need to be able to move.
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SPEAKER_00: Now, another part of a gardener that we need to look at is their hands.
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SPEAKER_00: According to the University of California Agricultural
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SPEAKER_00: and Natural Resources Master Gardener,
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SPEAKER_00: as a gardener,
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SPEAKER_00: you've got to, quote, wear those gloves, exclamation point, end quote.
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SPEAKER_00: It was pretty humorous that an entire article would be written about wearing gloves
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SPEAKER_00: when gardening.
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SPEAKER_00: But it got me thinking,
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SPEAKER_00: when we work,
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SPEAKER_00: when we serve, We do need to be ready to work, but we also need to be cautious.
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SPEAKER_00: As the article said, quote,
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SPEAKER_00: with their bare hands in soil gardeners can come in contact with sinister stuff
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SPEAKER_00: that is not obvious to the eye, end quote.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to launch into a diatribe on bloodborne pathogens because
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SPEAKER_00: while those are cautions that must be taken,
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SPEAKER_00: I'm considering more the fact that teachers must be prepared to get into some of
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SPEAKER_00: the icky stuff that comes with the territory of tending students.
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SPEAKER_00: And while hands have to be protected with gloves, they also have to be ready to work.
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SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to ask yourself, am I willing to get my hands a little dirty?
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SPEAKER_00: Am I willing to take the time to talk to the child that truly seems to be struggling
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SPEAKER_00: with something?
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SPEAKER_00: Am I willing to listen to both sides of the story when dealing with conflicts?
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SPEAKER_00: And to look a bit more personally,
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SPEAKER_00: when faced with administrative requirements,
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SPEAKER_00: am I willing to do the little extras that my administration requires?
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SPEAKER_00: Like reading.
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SPEAKER_00: Not doing things out of mere professional compliance,
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SPEAKER_00: but because you are patterning what it looks like to wisely work in a community that
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SPEAKER_00: Where you have an authority over you.
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SPEAKER_00: If I don't have that authority requiring me to invest in my personal growth,
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SPEAKER_00: am I willing to dig in on my own?
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SPEAKER_00: You see,
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SPEAKER_00: none of those things and a myriad of others are things we usually like
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SPEAKER_00: to get our hands into, especially when we have a million other things to do.
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SPEAKER_00: My friends, that is the stuff
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SPEAKER_00: We have to get into the dirt.
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SPEAKER_00: We have to pull some weeds to allow for real growth in our students and in our lives as well.
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SPEAKER_00: I guess the best way to help bring this idea to life is consider a gardener standing
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SPEAKER_00: in the middle of a beautiful garden they have been given charge of.
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SPEAKER_00: They have their boots and other accoutrements, but they can't wear the gloves.
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SPEAKER_00: You know, fresh manicure, beautiful rings and all.
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SPEAKER_00: Honestly, how good of a gardener could they be?
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SPEAKER_00: My fellow educators, I cannot encourage you enough.
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SPEAKER_00: Have your gloves on and your hands ready to dig in.
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SPEAKER_00: That is part of being a wise gardener.
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SPEAKER_00: Not just prepared, but ready to dig in.
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SPEAKER_00: The final part of a wise gardener that I think we most need to consider is not quite
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SPEAKER_00: as visible as the good gardening boots and gloves,
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SPEAKER_00: but Well,
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SPEAKER_00: at least they're not as visible at first glance,
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SPEAKER_00: but oh my dear teachers,
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SPEAKER_00: it is ultimately very visible to your students,
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SPEAKER_00: to fellow educators,
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SPEAKER_00: to your administration, to everyone who comes in contact with you.
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SPEAKER_00: The important part of a wise gardener is an open heart for his precious gardens.
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SPEAKER_00: Again, we don't see it like we see the gloves and the boots,
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SPEAKER_00: but it is the driving force inside the gardener.
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SPEAKER_00: It's what reminds him of the importance of standing and moving with sturdy determination.
