KENTUCKY MEMOIRE #3
From 1984 to 1993, I worked as a teacher in Jessamine County Kentucky. Most of this time was spent in the 6th grade and at the county's only middle school. We had a homeroom-based period in the middle of the day, which we called "Exploratory." In keeping with the middle school philosophy of valuing the whole child, it was about relationships & learning. The learning piece was up to the teacher.
I instigated several things during my years there. One was a 45-minute redux version of "Hamlet" that the kids not only performed for the school and their parents, but also actually took on the road and recreated for the state's middle school conference that year.
Another was an extended research project on the native tree species of central Kentucky. The students made scrapbooks of data about common trees and collected and pressed leaf samples into a keepsake booklet. They also learned to sew and created appliqué quilt squares with a copy the tree's leaf's outline embellished with embroidered names, tree name (in English and Latin).
This is just a portion of the whole.
I purposefully included Chris' patch. Chris was a rather quiet, below average performing, easily ignored student. I had no reason not to like him, and no particular to demonstrate any positive emotion toward him. And then came the Tree Quilt project....
His needlework on this is simply outstanding. He took such care and interest in doing a good, no, a PERFECT job on it. I'll never forget how his light unexpectedly shone on this project.
The quilt holds a quote in the middle of it:
RANDOM QUOTE #45
"A culture is no better than its woods."
~ W. H. Auden, 1907 - 1973
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