When I first watched the movie Field of Dreams many years ago, I think I was more interested in looking at Kevin Costner and hearing Darth Vader (aka James Earl Jones) speak without the cloak and synthesizer than learning anything from the film. In other words, I completely chose to ignore the message: if we dare to dream with a clear, honest heart, the dream will come true in the manner that was intended, not in the manner we necessarily thought was best. In other words, the sincerity of faith often makes the impossible possible or at least gives us the courage to plod on in anticipation that we will succeed. I knew all along the message was there; I just chose to avoid the obvious. Then I became a teacher!
Click image for film clip.
Like Ray, I imagined grand dreams, grand plans to make a change, to do the impossible, to save the world. I was going to teach my students to love the Transcendentalists, to diagram sentences, to write beautiful prose, to extrapolate new and exciting meaning from The Scarlet Letter.
Hah! The joke was on ME! I finally realized that I was the only one in on this dream. My students really could have cared less.
Click image for film clip.
Then it finally dawned on me that the dream has to belong to the student as well. Karin, Ray’s daughter, began to believe in the dream of turning a cornfield into a baseball stadium for ghosts. Lacking the cynicism and jaded goggles of adulthood, she began to SEE the dream, not just imagine it. Unknowingly, Ray didn’t just tell his daughter about the dream; he made it hers as well.
The impact my Kenan Fellowship has on my students will be determined by my willingness to give them ownership of the lessons, the units, and the dreams. I will ask the questions concerning the future of farming in their community, I will ask them to consider the impact the media and our government has and will continue to have on what we eat, and I will ask them to create and market a new agriculturally-based product. Nevertheless, it will be up to them to determine why they need to do this in the first place. Ultimately, I will build the plans, and they will come to school – the same thing that has happened for the last 23+ years. However, thanks to my experience as a Kenan Fellow and my externship at Cottle Farms, my students will be able to take my simple vision and and create something of their own. If THEY build it, ALL will come!
If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in. ~Rachel Carson