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SPEAKER_00: It's what encourages his gloved hands when dealing with the icky things of gardening.
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SPEAKER_00: His heart for his garden.
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SPEAKER_00: He can enjoy other gardens, but they aren't as special to him.
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SPEAKER_00: He doesn't long for them as he does for his garden.
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SPEAKER_00: He wants to do all he can to make his garden a place where blooms and growth are encouraged.
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SPEAKER_00: He's willing to do the hard stuff because he has a vision
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SPEAKER_00: of just what these precious plants can become.
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SPEAKER_00: And teachers...
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SPEAKER_00: That is what needs to be at our very core.
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SPEAKER_00: A true heart for our students.
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SPEAKER_00: A desire to see them grow and blossom.
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SPEAKER_00: We recognize that we only have them possibly for a year.
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SPEAKER_00: But in that year, that quirky, varied collection of plants will feel loved and cared for.
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SPEAKER_00: They will be tended.
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SPEAKER_00: The weeds that prohibited their growth will be worked out.
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SPEAKER_00: The minty delights and wildflowers will be enjoyed.
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SPEAKER_00: For a wise teacher, it may be hard.
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SPEAKER_00: Teaching, like gardening, is hard work.
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SPEAKER_00: There is a lot that must be cared for,
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SPEAKER_00: but teachers who truly have their hearts open to their students and to the direction
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SPEAKER_00: of the Lord will find that even in the rainiest seasons, there's reason to smile.
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SPEAKER_00: Even in times of desperate droughts,
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SPEAKER_00: They will have stored a little extra H2O in their rain catchments,
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SPEAKER_00: enough to keep their students and themselves refreshed with an abundance
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SPEAKER_00: of God's grace.
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SPEAKER_00: A wise gardener looks at his garden at the start of the season with only a hope
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SPEAKER_00: and dream of what that special space will look like at the end of their time there.
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SPEAKER_00: But oh my fellow educators,
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SPEAKER_00: Let your hearts always remain open to just what you can be used to do in the lives
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SPEAKER_00: of those precious students that sit before you.
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SPEAKER_00: Knowing you nourish them best when you keep your heart open,
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SPEAKER_00: your gloved hands ready to dig in,
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SPEAKER_00: and your stance and movement solidly built on truth, goodness, and beauty.
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SPEAKER_00: A wise gardener tends a garden, but it is not his or her job to produce the growth.
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SPEAKER_00: But he will rejoice in every little bud and bloom he sees.
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SPEAKER_00: My prayer for you this year,
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SPEAKER_00: if you're just starting or if you are in the middle of your year,
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SPEAKER_00: Is that you will approach the time that lays before you with the image of
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SPEAKER_00: a wise gardener in your heart.
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SPEAKER_00: Be ready to stand strong, to work hard and to enjoy the beauty that blooms all around you.
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SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining us today.
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SPEAKER_00: I trust that whatever your teaching situation,
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SPEAKER_00: whether it's in a classroom or co-op or homeschooling,
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SPEAKER_00: that you have found these ideas not only encouraging but challenging as well.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: You can listen to all of the episodes of The Grammar of Classical Education
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SPEAKER_00: on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or I also have available a weekly teacher's newsletter
16:29
SPEAKER_00: that includes some teacher tips and freebies.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: You can sign up for that at the Leading to Wonder newsletter found at darlenegomes.substack.com.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: To learn more about me and Leading to Wonder, please visit the website leading2wonder.com.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: No spaces.
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SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or if you're interested in
16:59
SPEAKER_00: the virtual or in-person workshops that I offer for schools,
17:04
SPEAKER_00: co-ops, homeschool educators, and parent groups.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Again, my name is Darlene Gomes and thank you for joining us.
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SPEAKER_00: Until next week, remember, as E.B.
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SPEAKER_00: White said...
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SPEAKER_00: Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.