The Hummingbird Knows
I have always been able to attract hummingbirds wherever I have lived. For many years, whether in the country, the suburbs or in the middle of downtown, I have always had at least one hummingbird feeder. While some acquaintances have struggled to attract the little creatures, I have always been able to coax them to my feeders. Those adaptable birds have even found me in the middle of the city.
Currently, during the summer months, I sit on my front porch most mornings reading the paper. With the hummingbird feeder nearby, I get to witness their early morning visits for food, their rituals for attracting the opposite sex and the fierceness they exhibit when defending their territory. These birds seem to adapt to any situation that provides them with food.
Hummingbirds are such busy creatures, rarely stopping for longer than a few seconds. Our lives have become much like that busy bird. With the advent of so much time-saving technology, multi-tasking is a common practice and is becoming an essential skill. I often think about the young children we are teaching now. We have no clue what it will be like in the future when they are adults. Yet, we are supposed to be educating them for that future. Think how in the last 5 years our cell phones have changed from being a convenient phone connection to housing our entire schedule and life information. How can we educate our children for the changes that will occur during the next 5, 10 or 20 years?
I think the answer is teaching children thinking skills and allowing them to take charge of their learning. I don't think filling out worksheets will prepare a child for the year 2025. However, encouraging a child to discover the answer to a problem on their own just may be the best preparation for an unpredictable future.
I suppose, just like the hummingbird, we will all adjust to changes in the environment. However, the best thing we can do for children is to prepare them to think through problems and be willing and able to tackle new information. I hope our children will have the skills to find the feeder in the middle of the city whatever future form that may take.
Labels: educating for the future
posted by John Funk @ Permalink9:10 AM
2 Comments:
I also think most of the people who are willing to learn and become educators love working with children as well as had an experience with a good teacher with a good heart for students. I work in an international school that every two years teachers come and go, they want money so they move from one place to another in the word collecting money, I sometimes ask them don’t they get paid this much at their home country. Some of their answers are quite shocking. I am also currently studying and teaching at the same time, I need a job to make my life easier. But as teacher, I have a strong feeling that we should teach children with a good heart, not how to make money all the time . Very especially early childhood teachers!!! They really need to understand and love children.
I am the mom ofthe child that printed his name in all capitals.
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