Another perspective

I have commented previously on the curious, but contradictory perspectives of me and my “next farm” childhood friend (Lowell Monke). Lowell and I differ in our opinions of the potential of technology to help young children process their life experiences. Lowell, it seems, is a persuasive writer and I keep running across his work (Orion Magazine). Reading his material is a weird experience for me – the farm and elementary school experiences he describes as “authentic” in this article were identical to my own and often I was physically there at the same moment (his description of a common acquaintance Lee Anfinson).

I knew our farm—where the snowdrifts would be the morning after a blizzard, where and when the spring runoff would create a temporary stream through the east pasture. I could tell you where I was by the smells alone. Watching a massive thunderstorm build in the west, or discovering a new litter of kittens in the barn, I would be awestruck, mesmerized by mysterious wonders I could not control. One of the few moments I remember from elementary school is watching a huge black-and-yellow garden spider climb out of Lee Anfinson’s pant cuff after we came back from a field trip picking wildflowers. It set the whole class in motion with lively conversation and completely flummoxed our crusty old teacher. Somehow that spider spoke to all of us wide-eyed third graders, and we couldn’t help but speak back.

Ironically, my farm home no longer exists except in digital images and the school descrbed in Lowell’s article is no longer in service. This following picture of my home shortly before it was demolished was sent to me in an email from Lee Anfinson (the person described in the excerpt).

My farm home

Grabe farm location

Near Pierson, Iowa – my farmstead is now only a grove of trees. The childhood homes of Lowell and Lee are still standing. (Thanks to Google Map)

Must be a constructivist thing – we each process our experiences to create our own truths – similar experiences or not. Probably a very important lesson here – it is not the experience (virtual or physical), but the mental interpretation we apply.

Loading

2 thoughts on “Another perspective”

Leave a Reply