The pencils are on the desk. The math books open to basic equations. Some of the pencils are in the pages. A few are on the floor. The SMART board is on and humming. But the kids and the teacher are gone. I have arrived early for a speech to find everyone at lunch and I am afforded an unfettered look at the modern learning laboratory of the third grade. The headings South East West North are on the walls. Writing rules float in space and are taped on the walls. Prepositions. Nouns. Verbs. Subject. Action.
There is a water bottle on the floor. A pencil. Some paper. An eraser. The children were taken out quickly you can see that. There are rules on the wall for spelling. Rules for thinking. Acting. Rules for life. There is the clock. There are the books and the large rocking chair for reading. And in here you can see how hard the kids and the teachers work. You can see all that knowledge flying around the room. And it is serious business. Because they are looking for food. And the room is jammed with the food of knowledge.
And you can just see those teachers in their work. You can see the open laptop under the American flag and the proverbial apple on the desk. So much important work goes on in here it makes you feel guilty. Yes the worlds work must be done but this shaping of young minds does seem pre-imminent. And you hope the teachers stay to their task. Because in this laboratory in the middle of the day in the middle of nowhere are people who are doing the heavy lifting for all of us.
Could it be any more important?
www.williamhazelgrove.com
The Pitcher
There is a water bottle on the floor. A pencil. Some paper. An eraser. The children were taken out quickly you can see that. There are rules on the wall for spelling. Rules for thinking. Acting. Rules for life. There is the clock. There are the books and the large rocking chair for reading. And in here you can see how hard the kids and the teachers work. You can see all that knowledge flying around the room. And it is serious business. Because they are looking for food. And the room is jammed with the food of knowledge.
And you can just see those teachers in their work. You can see the open laptop under the American flag and the proverbial apple on the desk. So much important work goes on in here it makes you feel guilty. Yes the worlds work must be done but this shaping of young minds does seem pre-imminent. And you hope the teachers stay to their task. Because in this laboratory in the middle of the day in the middle of nowhere are people who are doing the heavy lifting for all of us.
Could it be any more important?
www.williamhazelgrove.com
The Pitcher
