Equinox 22

Spring Equinox 22

I have found that it helps my soul

to stand upright periodically,

I look around, see myself in context of larger pictures,

maybe like my ancient ancestor Australopithecus 

to see if predators are impinging,

the bus of history that might run us over,

maybe, to see myself in place and time, to appreciate the moment,

the double-sided gift of knowing I am mortal,

I disagree with those who say to just live in the moment, the present,

for we come from somewhere, we are going somewhere,

and we are connected to realities I hope to notice,

the Spring Equinox is upon us,

the Sun crosses the Equator and will shower its gifts upon us,

the kingdom of plants ready to open itself

to an extravagance of photosynthesis,

of swelling buds, leaves, flowers, seeds,

in the dead of winter I started tomato and tomatillo plants inside

so that they would be ready to plant now,

I’ve planted lettuce, sugar snap peas, and potatoes in the garden

so that they have a head start in the race,

the first green sprouts emerge and embrace the sky,

the Equinox this year is bright blue and blustery

as if to welcome the growing season,

the blueberry bushes are budding forth,

high noon on the Spring Equinox is of balance,

and is well worth standing up for, noticing, and celebrating!

by Henry H. Walker

March  21, ‘22

students are not toasters

 commonality and difference in school

the assembly line is a metaphor for one type of school,

assembly line assumes a uniformity of entering material,

a uniformity of process worked upon the material, the students,

a uniformity of product at the end, 

yet human beings are not toasters or cars,

each of us embodies commonality and difference

in a seemingly random distribution of strengths and weaknesses,

as Howard Gardiner’s multiple intelligences live or hide in us,

as learning differences and emotions work their way upon us,

we need some commonality of skills:

some basics of reading, writing, computing, problem-solving,

the inter-personal, the intra-personal,

yet each path to each skill should follow its own way,

as if we share the mountain but the paths up it can vary a lot

in the paths most open to us, in the paths most difficult for us,

one example: every writer should develop a “voice,” 

a stance in their writing that is unique and true to who each is,

a different take on the universe,

how to say something may have commonality to it,

what to say should come from within,

how to know what is good for all,

and what needs to vary to the individual,

takes both the art and the science of teaching beyond any manual,

it takes us into the magic, 

into the miracle, 

that individual and group demand from us:

that we see, that we appreciate, 

that we meet whatever is and help it move forward.

by Henry H. Walker

March 1, ‘22