#WingedWordsWeekly: 2024/09/04 -- School Daze!

 

WINGED WORDS WEEKLY

Compiled & Edited by Rob Chappell (@RHCLambengolmo)

Editorial Associate: Sabrina Saelind

Editorial Assistant: Jessica Breckinridge

Vol. 3, No. 43: Week of September 4, 2024

 

September Theme: Back to School & Love of Learning

Episode #1: School Daze!

 

Editor’s Note

                For the month of September, our blog theme is “Back to School and Love of Learning.” We will be featuring both new and classic selections about the Grove of Academe throughout the month, along with some seasonal reflections on the arrival of autumn and the Full Harvest Moon. We begin with a tribute to “those dear old Golden Rule days,” which the Editor recalls with great fondness every year at this time.

 

Introduction: The Editor’s First Grade Golden Jubilee:

1974-2024

                This week, I celebrate the 50th anniversary of my entry into first grade with an essay about my elementary school days and some poems that evoke happy memories of my elementary school days. Careful readers will discern that there is an esoteric “golden chain” running through this week’s selections, connecting different points on my life’s timeline in surprising ways.

                I would like to thank my family for sending me to Lutheran day schools from kindergarten onward, where I acquired my lifelong love of learning. I would also like to thank my teachers, who encouraged me to read above and beyond our already-excellent Open Court reading curriculum. Last but not least, special thanks go out to my grad school soul-friend, A.L.A., for introducing me to the inspirational writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. (She had conducted an undergraduate research project on Swedenborg and had visited the Bryn Athyn Cathedral and the Swedenborg Foundation – both in her native Pennsylvania – to do onsite research.) Suggestions for further reading appear at the end of this week’s Golden Jubilee extravaganza!

 

The Great Seal of Bethalto, Illinois, where the Editor attended Zion Lutheran School from 1973-1980. (Image Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

 

“Autumn Reflections”

By Rob Chappell, M.A.

(Adapted & Expanded from an Unpublished Article, Written in September 2009)

                In November 2005, during the University of Illinois’ Fall Break, I had the opportunity to revisit Zion Lutheran School, my elementary school in Bethalto, Illinois. Because of all the fond memories that I have associated with it, autumn was a wonderful time of year for me to revisit my first Alma Mater. I had a thoroughly delightful visit because I got to reconnect with a couple of my veteran teachers again, and also because the school was flourishing then even more so than when I was enrolled there in the 1970s.

                When I was growing up in suburban southwest Illinois, the autumn season was a time of great excitement and anticipation. Even though my summer months were filled with all the freedom and adventure that children longed for during the school year, returning to ZLS (as we affectionately called our school) in early autumn was always a pleasure because my school days were perennially edutaining. As our class moved up through the ranks from kindergarten through the sixth grade, we learned about the three R’s (along with the sciences and the arts) from teachers who sang, played the piano, and strummed their guitars (with plenty of songs by Peter, Paul, and Mary!).

                We had many activities to look forward to during the fall term. Field trips to the local apple orchard and pumpkin patch; stories and songs about Johnny Appleseed; trick-or-treating for UNICEF; classroom parties to celebrate various autumn holidays; the annual chili supper; and making crafts for the holiday bazaar all combined to create an atmosphere charged with youthful energy and enthusiasm. The brisk autumn breezes, the falling multicolored leaves, and foreshortened daylight hours only added to the numi-nosity of the season.

                Everyone’s favorite part of the school day was the story time in early afternoon. After we had finished lunch and played outside in the autumn sunshine during the noon recess, our teachers would read aloud to us from classic children’s books by L. Frank Baum, Astrid Lindgren, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and many more. During the fall term, our teachers also gave us proverbs to memorize and poems to recite. One such poem that we learned has remained a favo-rite of mine through the years:

 

“Leaves” (Anonymous)

 

The leaves had a wonderful frolic.

They danced to the wind’s loud song.

They whirled, and they floated, and scampered.

They circled and flew along.

 

The Moon saw the little leaves dancing.

Each looked like a small brown bird.

