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Birds of a feather...

Birds of a feather...
It has been said that if you want to understand what is going on with the environment, watch the birds.  They will form groups, they will stake out safe places, they will leave suddenly when danger is present, they will quiet themselves in anticipation of a storm, and sing joyously when the weather is pleasant.  They will fly in large groups of their own kind yet each one has their own space. 
Of their own kind...we see this in birds--and it is also part of our human experience.  We, quite naturally, seek out people with whom we have things in common.  It helps us feel secure in who we are, it affirms our beliefs and actions.  The beautiful aspect about being human, however, is our ability to seek out those who are different from us.  We have the choice to align ourselves with whomever we choose.
As a teacher I see children "flying" with those who are most like them.  It is part of what they do in order to define themselves.  Since they are in the process of this self-definition they often do not see who they are aligning themselves with...instead they only see that others align with them.  Teaching them to look beyond themselves, to seek out the differences in others for the pure pleasure of experiencing that difference is a tall order for teachers, parents and society in general.
Encouragement to explore, encouragement to experience, encouragement to take a risk.  As I teach my students to think of themselves as an individual, I too, teach them to think of others as individuals.  To respect the differences and embrace the experience.  For kids, embracing this comes in the form of laughter and shared time together...encouragement lies at the root of this. 
The classroom is more than a place we go to in order to learn...in fact, it is a place we go to in order to experience.  To experience the wonders of not only the world, not only the individual, but the beauty of sharing time with other people.
The birds know that they must stick together.  They fly in dazzling patterns and present us with clues about the environment.  We can learn from them.  We can fly together, too. The difference being that we can align ourselves with more than just birds of "a" feather--we can align ourselves with the whole experience.

Mr. Casten
Feb. 4, 2011  

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

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