It's still early in the week, but I have some family letter thoughts.
The Gardener's First Lesson
One of the first lessons that every gardener learns is that not every seed that is sown will grow. The lesson is not to fear this inevitability but to learn from it — to come to understand the necessary conditions for growth, and then to accept that even the most meticulous planning may not yield the desired or expected results.
The wise gardener adapts, and grows with the garden. Trying new ideas, studying both literature and the environment. Responding to new and unexpected variations with flexibility and creativity.
We've learned that a gardener should be curious about an unrecognized "weed." Something unexpectedly brilliant might be growing there. This, after all, is why we have a veritable forest of hollyhocks.
A School Is a Garden
In so many ways, a school is a garden. We desire for the children to thrive in every way. And unlike objects that are built with components, children also grow, often in unexpected ways.
While we might hope to see children hit specific milestones at specific times, we must accept that they may be growing in different, but equivalently fruitful ways. And rather than stunt these opportunistic growths, we try to nurture them and see what new quality might grow.
What might really be growing within the child who dumps every container, or climbs every structure, or refuses to wear shoes?
Children Are Gardeners Too
Looking even deeper, we also find that children are gardeners unto themselves. Their ideas, like seeds in search of good soil.
Our hope is to encourage their creativity, flexibility, and tenacity. To not give up when an idea didn't work out as planned. To take it as a signal to grow and learn instead of quit.