Gardening

I am a gardener so I enjoy seeing plants bloom. It is very rewarding to witness the product of my efforts. Of course, I don’t get to take all the credit. I just prepare the soil, water and apply fertilizer. Eventually, the plants show me they are working hard to produce beautiful flowers. I crow with pride at the wonderful results, but it is really not my doing, is it?

Teaching

I am a teacher. But, teaching is just facilitating the learning of students. I prepare a class and offer students the opportunity to succeed. It’s their job to produce the beautiful flowers. When I stopped trying to “teach”, many years ago, and became a “facilitator of learning” it was a great relief. Of course, I am still concerned when students don’t succeed. Aren’t we all? But, I no longer agonize over student failures.

Here is a picture of a Delphinium. I had planted it in bad place (apparently – who can say with some plants?) Luckily, it survived well enough to transplant. I am hopeful that it will thrive in its new pot. We’ll see.

I have a student who was not doing well on a particular team. I have moved him to a new team. Hopefully he will thrive in his new environment. We’ll see.

Here is the Delphinium in the pot right next to the weak one. Happy, isn’t it?

Ahh, the mysteries of gardening. We can only do the best we can do.