The Sound You Hear is ... Living

For a few years before entering the realm of parenthood, I had a short stint as a Junior High School Science Teacher. I had all sorts of ideas going into teaching that I wanted science to be fun, and not the chore that it so often becomes. My first year was teaching 7th and 8th graders. Much to my surprise my classroom was in a Portable! I was quite disappointed because part of the fun I was planning on involved doing FREQUENT labs. Book work just wasn't my thing.

So, how do you have a lab with no running water or gas hook-ups for the bunson burners or even microscopes? Fortunately, one kind teacher offered to switch rooms with me for labs from time to time. But the idea of FREQUENT labs had to be altered somewhat. I turned to hands-on games and learning activities. We did some crazy things that year, I still get grief from my family for offering extra credit to any student willing to eat a bug (only with parental consent, mind you).

One day, after a fairly lengthy unit we had a review game that ended up being boys against girls. Although the game is not physical or crazy, the competition rose to a level of enthusiasm that just about blew the roof off of our little portable classroom. Had I been in a regular classroom in the building, the principal would have been standing in the doorway within seconds, I'm sure.

That's when I realized how noisy life can be, and that it isn't a bad thing. I ran across a quote from a teacher that said, "The Sound You Hear Is Learning" and I quickly adopted that for my classroom. The next year brought a change in schools and a move to the inside of the building. With teachers very near on both sides, enthusiasm had to be somewhat maintained. Although I could do labs whenever I wanted, I found that I missed the noise.

Now, those days are long in the past and I am surrounded by different sounds - all of which I have a great appreciation for. Babies crying, a dog barking, a husband popping and slapping his electric bass, kids laughing, shouting and screaming while playing in the backyard, dishwasher washing (a VERY welcome sound), children talking about their day at school, and on and on and on. The sounds are so welcome to my ears and my school motto has now extended to my everyday life, we are a noisy family and the sounds you hear from us are living. Beautiful, happy, crazy, noisy LIVING!