What’s Under that Log?: A Naturalist Walk with Youth School

December 10th, 2009 kathrynh

::K::

            The youth school kids have been like elusive deer up at the Linne Doran property.  We see occasional herds of mud-splattered bodies trotting over the land and, then, as soon as we turn our heads, they vanish around the bushes, not to be seen again.  A couple of weeks ago, however, we finally met the youth school kids and practiced what the school calls Coyote mentoring.

            The misting clouds and thudding of rain against the Alder leaves in the morning presaged a slippery, entertaining day in the mud.  It was guild day at the youth school and my inner science nerd had no choice but to select the “naturalist guild.”  Sheets of rain blanketed the land as we set out on a full-spirited tromp through the woods.  We were looking to get dirty, to feel the temperate rainforest’s detritus against our hands and faces, to poke our heads into murky, recondite holes, to upturn logs in hopes of discovering something slimy (if it moved, even better!). 

            We probed and smelled many of the forest’s unknowns and collected samples to return with us so that the kids could add to the fields guides they were creating.  A list of notable finds included: a hardened jelly blob washed up on the pond’s shore, large smelly scat prominently deposited upon a pond log, fine “hair” in the soil, a cantaloupe-colored mushroom, and, according to one young naturalist, a log that smelled like chocolate. 

            No doubt, it was energizing to see kids dive full tilt into their environment, but helping them make their field guides was one of the most refreshing and inspiring hours I have experienced in a long time.  Seven and eight year olds thumbed through field guides, sifted through information, and sketched and wrote about their newly identified species for an hour and a half with complete focus.  Yes, the adults assisted them with difficult vocabulary and asked them some guiding questions, but, ultimately, the kids controlled their learning experience.  When kids are given the power to control their learning path, they will run miles down it without stopping. 

            Teaching kids the art of questioning and patience is key to maintaining this curiosity.  One young boy came to me with a brittle, flattened conifer sprig he had saved in a phone book for future identification.  With every movement, more and more needles fell to the floor.  Nevertheless, we observed the nature of its buds, the shape, color, and smell of the needles, and the feel of the midline.  This limited information led him to a tentative hypothesis of Douglas-fir.  His learning experience around this tree did not stop at this one entry in his field guide.  We uncovered lingering questions, such as, the tree’s location, the overall shape of the tree, and the bark pattern.  The answers to these questions will only lead to new inquiries.

I walked away from my day with the youth school with a powerful mentoring tool.  The time to ask questions and the courage required to delve into the unknown, to look under the mind’s logs, is essential for inquisitiveness to grow.  When people are given the time and space to answer these unknowns for themselves, their learning journey will be filled with intriguing ideas and questions they might never have come across if they were too closely guided toward the answer.  This means that the hardest part about mentoring is learning to wad the answer up into a ball and throw it deep into the forest.  Students will stumble across it eventually.  Perhaps that is why the youth school kids are always scuffling about in the bushes.

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Two Days Around the Fire

December 8th, 2009 Evan

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October 31 Collected Responses to Jon Young (apologies for the delay)

Jon Young came and went like a hurricane. For two days he was the focus of our program. Passionate and thoughtful for some, aggravating for a few; part guru, part school founder, part rambling stranger – he sparked a wide range of strong reactions. My own reaction would be only one side of a complex experience, so I have gathered words from our whole group; perhaps by looking at our combined responses we can find the overall flavor of the week.

When I look at the pieces I have gathered, I am a little stunned. Jon Young talked for eighteen hours, and afterwards the group provided a list of descriptors rich with respect and even reverence. People chose these words: ‘Inspiring. Moving. Powerful. Challenging. A gift. Heart warming.’ Others found Jon’s presence to be humble, genuine and welcoming. “His words coupled with his demeanor were inspiring, grounding, genuine, thought provoking and hopeful.” There were those who thought he talked too much, or was made “too much of an idol.” And some were positive if less exuberant: “Sincere and optimistic with just a dash of idealism. I liked listening to him.” But most of the reactions I received where unequivocally profound. “Hearing Jon speak was comforting yet at the same time unnerving, emotional yet at the same time playful, inspiring yet at the same time overwhelming.”

So what did he say to receive this reaction? In his own words Jon brought us a basket filled with things he has collected on his journeys. He spilled out the contents before us and gave us each the task of assembling our own whole from which ever pieces felt best in our hands. His basket held pieces of the peace making tradition of the Iroquois. “Once we accept division and war in ourselves we can accept war with others.” And with this came awareness of grief as part of the peace making process, and a warning against sweeping grief under the rug. “Grieving is to emotion as pooping is to digestion: it gets things out that need to get out.” His basket contained words on community as well. “A person reaches their highest potential in community,” . . .  “There is an instinct to construct [communities], good places for ourselves to grow.” And his basket contained other more random thoughts and realizations about the world. “This eight sided portal [Malalo] . . . is kind of like a bus station for people headed to nature awareness.”  “Between nine and eleven kids can memorize a thousand pokemon cards at once – imagine how much they could learn about nature.”

. . . And something about these words drew the reactions you read above. Then again, perhaps it was not the words themselves which commanded respect. Perhaps it was the basket itself: Jon Young’s own awareness that his words were just that – words, but that some of those words, some of those pieces in his basket would find meaning with some of us; would help make someone’s puzzle a little more complete.

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