Teaching....

New Teachers believe that their belief in kids will be enough.
They read "Love and Logic" or "Discipline with out Stress"
They planned out their whole first month.
In control, confident...ready to shape new minds
Like a carver who whittles at a block of aspen
to recreate the image in his mind
of eagle or bear.

Seasoned teachers wonder if they are making a difference
Ten workshops later, students are still struggling
Some seem to respond on good days.
But they have ceased fighting
Kids will do what they want, all we can do is offer.
Like a carver who sets the block of aspen on a shelf
until it asks to be carved.

Hardly anyone becomes a master teacher.
If they do, they have learned to feel the pulse of the group
To recognize shifts in motivation, and flow like water
Finding a path through the smallest cracks in dams of resistance
relentless, but subtle...the path forms slowly.
Like a carver who lets each block of aspen speak
Uses the knots and curves, and carves only what is waiting to be revealed.