Plant the Seed

"You have to plant the seed in someone to make a change." This phrase was stated as I was attentively listening to the interesting things Robin Wall Kimmerer was saying. I had the opportunity to listen to the author of "Braiding Sweetgrass" on a more personal level as there were only 4 students total at the earlier section of the discussion today. Kimmerer was using this phrase in a much broader sense, talking about ignorant people when it comes to preserving nature and even a little bit of politics. She was saying that once you hold out, people will grasp on eventually. It may not be the amount of people you hope for, but you must start somewhere and making a change in one person will lead to many, many more.

 I am learning to become teacher here at Bridgewater State in hopes that some day I will make a difference in a child's life. Even though Kimmerer wasn't necessarily talking about teaching when she said to "plant the seed," that is the major message I got out of it. Kimmerer's words inspired me because she is a teacher also and from her literature that we read in class, I am assuming she is a good one. Of course as a teacher, I want my future students to learn academically, but I also hope to teach them life lessons and how to be good people some day. 

In the world we live in today, things have changed over the years (and not necessarily for the better). The younger generations seem to be maturing faster due to many different factors. The two that come to mind for me is the modern technology they have been exposed to and just the ways our society has become made out to be in recent years. Hopefully when I become a teacher some day I can help my students see that the world has a lot more to offer than iPhones and iPads and we must get out there and make a difference. Once I "plant this seed" in my students, I will feel like I have succeeded in my job in more than just teaching them academically.