Every once in a while some magical thing happens that sparks the thought, this is exactly what I was made to do. However, it's far more likely to find me, a first-year teacher wondering, “am I doing what I was made to do?” This is hard work.
Then comes a moment of utter sweetness and purity of heart that bears some reflection. Children say things that make you stop in your tracks. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
We are reading “George Washington Plants a Nation” as we study Presidents and Kings this fall. This story is more about GW’s life as a farmer trying out different manures for fertilizer and crop rotations rather than his military history. Maybe that’s why I like it. We talked about Washington’s love for the land and his care for creation. He loved planning each piece of Mount Vernon, each tree and each field carefully considered. He was all about maintaining his plantation so that it was fruitful and beautiful. He even wrote home from the war about his hopes and plans for what to plant and where.
We talked about how farming mattered to George Washington—a big important general and war hero! He cared about planting trees and cultivating the land. Such beauty mattered to George Washington, and it matters to God. Beauty matters to God.
It was at that realization that one student piped up, “Miss Skinner, you made me almost cry!” Sure enough, I saw tears in his eyes. I paused, unsure how to respond or to quell the tears that sprang up in my own! I was at a loss for words (seldom do I evoke others' tears during a read-aloud). Two other boys, perceiving that this heart-felt expression was well-received by their very sensitive teacher, claimed similar statements, that I made them cry too. (Ha!) Soon everyone chimed in. That moment of authenticity and total tenderness had come and gone.
I wonder what exactly struck a chord in Sammy’s heart? Is he so in tune with the beauty of creation? Will he farm someday? Doubtful. Will he become a landscape architect? Possibly. However, it must simply be that at the core of human nature, and even at five years old, beauty matters.
