Changes

I’m a teacher, as I’ve mentioned a few dozen times in this space. Teaching is not merely what I do. A teacher is who I am.

More than a decade ago, I believed I could change. Inspired to save humanity, my quest for a “sustainable path” temporarily overwhelmed my inner teacher. I sought to become one of the ten percent of the human population required to grow food for the rest of the populace on the homestead in New Mexico. I succeeded in my quest. Initially barely able to distinguish a screwdriver from a zucchini, I was growing sufficient food to feed many people by my second year in the garden.

Success isn’t what it used to be. Now I understand the notion of global dimming.

I believed a few others would change along with me. I overestimated the people nearest me.

I believed the masses would be willing to change, if only to save habitat for their children. How hilarious is that?

My audiences and platforms have changed markedly since my days on campus. Then, the bond I created with students from my classrooms encompassed every part of their lives and lasted decades. Now, the connection tends to be more fleeting.

Barefoot College at the mud hut in New Mexico represented a transition from the classrooms and coffee shops of Tucson, Berkeley, College Station, Grinnell, Moscow, Ames, and Cedar City (the Utah version) to presentation halls throughout the world and the homestead I occupy in western Belize. I hosted hundreds of people at the mud hut interested in homesteading, including a couple dozen willing to work a few hours daily in exchange for the acquired knowledge, along with room and board. If they are to be believed, many lives were changed.

My contemporary students appear as audiences in presentation halls and also as Workaway guests at Homestead 2.0. Those in the latter group resemble in some ways the students from my days on campus. They are usually young, intellectually curious, and willing to question the dominant narrative echoing through their heads. They are seeking independence, yet they are willing to work and learn alongside their contemporaries. If the students are to be believed, many lives have been changed in the presentation halls and here in Belize.

Consistent with the line from Picasso, I have found my gift. I am continuing to give it away, to the benefit of all concerned.