a curious miscellany of thought...

I appreciated this good word in my reading today, and so I wanted to share it here. It was in a book by Jean Henri Fabre called The Story Book of Science. I'm quoting, here, the pertinent parts, as he stated this statement inbetwixt and among certain other parts which are not necessarily necessary. He said...

"If man is great through his intelligence, he is still greater through his heart...Knowledge, my little friend, is only a better means of aiding others."

I thought it both sweet and informative, (not unlike this poster that I found). What is he saying anyway? Kind of reminds me of Q-bert. Anyway, it may not be profound, but it helped me to refocus my efforts as a teacher (the quote, not the poster). I think we (people) think a lot about bettering ouselves, but to what end? I've always tried to be careful to remind myself and my kids that their education is not about growing up to get a high paying job. Hopefully other educators are also doing the same; but this bit about 'aiding others' trailing along after 'my little friend' could have a real impact in a world of wee go-getters, (especially when accompanied by this darling visual aid), don't you think? Well, that's enough on that topic, but remember, whether you teach young learners or not, and regardless of how big your brains are, without a heart, you're nothing but a tin man on a lonely brick road with a bunch of strangers in some whacked out dream.

So long as I'm here, I'd also like to report that I just saw a momma turkey and her little poult cross the field out my window. It was a lovely sight and, yes, it was the inspiration for this cute little poster. But I am sad to learn that baby turkeys are called poults, which makes one think of poultry, and ruins the whole effect. As an added bit of trivia, young males are Jakes, and young females are Jennies. I think I'm going to have to learn to tell the difference, just so I can show off that bit of knowledge, (that and Jakes and Jennies are way cuter than poults!) "Hannah, Emmeli, come quick and look at the poultry out my window!" I don't think so.

 

connectedness...

Disclaimer: Upon entering this blog, you may be thinking, awww, what a sweet little blog. But I have to tell you that sometimes pictures are deceiving; and sometimes bloggers ponder things a bit longer than what is necessary for any given subject. Sometimes they get wordy and write longish blogs which noone will wish to read.

I have a little something to say about people groups & the Saggy Baggy Elephant. Are you familiar with this story? There's an elephant named Sooki who is told by a parrot that there's something wrong with him. "What kind of animal are you, anyway?" So the elephant, at first, wants to be like the beautiful, sleek tiger whose skin fits so well. Then he tries to shrink his skin by soaking in water like the crocodile. But in the end, he finds a whole herd of big, brave, friendly elephants & fits right in. K. So now you know the story.

Having said that, I now want to tell you that this post has nothing to do with elephants & has nothing to do with being insecure about the way you look. Have you noticed the great abundance of information that we have swirling around us in this generation? It is likely that you have. And do you realize that your knowledge-set sets you apart even more so than your looks? So when you find someone who knows the things that you know, it really feels like a big deal, especially when you seem to know & like the obscure, overlooked details of the world.

It's like this: you go to get a coffee or buy a necklace at the art fair & someone makes an Emperor's New Groove reference, not expecting that you will notice. You think to yourself, now here's someone I can relate to! You may never speak to this person again, but it's certainly nice to know they're out there. It's reassuring when you happen to find someone like yourself in a great big world full of various people. Sometimes you may be reading a book where the author references some little-known work which it just so happens that you have read, or possibly a small out of the way town that it just so happens you've visited. You know that, had it not been familiar, you would've just skimmed right over that part, but instead, suddenly you feel like you're part of the club. It's not like this little bit O'knowledge makes you some kind of genius. You could have easily traveled the world & read a thousand other books and never got to that one mentioned. But the fact is, you did, & though you are parted by hundreds of years from the soul of this writer, suddenly you feel connected to something.

So, there is much to be said about this topic and there are a great many who say a great deal about it. I am not one of them. I have only a little to say, and we're now coming to the end of it. People are particularly worried about how we will all stay connected with our neighbors in this modern age of online communication. I have to agree that there is reason for concern here for the exact reason that I have mentioned. That is that people want to fit in, and one does not always fit into his/her immediate surroundings. People say, "What kind of animal are you, anyway?" And guess what, now you can Google it!

It's time for me to go now, but comfort yourself with this thought. I think, in this age of technology, people still just want the same things they have always wanted- to find real people who love the way they do, to come into contact with something familiar, especially for communication. If we all end up mute, due to the loss of verbal communication, then, well... I don't know what, but at least we'll have the comfort of knowing that somebody out there gets us.

 

just dumb stuff...

Sometimes I feel like my delicate heartstrings are being pulled in too many directions. This is one reason why I hate Facebook- too many feels! Sometimes, most times, I go to Pinterest where I can get ideas, organize my creative thoughts, etc... I think it's great, but I woudn't really call it a social network. And let's face it, sometimes you need human companionship! I feel this most acutely in the mornings when I'm waiting & waiting for people who are taking too long to come down for school. Occasionally, in times like these, I will log on to Ben's Facebook account (since I don't have one) & I'm usually cured of it for at least a few months for reasons before mentioned. My other little thing to do is to blog, but when I want to connect, blogging is just no substitute. The thing about blogs is that they are so one-sided. Luckily, Ben is coming home early today, and Becky is coming on Thursday, and now the kids are here too. Now we can bury ourselves in books and then maybe I'll take a little fresh air. That'll cure it. The heart of the matter is, I think I'm a little homesick-not for a place, really. I'm not sure what, to be honest, but I feel like the connected piece of me is now, not only unplugged, but lost under a couch somewhere or tossed into the wrong Rubbermaid. I don't think I want to be this disconnected, but the here & now is more often than not, plenty to take in. Well anyway, I told you it was dumb, I just needed to pass the time.