“We don’t need to overwhelm students, but sometimes we should ‘whelm’ them.” It just came out of my mouth in the middle of a lecture in my Elementary Science Methods course a few years ago. We were in the thick of talking about the joys of exploring creation firsthand, and the kinds of experiences that make kids have those wow! moments of awe and wonder.
Science classes can be full of those kinds of opportunities—chances to “whelm” students. And maybe it’s because of my background as a science teacher, but I feel this way more often: even in the more mundane moments, we can find wow! if our eyes are open to it.
I had three of these “everyday awestruck” moments within 48 hours recently, and all of them involved insects. Here’s what happened.
Wow #1:
My wife and I have a long-term landscaping project that has spilled over several summers now as we’ve been working on updating the beds around our house. Last Saturday, we planted a bunch of perennials—the sort that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. It was amazing to see that as soon as we had finished the planting the buzzing and fluttering began. Dozens of insects descended on the plants, and it was a “whelming” moment for me, just to see the beauty of these tiny creatures doing exactly what God created them to do. It has me thinking about the delight of the Creator in his creation, through the flap of butterfly wings and the dance of the bumblebee.
Wow #2:
On Sunday evening we were with my wife’s family and while we were just hanging out on the back patio of my brother- and sister-in-law’s place, an insect flew right up into my face, and stung me on the side of the head! My brother in law saw the critter flying off, it was a wasp, or more likely a yellowjacket. I put an ice pack on my head right away—no swelling, really. But oh, my goodness, did that sting pain me! My ear was throbbing for a couple of hours, and that whole side of my face was still hurting the following morning. This was a “whelming” moment for me in a completely different way. It has me thinking about the fall—the reality of the totality of “this is not how things are supposed to be” in this sin-tainted world.
Wow #3:
On Monday morning, I was in class with a roomful of juniors and seniors, and we were actually talking about the grand storyline of scripture: Creation - Fall- Redemption - Consummation. I was sharing with my students what I had noticed this weekend with my pollinator friends, as well as getting stung by a yellowjacket—and how this got me thinking about both the goodness of creation as well as the brokenness of the fall. And it was just then that a beetle came flying from the floor in the front corner of the classroom, zoomed around the room, and landed upside-down on the ceiling, right above a couple of students! It was a little distracting in the moment, and it kept distracting me, so I gave the students a discussion prompt, and while they were talking, I hopped up on the desk, nabbed the beetle off the ceiling, and stepped outside for a moment to release it out into the wild blue yonder of the great outdoors.
When I came back into the classroom, more than a couple of students looked surprised that I had not only caught the bug in my bare hands, but that I took the time to set it free outdoors instead of just squashing it. This has me thinking about restoration—the idea that we human beings have a role to play in the big story of scripture too! Not because God needs us, but because he invites us to participate in the renewal of all things that Christ has redeemed.
Now, not to over-spiritualize three moments I had with three different insect encounters over a short time window, but do you see the trajectory of a story here? These kinds of little “whelmers” are popping up all around us, all the time.
We have wow! moments everywhere, if we are just open to noticing them and seeing them for what they are. And I believe we can practice this kind of noticing, and helping our students notice these illustrations of the beauty—and brokenness—of the world around us. We don’t have to overwhelm our students, but what if we looked for opportunities to whelm them?
Maybe we all need to experience a few more “everyday awestruck” moments? How might that shift your teaching…and even your way of being in the world?
Dave’s Faves
Here are four things I’m absolutely loving right now that I hope you might love too…
Dave’s Fave #1: Meeting Goals!
I love the feeling of setting a goal, and meeting it. (Why, yes…I am an Enneagram 3. Why do you ask?) Many of you already know this, but if not, here’s a little disclosure: I love to pedal my bike, and I set an annual goal of pedaling at least 2000 miles. (That’s about 3200 km, for the non-Americans in the group.) Earlier this week, I met my goal! That always feels great. :-)
Dave’s Fave #2: Paper Route’s “Calm My Soul”
I’ve had a stressful couple of weeks for a variety of personal and professional reasons. Maybe you can relate to that? My go-to music to get me out of my own head: the song “Calm My Soul” from Paper Route’s excellent 2012 album, The Peace of Wild Things. I highly recommend that whole album to you, but this song in particular, if you’re feeling the burden today.
