We Are All Teachers
Still from a video of participant Gabe and his guide dog Charlie, navigating downtown Blue Hill with assistive GPS. Gabe wanted to teach his peers about service animals, the intensive training that they require, and the strong bond they create with their people.
October has truly flown by as if ushered on by the millions of migrations of hawks, warblers, and waterfowl. I have been grateful for the sense of movement fall brings: rushes of cold air, colors shifting in the woods and blueberry fields, animals gathering what they can in preparation for winter. Summer always seems like it will go on forever, and then suddenly these seasonal shifts pull us into the future - today is Halloween, and Daylight Savings ends tomorrow!
This new fall energy has certainly been invigorating for all of our participants. After spending the summer in classes together, we all came to appreciate the variety of perspectives in our group. I have encouraged students to value their own life experiences as something that can be offered to others. To be teachers, they need no further training, and there’s no need to research a topic or acquire a certificate. They simply have to organize the experiences they have already lived into an interesting class for their peers. From here, the ideas have started flowing. Over the past month, student-led classes have become as common as the classes led by me.
One morning, Derian led us in dance, first showing us how to safely stretch and warm up our bodies. She then began breaking down the dance moves into steps before putting it all together with the music. Every week, Ignacio reported the weather in Miami, taking care to tell us about the projected paths of hurricanes. Paula and Kathrina, experienced horseback riders, created presentations on horse safety and caretaking, sharing their own stories of tournament triumphs and more harrowing stories of accidents and injuries to make their lessons relatable. Brianna led us in a self-care workshop, offering strategies for coping with stress. The list goes on and on!
Notably, Gabe, Hunter and Alex led an incredible two hour workshop in Blindness Awareness that has since become an ongoing podcast project. Each week, the podcast club focuses in on a subject, such as sports or audio/visual media, from a blind and low vision perspective. (Stay tuned for upcoming episodes in the Student Project blog! I am working on a backlog of edited episodes before we post more). Gabe has also led classes in fishing (which he has practiced for years, both fresh and saltwater) as well as taught us all about service animals, through the lens of his own experience with his guide dog Charlie.
This all goes to show that when we realize our own experiences and perspectives might be something new and valuable to others - that is when we become teachers. Teaching is much more than imparting knowledge. It is sharing knowledge, a much more empathetic process of reaching out to others, and offering that connection.
Kathrina beaming with pride after teaching her family’s apple crips recipe in cooking class.
Derian led one of our Art Hours, showing the class how to make a God’s Eye.
Gabe and I collaborated on a video for his introduction to fishing lesson.
