A science class, taught, by nature, with the school teacher as a “teacher’s aide”, of course, translated…
“Goodbye”, it’s what we say, when we don’t know if we’ll ever, meet again, and it’s also, our expectations, of seeing one another, and, the relationship we’d shared with “Steak”, it was, exactly like that!
“Steak” is an oriental turtledove, a little boy named him. Based of what my son told me, Steak had set up her nest on the beams of the computer classroom, which nobody had known about, until once in class, right before lunch, as everybody was, doing the commands on the computers that the instructor had shown them, did Steak fly up and down. A classmate who was hungry them called out to the rest of the class, “Look, there’s a piece of steak flying outside!”, which caused the entire class to burst out in laughter.
Ever since, Steak’s movements, became a conversation topic at mealtime, and, Steak had become, an “invisible member” of my family too.
During that time, I’d often hoped I could, catch a glimpse of Steak, and this opportunity finally came, at the carnival to celebrate the school’s birthday, my son led me toward the computer class, pointed out for me, “Mom, that’s Steak!”
I’d lifted my head, greeted it, “Hi, Steak! I’d heard a lot about you”, I saw how it had a blackish-brown upper back, with brown edges, it’d reminded me of how that boy in my son’s class that used watching it to keep his hungers away, I’d smiled, such, a fitting name for the bird!
Steak is very intelligent, selected the three meter high ceiling to set up a nest, very good place to live, and it’s, easy for her, to find the foods in the backyards of the school. Last year, as I’d bumped into Steak, it was the nesting time for the bird, as people walk underneath, it’d, not gotten scared and flown off, just kept its eyes, zoomed in on the people down below, claiming their territory silently. Those few months became the kids’ observation period.
And still, in less than a month’s time, Steak and her baby birds had left without saying goodbye, we’d treated it as how the parents had done their duties, and the babies had, flown the nest, although we felt sad that we probably wouldn’t see them again, but, we were still, awed, by nature. And yet, the March got colder, the science teacher brought the heartwrenching news.
That day, Steak was keeping her nest, sitting on her eggs, without realizing, that Formosan blue magpie had its eyes on her on the opposite tree. Steak couldn’t defend against the sharpened claws of the blue magpie, she’d, fallen onto the ground with her body injured, couldn’t fly anymore, she’d, lost her children too.
As the children heard, all of them cried, and, I’m grateful toward the science teacher’s treating Steak’s injuries with her love, she’d climbed up the steps, returned her to her nest to rest, and, after she was healed, Steak set out, and flew off, vanished from the school building.
So, this, is how the lessons of life and death can be, incorporated into a regular classroom setting, from the observation of the nesting bird, the children felt closer to nature, and, they’d learned about death in the process, and, the teacher set a good example of teaching the students to RESPECT the other living organisms, and, I’m sure, that the classroom of children will take that value which they’d observed from the instructor as they get even older!