The Man in the Moon smiled and listened,

And this is the song he heard.

 

“The North Wind is calling, is calling,

And we must whirl round and round,

And then, when our dancing is ended,

We’ll make a warm quilt for the ground.”

 

                To conclude, here’s a favorite song from my elementary school days, which my classmates and I enjoyed singing in the fall of the year. It was prominently featured in several episodes of Little House in the Prairie, one of the most popular TV series of the 1970s – and a fan favorite at ZLS!

 

“Bringing in the Sheaves”

By Knowles Shaw (1834-1878)

"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." à Psalm 126:6 (KJV)

 

1. Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,

Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;

Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

Refrain:

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

2. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,

Fearing neither clouds nor winter's chilling breeze;

By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

(Refrain)

 

3. Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,

Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;

When our weeping's over, He will bid us welcome,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

(Refrain)

 

“Appleseed John”

By Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880)

 

Poor Johnny was bended well-nigh double

With years of toil, and care, and trouble;

But his large old heart still felt the need

Of doing for others some kindly deed.

 

"But what can I do?" old Johnny said:

"I who work so hard for daily bread?

It takes heaps of money to do much good;

I am far too poor to do as I would."

 

The old man sat thinking deeply a while,

Then over his features gleamed a smile,

And he clapped his hands with a boyish glee,

And said to himself: "There's a way for me!"

 

He worked, and he worked with might and main,

But no one knew the plan in his brain.

He took ripe apples in pay for chores,

And carefully cut from them all the cores.

 

He filled a bag full, then wandered away,

And no man saw him for many a day.

With knapsack over his shoulder slung,

He marched along, and whistled or sung.

 

He seemed to roam with no object in view,

Like one who had nothing on earth to do;

But, journeying thus o'er the prairies wide,

He paused now and then, and his bag untied.

 

With pointed cane deep holes he would bore,

And in every hole he placed a core;

Then covered them well, and left them there

In keeping of sunshine, rain, and air.

 

Sometimes for days he waded through grass,

And saw not a living creature pass,

But often, when sinking to sleep in the dark,

He heard the owls hoot and the prairie-dogs bark.

 

Sometimes an Indian of sturdy limb

Came striding along and walked with him;

And he who had food shared with the other,

As if he had met a hungry brother.

 

When the Indian saw how the bag was filled,

And looked at the holes that the white man drilled,

He thought to himself 't was a silly plan

To be planting seed for some future man.

 

Sometimes a log cabin came in view,

Where Johnny was sure to find jobs to do,

By which he gained stores of bread and meat,

And welcome rest for his weary feet.

 

He had full many a story to tell,

And goodly hymns that he sung right well;

He tossed up the babes, and joined the boys

In many a game full of fun and noise.

 

And he seemed so hearty, in work or play,

Men, women, and boys all urged him to stay;

But he always said: "I have something to do,

And I must go on to carry it through."

 

The boys, who were sure to follow him round,

Soon found what it was he put in the ground;

And so, as time passed and he traveled on,

Everyone called him "Old Appleseed John."

 

Whenever he'd used the whole of his store,

He went into cities and worked for more;

Then he marched back to the wilds again,

And planted seed on hill-side and plain.

 

In cities, some said the old man was crazy;

While others said he was only lazy;

But he took no notice of gibes and jeers,

He knew he was working for future years.

 

He knew that trees would soon abound

Where once a tree could not have been found;

That a flickering play of light and shade

Would dance and glimmer along the glade;

 

That blossoming sprays would form fair bowers,

And sprinkle the grass with rosy showers;

And the little seeds his hands had spread,

Would become ripe apples when he was dead.

 

So he kept on traveling far and wide,

Till his old limbs failed him, and he died.

He said at the last: "'Tis a comfort to feel

I've done good in the world, though not a great deal."

 

Weary travelers, journeying west,

In the shade of his trees find pleasant rest;

And they often start, with glad surprise,

At the rosy fruit that round them lies.

 

And if they inquire whence came such trees,

Where not a bough once swayed in the breeze,

The answer still comes, as they travel on:

"These trees were planted by Appleseed John."

