On the eve of a new school year, also finding the summer coming to an end, I find parallels between the flowering plants and my students. This is nothing ground breaking, just thoughts that help me make sense of the difficult profession of teaching.
As I take on gardening, I am learning a lot about weeds. Many I did not know were weeds, and let them grow, waiting for them to flower. Eventually I had to pull them because they were invasive and hogged the space and light. They also hogged my attention as I fretted over the reemerging thistles and dandelions. I consulted on how to eradicate them so that they didn't show up in the garden anymore.
Now, let me get this clear. I do not believe that some children are weeds, but some behaviors develop much like weeds do in a garden. They eclipse the beauty of the garden, diminish learning and monopolize the teacher's time. Those behaviors have to go, and the sooner the better. Some can be dealt with quickly, with a quick tug, or direct word. Others will persist.
One place weeds flourish is in the bare spots, where nothing else grows. I found that if I fill those with delicate grasses or tall stemmed flowers, then the weeds lose their ground. Just as children forget their attention getting bad behaviors when we focus their attention on new ways that help them shine.
And so I am learning to deal with the weeds. And I choose to let some stay in the garden. The milkweed feeds the monarchs, the creepy bellflower adds elegance and color. I also allow tall grasses to grow at the back of the flower bed. I actually plant obnoxious mint, Creeping Jenny and Bishop's Weed. At times I must be ruthless with them to curb their growth, but I like their feistiness. In this way I pick my battles because not everything needs to have my unique stamp on it. Nature, like children, must be allowed its individuality.
Other gardeners will disagree. They won't tolerate the unpredictable behavior of the Surprise Lilies that wilt in spring before taking their time deciding when to flower. They are wary of letting flowers seed themselves down for fear of the babies popping up in unwanted places. This doesn't bother me and I encourage the wild flowers to take over the pathways. This has to do with style and not everyone has to agree how things grow, just that they do.
Finally there are the bugs, those hiccups that threaten to derail learning. An experienced gardener knows not to stomp on everything that moves, and when to bring out the spray. Some bugs are harmless (although they look scary), like the grapevine beetle. It is a mere curiosity and makes an excellent talking point. But the Cabbage White eating my kale is not. After various environmentally friendly tries at solving the problem, I finally had to use something stronger. Unfortunately there are those dangers in the classroom that cannot be ignored, and must be dealt with head on. However, as I become more aware of these creatures' habits, I am less likely to come down heavy right away. The caterpillars may eat the leaves, but they will also pollinate the flowers later. This devilish looking hawk moth is solely responsible for my beautiful scarlet bee balm flowers this year. Sometimes, in finding solutions to our problems in the classroom, we become more knowledgeable of how we interact and what we need to .... bloom.
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