Staring at Starlings

[Isaac Fried]

One image that will stick with me from my time at Prairie Creek is the sight of the Herons observing the starling murmuration occurring right on their school grounds. We were close to the corn fields to check out any harvesting that was happening, and although there was unfortunately none to observe, the Herons still found something exciting in their environment. A great flock of birds–Michelle quickly identified them as starlings–soared up out of a faraway patch of corn in the field. Suddenly there were hundreds, if not thousands of birds flying in a seemingly random pattern, the flock thinned and thickened as the birds continued their flight, managing to stay in formation without bumping into their neighbors. It was amazing, the sight was accompanied by gasps and cries of awe as the Herons tilted their heads skyward to see the impressive display of finesse. Michelle was euphoric, she cast herself onto the earth to lay upon her back so she could see even better, and many of her students followed her lead. It was a magical experience, being there with the Herons that day.

I think this experience shows how invested in nature the school of Prairie Creek is. My entire time spent tutoring was outside, on the grounds of the school, surrounded by animals and plants. I believe that it is integral to educate children about the earth, because we are not the only beings that exist, and we owe our existence to the planet we live on. By placing students directly in communication with the outdoor environment, I think Prairie Creek does a really good job of emphasizing these ideas. This experience also showed me one example of Michelle being an amazing teacher, and it provided me with the image of children not having a wonderful idea, but simply being struck by the wonder of life and existence. I would argue that wonderful ideas are encouraged by viewing wonderful things, and so I think the moment witnessing the starling murmuration was an important one.

A single conclusion I might take away from this moment is that teachers that show enthusiasm and flexibility in their classrooms tend to generate more excitement and interest from their students. Michelle’s original plan was not to witness bird flocking patterns, but when the moment appeared, she quickly transitioned to explaining the phenomenon to her students, and showed extreme energy about it, which helped her students feel their own excitement.

[Kara Sun]

This is such a great image!! I can totally imagine how in awe Michelle and the Heron’s must have been, what a cool experience. I also agree that flexibility in lessons is a huge strength that Prairie Creek teachers demonstrate. It is inspiring to watch them flow along with spontaneous events and incorporate them into their lessons seamlessly. I wish I’d gotten to see the murmuration!

[Alec Kotler]

Isaac, what a wonderful and insightful response you shared. I’m so glad to hear this experience you noticed. Wow. That is also an incredible picture. My blog response and conclusion that I am drawing from the tutoring experience is very similar to yours which is why I am so drawn to your response. I completely agree with the notion of teaching to a test or to please administration limits students’ engagement. On the other hand, spontaneous teaching and the ability to adapt a lesson plan on the fly promotes engagement! Michele did not plan on using this beautiful natural occurrence in her lesson but I am sure she is glad it occurred because it is clear students learn more from natural engagement than forced or rote learning.

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