Dave’s Fave #3: Roasted Tomato Bisque
In the last edition of this newsletter I mentioned how much I love garden fresh tomatoes, and just how many of them I’ve had this season. I also mentioned that I have a recipe for a tomato bisque that I make with all these tomatoes—and several of you reached out to ask for the recipe. So…here it is! (Tweak it as you will…cooking is at least as much of an art as a science!)
Ingredients:
8-10 large tomatoes
1 medium sweet yellow onion (or go big, if you like, or go with a white onion)
2 cloves of garlic (or 2 tsp of minced garlic, but use the real stuff, not freeze dried)
8 cups of water
3 beef bullion cubes (or, you know, use beef stock instead of the water)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (but who really measures Worcestershire?)
1/2 cup of rice
What do to:
Turn that oven on to 400° F to get it warmed up.
Wash those tomatoes. We don’t want any garden soil in our soup!
Slice the tomatoes and put them on sheet pans. I usually slice enough tomatoes to cover two sheet pans. I like the slices to be about 3/8 of an inch thick, but you do you, boo-boo. Season them to taste—salt & pepper is great, but lately I’ve been shaking on some Goya adobo instead, which is also really nice. Don’t worry about peeling them, unless you really freak out about the peels, okay? They are going to cook down, and then we’re going to blend the whole works anyway, so peeling them is a whole lot of work that is really not necessary.
Roast the tomatoes in the oven for about 45 minutes. The juices will start cooking out, and they will start to get a little bit blackened on the top, which I really like. If you don’t like that level of roasting, pull them out a little sooner.
In the meantime, get out a stock pot or large Dutch oven, and get it heating up over medium heat with a little oil in there. I like olive oil, but vegetable oil or canola oil will work just fine.
Dice that onion, and toss it in the pot to sweat. I add a little salt at this point too.
If you are working with whole garlic cloves, mince those babies. Once the onions are sweated down and translucent, add the minced garlic. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, but not much longer than that or the garlic will scorch and wind up making your soup taste skunky and weird. (No one wants that!)
Add the water and bullion (or beef broth)—this will stop the garlic before it scorches—and crank up the heat to get this up to a boil.
Check those tomatoes! If they are roasted to your liking, add them to the boiling broth. Lower the heat and let it all simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add the rice. Keep simmering for about 30 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.
Taste test for seasoning—you might want to add a little more salt, and maybe a little more Worcestershire sauce too.
Okay, here’s the magic: we’re going to blend this into creamy, creamy deliciousness. I used to ladle the soup in batches into my blender, blend away, and then transfer it into a big container to cool. And don’t get me wrong, that works just fine. But I eventually just bought an immersion blender for about $15. (I got this one on Amazon.) If you’re going to make this soup with any regularity at all, investing in an immersion blender is well worth it. Either way, blend that savory goodness into a creamy, smooth result.
That’s it—absolutely delicious, and you can serve it up any way you like. I like it with a couple of dashes of balsamic vinegar. It’s great with some croutons dropped in, or to use for dipping a grilled cheese. (Maybe I’ll have to share my favorite grilled cheese recipe in a future edition??) You can’t go wrong with this one, friends!
Dave’s Fave #4: Moving forward with publishing my book!
An exciting thing has happened since the last edition of this newsletter came out: I heard from a publisher that they want to publish my book! I’m waiting on an official contract, but it’s moving forward, friends! I’ll keep you posted about the progress in upcoming posts. Thanks to those of you who have been cheering me on this journey!
The Last Word!
Here’s a challenge—maybe for you, maybe for your students—for this week (or this month, or as long as you want.) Start a running list of “everyday awestruck” moments. Look for the beauty in the mundane. Keep your eyes open for wonder amidst what might immediately feel banal. Cultivate curiosity where indifference might by overgrown.
Find a shared space to document these “everyday awestruck” events—maybe a paper-covered graffiti wall, a digital pinboard, or an actual pinboard? Use what space you’ve got! Make space for opportunities for delight!
Could this go sideways? Sure, it always could go sideways. But what if it didn’t? What if you brought a little more beauty, wonder, and curiosity into view right alongside your students’ view? Maybe it will spark something for you too, teacher!