Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

In Your Element

Posted Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at 10:46 AM

Its presence makes water hot, a bulb shine and a human soul keep on truckin’.

Its absence doesn’t make the appliance or the human worthless. A water heater still disperses water, a light bulb still screws into a socket and a soul still fills a void.

However, we want hot water, a shining bulb and a joyful soul. An ‘element’ is necessary.

“You’re in your element.” Though the circumstances making it truth vary immensely, we instinctively know what is meant by that phrase.

The signs are obvious when others are 'in' theirs, but not so obvious to ourselves when we’re not.

Why is that? One can have a knack for numbers, be a gifted artisan, work wonderfully with people, zip

through tasks with ease and skill and still not be ‘in their element.”

A concert pianist doesn’t reach that level of performance without a knack for it and practice. A perceptive director asked why the pianist continued if it did not bring him joy. Because he could do it did not mean he had to do it. He is now an editor and an agent - loving it and feeling purposeful with passion.

A scientist making headway in research delves into the arts for recreation. One day she closes the door of the lab, never to enter it again. Instead, she walks into a far-from-sterile art studio, feeling passionate and liberated creating enrichment for others.

The following declarations are attributed to Michelangelo: (1) Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. (2) If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. (3) Genius is eternal patience. (4) I am still learning.

The educational ‘system’ does not seem to see its mission as uncovering potential and helping children flourish as they discover passions and purposes - their elements. Those are exciting discoveries for students and their teachers. Instead, the ‘system’ strives to wire them for plugging into a societal machine that isn’t functioning well any more. How many times can a system tweak the same set of standards? And wouldn’t that be boring? Cultures are colorful and engaging; diversity required. American schools - be more like Michelangelo.