Alice Waters (with a bowl of cherries) at Vader Vineyards, Napa, 2007. Image by David Sifry, courtesy of wiki commons.org. The lamps glowed and the audience sat, anticipating, as Alice Waters made her way up to the stage. She sat down, and the crowd of forty went silent. As she started to talk in her quiet calm voice, the whole world seemed to be listening. I went to go see Alice Waters, a renowned cook and owner of Chez Panisse, said to have changed the way we eat in the U.S., at the Hill Center on October 25. She talked for sometime about France, politics and how they are dealing with the way we eat, how to eat organic, and the impact that education has on food. As a child, she said that she grew up eating “american” food, canned, fried, and frozen food with which the only preparation would be to warm it up. This all changed when she went to France. As she said, “France was kind of a revelation to me.” With its farmers markets, fresh meals, and good food at home, France went on to change the way that Alice would live the rest of her life. Alice spent most of the night talking about children and food. “85 percent of the country doesn’t eat with their family anymore,” she stated boldly, her soft voice rising with disgust, “We have to feed our children real food.” Her solution was schools. “I think it all comes back to education.” she said, right from the beginning. The key for her was for schools to teach other food related classes–gardening, cooking, and so on–that relates back to all of the “normal” classes. Her point was actually that food ties in with every part of life, home, work, school, everywhere, every moment, everyone. I spent the weekend after I saw the Alice Water’s lecture at the Pottery on the Hill show. Dan Finnigan, the potter who started it, has a studio on my family’s farm, and the pottery show is something that our family looks forward to and spends the weekend at every year. I love the pottery show because I get to see people who are amazing at what they do, who are able to sit down with a tool and make something beautiful, or useful, or something that will change the world in some way. There is something amazing about seeing people who are the best at what they do. They walk through life with such confidence, knowing that they have found what they can make a difference in the world at. From the Alice Waters lecture to the Pottery on the Hill show, these people are pushing and making something they love. You don’t need to be a potter or a cook to recognize someone who is amazing at what they do. They all have one thing in common—passion. Next time you see someone who is really amazing at what they do, take note of it, and if you are willing, leave a comment on this page. What drives their genius?
The Life of Mahatma Gandhi and the Act of Going Deeper in Learning
Eleven seventh graders and one teacher are clustered around three white tables in the middle of a small room, the walls adorned with maps, a white board, and a picture of Gandhi at a spinning wheel. We are discussing Gandhi’s religion and how it influenced him in his philosophy and life. Ideas bounce around the table, but I have run out of things to say. Our limited information comes from a few days of teacher presentations, class discussions, and short articles that our teacher handed out it class. All of the information is very school-like, interesting, but minimal because of the time limitations. After a few more ideas fly by, my mind drifts to my Gandhi book that I had picked off the shelf yesterday. It was The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, by Louis Fischer. I had gobbled the first few chapters up, taking in all the information I could about his death, the Hindu religion, and nonviolence. That information comes back to me and my hand shoots up. His relationship with his very religious mother led him to read the Gita and other religious texts when he was in law school. The Gita taught him to not feel temptation, which contributed to him being able to stay non-violent and peaceful. Then class is over, and instead of the learning about Gandhi being over too, I have the Gandhi book in my hand, ready to be read. I was more confident in class because I went deeper in this subject, but more importantly, I learned that I can go deeper in my learning. I may not ever need to know about Gandhi’s relationship with his mother, but learning to love and to go deeper with a subject is a skill that I will want in my life. I homeschooled until 6th grade, and I was taught at an early age that learning has no beginning or end, that you are constantly learning. We went regularly to the library and explored the Library of Congress, Folger Shakespeare Library, National Gallery, and all of the museums on the DC mall. When I homeschooled, learning was an all day experience. It was not confined to a small classroom, but opened up to the whole world. I learned when I was homeschooling that the world of learning is a mansion. The teacher’s job is to hand you the key and bring you to the entryway. However, there are so many more rooms to go through. They may not be neat and tidy like the information that your teacher presents you, but there are endless closets, drawers, and nooks and crannies to explore.. So, I challenge you, don’t let the mindset of having school work be the only way you learn take over. This week, month, or even semester, take something that you are learning about in school, or are super interested in, and find a book about it at the library, or read an article, or talk to an adult (other than your teacher) who knows about it. Dig into the subject even deeper–be an explorer, a researcher, an adventurer, a learner–and see what you find. Good luck!
Fahrenheit 451 and the Impact of Electronic Devices
The first time I read Fahrenheit 451, I was struck by Ray Bradbury’s remarkable writing. The second time, the breathtaking plot. The third time, the horrific, but modern ideas. I just finished my third time reading Fahrenheit 451, and the full force of the significant meaning hit me. There are so many big ideas in Fahrenheit 451 about children, love, books, and technology. The screen issue popped out to me as soon as I read the book as a real issue that we are still dealing with today. Even though this book was published in 1951, a time when the main electronics were televisions, rotary phones, film projectors, and radios, the idea that electronic devices have a great impact on our lives is still very present, way more present even than it was in the 1950s. Everyday, when I walk into school, each and every child has her nose buried in an iPhone or computer. If I take a step outside, almost everyone is either talking on the phone, texting, or has their phone tight in their hand. Today, look outside. How many people do you see with an electronic device? What are they doing with it? Is it getting in the way of socializing with someone nearby? What else could they be doing? In Fahrenheit 451, the community’s electronic obsession goes so far as to take over their normal lives, leading them to ban books. There are “firemen” who– instead of putting out fires– burn books, and the houses that house them. Unlike other dystopian novels, where the government imposed an oppressive rule, in Fahrenheit 451, the public came to believe that books were junk. “‘Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord,’ said Faber, a rebel who has been sneaking books and reading them, ‘Can you dance faster the White Clown, shout louder than ‘Mr. Gimmick’ and the parlor ‘families’? If you can, you’ll win your way, Montag. In any event you are a fool. People are having fun.’” Guy Montag, the main character, starts out the book as a fireman himself, burning books day and night. He fools himself into believing he is happy, with his wife, who loves her parlor ‘family’– a room where all of the walls are covered with TVs, and the characters talk directly to her– more than him, his job, and his life. Then, he meets Clarisse. She sits at home and talks to her real family instead of participating in the violence that other kids create.. She thinks about things and observes the world instead of watching TV. She is a voice of reason for Montag, and within a couple weeks of knowing him she changes his thoughts forever. I am not one to say that electronic devices do not have their advantages. I am working on a google doc right now, with spell check, saving, and deleting. Stone Soup just switched to an online website, probably because it is cheaper, faster, and flexible. In many ways, electronics save lives, open up opportunities, and make things more efficient. There are many times when electronics are used well. There is a difference between writing on a google doc or reading on the Stone Soup website, and, let’s say, playing a video game or looking up random pictures. The question is, should we let electronic devices replace things we love? Should we let electronic devices replace books? Imagine that you are a scale, you have a device in one hand, and a book in the other. Which one do you choose? Which one weighs more in your life?
