living things

Julia and Montessori friends explored living things using plastic objects.

Living things need air, water and food, she said. Like animals. Like us. We are talking animals.

As we live and breathe, said Aiko, scribbling in her creative notebook. She read the fine print. Don't be fooled by cheap imitations. Education is a business. Parents paid. Managers/teachers managed.

Eat fear and stay dependent, said a parent spoon feeding their child past their bedrhyme. Here, she said, let me carry everything for you. 

The child said, how much does conditioning cost?

Now or in the long run, said the parent.

During class on a balcony overlooking a plastic playground, security guards and kitchen women shucking peas, an administrative woman stood silent as a 7th grade girl cut her nails. Why, said Aiko. They didn't conform to school policy, said the woman. We must have standards. 

I'd rather be a hammer than a nail, said Julia.

Nelson, another five-year old genius said, yes and we need stories. Our brains are wired for stories.

Am I safe?

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

What happens next?

What's essential is invisable to the eye, said a boy on a planet with a flower.

Don't think. Look, said Julia.

Helper

Once upon a time there were many small people.

They went to a Montessori school in Myanmar.

Their parents drove big cars down a private road owned by the school.

They dropped off boys and girls and helpers.

What's a helper, said Julia, five.

It's a young girl from a village who lives with you. 

Why does she live with us?

She needed a job. 

Oh, I see, said Julia. She's the one who washes our clothes, cooks our food and cleans our house. In math we learned that 26% of our people are unemployed. That's a big number.

Yes. Here's another number. 16% of the population has electricity.

Power to the people, said Julia. I carry my own stuff. I know how the world works. I am independent. Why does she have to carry the kids' books and bright plastic basket of rice, vegetables, fruit and drinks to the classroom?

She doesn't have to. She does it because some parents are afraid of letting their child carry it. They tell the helper to carry it. You've seen helpers dragging wheeled book bags across cement for primary and secondary kids.

Yes I have. They look sad. Why are parents afraid?

Excellent question. Maybe because the kids are small. Like us. Ask them.

Ok, bye. I'm going to meditate on this question now.

Bye Julia. Nice to see you. 

Sitting kids

Kindergarden kids sit in a circle.

Hands on knees.

Fingers curled.

Touch whorls.

Meditation.

Posture.

Breathe in-out. Slow and easy.

Ah. Om. Mmm. Long exhale.

Smile.

Grow

He's a student in a Montessori program in Mandalay.

Do one thing at a time.

Slow.

Center.

Focus.

Present.

Independent. Free choice. 

We don't learn. We grow.

*

"I would like to house my spirit within my body, to nourish my virtue by mildness, and to travel in ether by becoming a void. But I cannot do it yet . . . And so, being unable to find peace within myself, I made use of the external surroundings to calm my spirit, and being unable to find delight within my heart, I borrowed a landscape to please it. Therefore, strange were my travels."
 - T'u Lung
(T'u Ch'ihshui)
translated by Lin Yutang
The Travels of Mingliaotse  Read more…

Mandalay, Myanmar

He's in Myanmar. Opportunity knocked. He answered. 

Hello, said Opportunity. Would you like to help others in Mandalay?

Never been there. It's open now.

Yes it is.

Yes, thanks when?

Next week.

Lets go.

On the ground. Efficient immigration. Business visa at small clean airport an hour from Mandalay.

You need a clean $50.

Myanmar money exchanges will not accept creased folded bills. Get a stack of new $100's.

Pleasant happy people. Smiles. Smiles. Smiles. 

Agrarian. Innate joy. Early stages of expression. Hard economics. Simple life. Street markets.

Pleasant atmosphere. Heart-space. Gentle people. Soft spoken. Light.