A Poem (by a science teacher)

Silence….

Is hard….

Is awkward…

Is golden…

Is ?awkward?…

Is lonely…

Is not…

Did you “read” the blank space????

Or did you ( s k i p ) it????

Silence……

Have I typed 300 words?

(I hope Dr. Wappett thinks so)

Just in case he doesn’t, I have been contemplating the “listen like a cow” part of the Radical Presence book that we have read. I enjoy the idea of a cow listener as I have had many conversations with my dog and chickens (I don’t think I’m crazy, but some may disagree). I don’t think I fully understood the idea until our discussion today when I realized that by carefully listening, we are truly lifting a burden from another human being. There are many ways to listen actively and every circumstance demands a different type of listening. Good listeners know this and adjust to the scene. I think that we can all think of someone in our life that was or is a good listener and someone in our life who was or is a horrible listener. Think back to the feelings that each person has drawn out of you. Good listeners bring out the best in everyone. Bad listening can do more damage to a person sometimes than not even listening at all (They be better off with a cow.) The one thing from today’s class that I will try to implement in my classroom and in my life is to actively improve my listening skills and to attempt to apply the correct listening to all conversations that I have in the future. I know that I will still fail, and I am okay with that. At least now I am consciously aware of the power of listening to bring about positive change. Now you tell me, what was better my “poem” or my “paragraph?”