Authentic Learning (by Wilderside)

autumn-forest-mural

Authentic Learning

by wilderside

Tina knew if you could
capture it in a textbook it wasn’t
substantial enough
to be worthy of
someone’s attention

she knew that the time lapse and
the many hands and compromises it went through to
pin the ink to that glossy paper
had already drained the life out of it
filled it with the wrong energy

she could see that as soon as the
pages closed together
there were nooks and crannies for dust to settle in
and that closed together and put on a shelf
it might as well stay there for all the cobwebs that would
materialize

so she took a whole school–
children and adults
teacher and learner and
learning teacher–
into the forest with that which is
green and alive and real

and she made them
look into each other’s eyes for
real lessons that would keep them
growing and growing
stronger and closer like the branches of trees

like the trees

– kw