In an attempt of holding on to the past week and long walks along the lake road or hiking a mountain, I headed out for a long walk with just one of my two dogs. She likes to walk faster and our other dog was outside all day "doing" yard work with my husband. I wanted to hold on to my walks and climbs of the past week in New Hampshire and our longer journey might just do that.
We were almost through this small wooden part of our trek when something shiny caught my attention. It was low to the ground and looked a bit glassy but was very dark. I looked again and then saw stripes. I looked again but it was hard to distinguish what I was seeing because the woods were settling in for the night. After several quick short glances, while my dog kept going forward I decided the stripes were brown and black. I then realized there were not only two shiny eyes looking my way from the edge of the path. I counted four sets of eyes and decided there were four raccoon pups looking at me. Now, when I call them pups they were probably teenagers. They were bigger than my hand, maybe the size of a bunny, small cat, or a very small dog.
I wanted to stop and observe. I wanted to know about them and wondered if their Mama was near. I wondered why my dog didn't notice them and kept on walking for a brief moment because then I realized if she did chase them we might be in trouble. What would four raccoon pups do if they were spooked? What would their mother or father do if they thought the pups were in trouble?
As I walked away reluctantly, I thought about my classroom and while we want to capture everything that happens, it might just be unrealistic. It is unrealistic. Maybe there are small moments where one needs to only savor and/or ponder that observation. Maybe students, like these raccoon pups need to explore the world without the notion of someone always watching and jotting things down. Maybe the notebook, electronic device, or photo equipment should/can be laid to rest, a bit more.
Beautiful. I agree. Sometimes I think we get wiser just by being quiet. Thank you for this peek. xx
ReplyDeleteI wonder the same thing. How do I feel when I'm talking with some one and they start writing? I always wonder if what they are writing is positive or negative. It's very distracting! Our sweet students must feel like they are under microscope some times... or all the time.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is enough to notice and record after moving on. What a chance encounter with the young raccoons! I love spotting nature and watching.
ReplyDeleteIt's so special for me when a moment in nature helps me reflect on my classroom environment. "As I walked away reluctantly, I thought about my classroom and while we want to capture everything that happens, it might just be unrealistic. It is unrealistic. " These lines touched me. I will be pondering this as my summer begins to unfold soon.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of the classroom, like the woods in spring, is that each is dynamic. We can never know more than what we know and that is always incomplete. There's beauty to that.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking of this a lot lately as well. Do I need to snap a picture of every moment or can I just notice it and enjoy it? I'm learning to notice and enjoy more and more.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you notice and savor it you are still capturing.... we might need to think about what needs to be written. Writing does not mean capturing to me.... I only write when I feel the need to put it on paper. I would love to hear more about when you write and if you think you can capture without writing....
ReplyDeleteThanks for pushing our thinking.
Clare and Tammy
I'm wondering how your dog missed this sight! Mama raccoon must have been around somewhere; probably a good thing that you moved on. You are right, students need space, too. Loved this.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you made this connection from your experience in the wild to our experiences with our students. I agree with you. Students, adults, and racoons all need time to mess around with their world without someone hovering about them.
ReplyDeleteYes! How much we can just sit and experience - our classroom keeps evolving and changing and I think we really need to sometimes just be in the space.
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