This morning in the hall outside my office I saw a little girl looking longingly up at the water fountain until a slightly bigger little girl came along and lifted up the thirsty girl so she could get a drink. Trouble was, Thirsty Girl couldn't figure out how to turn the knob to make the water run, but Lifter Girl couldn't help because her arms were pretty well occupied. What they needed was a third little girl or even a big girl to come up and turn the knob.
There's a metaphor in there: as a teacher I try to lift up the small ones and help them reach the fountain (of literature? of literacy? of correct use of commas?), but I don't have enough hands to do the heavy lifting and also turn the knob. Maybe someone else lifts them up and I just turn the knob. Maybe the kid being lifted has to learn to turn the knob for herself. At any rate someone has to turn the knob or no one's getting a drink.
3 comments:
Personally I can't believe you just let the little bastards suffer in their struggle for sustenance. Perhaps we dig ourselves too deep into the ethereal, into the metaphorical, that we lose touch with the simple phyical things that we can be doing to help ourselves and others.
In short - If I ever need a lift to a water foundtain outside your door, I'll remember to wait for Tim to hike down the hallway to assist me.
:-) Crazy.
-AW
I say let those who can't reach the fountain drink from puddles on the ground.
It's probably a good thing I am not a teacher, eh?
Give the bigger girl about 20 years and she'll be holding up the kid, pushing the button and ensuring the kid doesn't drown itself, touch its mouth to the metal thingy above the water hole or get cold water on its shirt. In other words, she'll be a mommy. The trick is to use the knee to support the kid you're trying to boost up to the fountain, thus freeing your hands up to perform the other tasks.
I also hope I'm never in need of a lift to a water fountain (and at my height and the bovine growth hormones in today's milk it may happen)outside of your office lest you take on the role of observer then blog about it while I'm dying of thirst!
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