Sunday. Isn’t this the most exquisite
flower? I found one blooming in my yard
today. My neighbor says it is a passion flower. Not being familiar with this
flower, I did what all librarians do first. I googled it and then I “wikipediad” it.
I found the flower I saw was probably a variety of passion flowers named a
Maypop. Maypops, the state flower of Tennessee,
are considered wildflowers and grow on vines in sunny areas. They can
produce an edible fruit. I’m not sure why these flowers are called passion
flowers except their scientific name is Passiflora. But
perhaps the most intriguing and the disappointing thing is the flower only
lasts a day.
Monday.
For a
while now I’ve been processing about the “why” of me, and that’s separate from
the “what” of me. When does the what become the why? Or does it? Is the why the same thing as passion. Are passion and why related? Obviously, I’m
having trouble articulating my thoughts.
This
morning as I was wandering around the web, I ran across a poem by Trevor Bryan
on the 4 O’Clock
Faculty website. I suppose I was subconsciously thinking about
that passion flower, and I guess my brain took a mental leap and substituted
the word passion for the word mission.
So I invite you to read the poem and substitute the word passion for
mission and substitute all words about reading for all words about art.
Where
does your librarianship fit into the what/why or job/mission conundrum? I hope
you take a minute to reflect, and I hope your passion lasts more than a day.
My Job
As an art teacher,
my job is to teach the basics of
art making and
and art appreciation.
That’s my job.
That’s what the curriculum says.
That’s why I was hired.
But my mission
is to get kids to love art
or at least, put them on a path
to like art.
My mission
is to help kids meaningfully
explore,
find,
and share their
unique voice.
This means
that I have to put the kid
before the product
and put the kid
before the process.
The child comes first
Every
child that enters my art room
brings
a different background,
different
experiences,
different
cultures
and
different parents.
Their
relationship with
art
making and art appreciation
are
going to be just as diverse.
In
many cases,
focusing
on my job isn’t going to cut it.
In
many cases,
I
need to focus on my mission
which
means,
I
need to focus on the individual child.
Not
the product.
Not
the process.
But
the child.
I’m
thankful for my job.
I’m
grateful for my mission.
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