 

Johnny Appleseed was a missionary for the Church of the New Jerusalem, a community of faith that was founded in the late 18^th century to carry on the legacy of the Swedish scientist and Lutheran  theologian, Emanual Swedenborg (1688-1772). The Bryn Athyn Cathedral (pictured above), located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, is the headquarters for the General Church of the New Jerusalem. (Photo Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

 

“The Church of the Lord is spread over all the globe, and is thus universal; and all those are in it who have lived in the good of charity in accordance with their religion.”

à Emanuel Swedenborg: De Caelo et Inferno (1758)

 

“Echoes of a Shared Past: A Tribute to Zion Lutheran School”

By Lisa Romenor, Staff Writer

 

In the halls and fields of Zion, we once roamed

With laughter, friendship, and dreams that we wove.

The joy of learning and play, the love we all glowed;

Our bond was strong, we'd make sure it showed.

Those moments we shared, in our hearts they do dwell,

A time of innocence, when life was a fairytale.

 

“The Love of Learning”

By Willa Kirk-Novalis, Staff Writer

 

The love of learning lights up my soul

Like a flaming torch, burning bright and true;

With each new lesson, my mind expands:

A cosmic dance of knowledge on the page.

 

With every page turned and every word read,

I find myself drawn deeper in

By the siren song of insight and truth –

A journey of discovery, endless and grand.

 

Further Reading

·         https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lord_is_Good_to_Me à The “Johnny Appleseed Grace,” from the 1948 Disney film Melody Time, was sung by my kindergarten class every day at 10:00 AM to give thanks for our midmorning snack! 😊

·         https://ephratacloister.org à The Ephrata Cloister in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, was a Protestant monastic community that studied, taught, and lived out an inspiring, universalistic vision of the Christian kerygma, which was firmly grounded in the esoteric tradition expounded by Jakob Boehme (1575-1624), a visionary Lutheran theologian.

·         https://johnnyappleseedmuseum.org à The Johnny Appleseed Museum is located on the campus of Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio.

·         https://swedenborg.com à With headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the Swedenborg Foundation has been publishing inspirational books by and about Emanuel Swedenborg since 1849.

·         https://zlsbethalto.org à Zion Lutheran School in Bethalto, Illinois, founded in 1962, is the Editor’s first Alma Mater!

 

Weekly Words of Wisdom

By Viviana Rivera, Staff Writer

                The love of learning is a powerful force that can shape our lives in profound ways. It drives us to seek out knowledge, to ask questions, and to challenge ourselves. For me, the love of learning is what fuels my passion for music. Every time I learn something new about my own voice, or about the theory and history of the songs I sing, it brings me one step closer to perfection and the ability to touch people's hearts with my music.

 

Stoic Proverb of the Week

Contributed by Amy Kendrick, Staff Writer

                I came across this quote from Epictetus a while back that I found interesting:

"The most important part of education is proper training in the nursery.” à Epictetus: Enchiridion 46

                This quote highlights the importance of early education and the role that parents or caregivers play in shaping a person's character and values. It suggests that education begins at home and that the foundation for learning is established during childhood. The early years of a child's life are indeed incredibly important for development, and the impact of a positive, nurturing environment and quality education cannot be overstated.

 

The Dharma Corner

Contributed by Lisa Romenor, Staff Writer

"Like a mustard seed placed upon the tip of a sword, even the smallest effort towards virtue should not be abandoned." à Dhammapada, Verse 354

                This proverb, from the Dhammapada, highlights the importance of not dismissing even the tiniest efforts made towards virtuous actions. It is like the seemingly insignificant mustard seed sitting on the tip of a sword, which must be handled with care to prevent it from falling off.

                In the same way, every small step taken towards virtue, though it may seem inconsequential, is significant. Even the smallest effort towards virtue should not be abandoned, as it has the potential to bring about great change.

                This proverb reminds us to persevere in our virtuous endeavors, understanding that every effort, no matter how small, contributes to the overall goal of spiritual growth and self-improvement.