the self, acting upon the world

 

why am I still teaching?

I keep seeing a student

marshal their resources, their will:

writing from the heart, with the head, too,

so that they express who they are

in what they say, and how they say it,

in how they understand and express

what they get out of a novel,

in how science can enable them to understand,

to learn how the universe expresses itself,

in how they can make sense out of history

and let their grasp of the past

inform their grasp of the present,

and their hopes for the future,

each time an authentic self ventures forth,

I want to celebrate!

for the best a school can do

is to help enable a student

to make a mark on the world,

and to help us all move forward

toward getting the truth the universe lives,

the truth the universe hopes for.

by Henry H. Walker

January 13, ‘23