pathways | an educator's notebook

Spent most of the morning at the Devon Middle School vegetable garden, weeding and building trellises for the rapidly growing beans. Some reflections:

• There is much joy to be found in wood, jute, and dirt.

• It's refreshing to be reminded of the microcosm of life that exists at our feet and at a different scale from ourselves, and upon whose activities we utterly rely.

• Having an earthworm break the surface of the soil and emerge vertically is enough to make a heart miss a beat while weeding on a quiet Sunday morning.

• Jesu makes for excellent garden music (who knew?) and "Medicine" is a glorious track.

• I continue to appreciate the polarity between the two main areas of the outdoor classroom at Devon: the structure and order of the vegetable garden and the frequent maintenance required to sustain it in this state, versus the untouched wildness of the wetland. Lots to learn here, and many lessons yet to be revealed.