So why blog then?
Maybe I have a lot of thoughts that are better organized in prose? Maybe I have the need to "keep up with the Joneses"? Maybe I have aspirations of being "discovered" and asked to abandon my mundane life and travel the world as a motivational educational expert....nah.
Whatever the reason, this is my first (and hopefully not last) attempt.
"A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly. So have a nice day and struggle a little"- author unknown
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly. So have a nice day and struggle a little"- author unknown
I sat this morning in my "curricularium" sorting through a myriad of materials for my new teaching assignment when I stumbled across this story given to me by a teacher who taught me a lot about teaching math. Of course she meant it to be a metaphor for being, as Dan Meyer says, "less helpful" and letting our students struggle a little.
An odd thing happened as I was sorting through all of the stuff that other teachers thought I would need to teach 5th grade. I began to think that I am that butterfly. Perhaps I need to "struggle a little" in this emotional transition from 16 years as a 7th grade teacher to brand new 5th grade teacher and be ready to accept the freedom that will result from this struggle.
God always knows what he's doing, and I have to remember that.
"So have a nice day and struggle a little."
Looks great! Keep it up and good luck!
ReplyDelete!!!!! Two of my favorite quotes concerning the value of struggling:
ReplyDelete"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."
- Albert Einstein
"No pressure, no diamonds."
- Mary Case
Tastey idea to chew on today, Ms. Horner. Excellent job!!