Living World essays

Living World essays How often is the soul of man, especially that of the child, deprived because one does not put him in contact with nature. There is no description, no image in any book that is capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all the life to be found around them, in a real forest. Something emanates from those trees which speaks to the soul, something no book, no museum is capable of giving. The wood reveals that it is not only the trees that exist, but a whole, interrelated collection of lives. And this earth, this climate, this cosmic power is necessary for the development of all these lives. The myriad lives around the trees, the majesty, the variety are things one must hunt for, and which no one can bring into the school. -Dr. Maria Montessori, MD This just reminded me about my life growing up in a farm far away from the city. I lived there with my grandmother until I had to move with my father to a small town so I could go to school. I really did know that television existed until I was about seven years old, but I certainly knew that I had to wait about 21 days to see little chicks hatching out of their shells. I could see that it took longer for a cow to have a baby, that it was usually no more than one baby and that it was born in a different way. It was amazing and very exciting for me. I could see how important was to take care of the animals as well as the plants. I knew that if wanted to see another mango or an avocado tree I had to first plant a seed. I could see how nature was part of me. It was an amazing experience in my life that not book has given to me. I think that as teachers, even though living in big cities, we still can help our children to have those experiences that come from nature so that they can de velop that relationship with it. Biology is about the world of living things. The first question is, why we teach biology? By studying biology we can satisfy much of the curiosity our ...