There is clearly hope for the human species and all other living things
on this earth if kids can think this way. Thanks for sharing the poem;
I found it uplifting and just...........well............wonderful!

Maureen E. Ellis
Tox Group at Roos 1
DEH, SPHCM, Box 354695
U of WA
Seattle, WA 98195
me2 at u.washington.edu
************************************************************************
I left the entire message intact to encourage everytweeter to read it
again. me2
**********************READ BELOW AGAIN


On Thu, 28 Sep 1995, Dean Drugge wrote:

> Wow! More great threading and flaming on line. After reading and
> enjoying everyone's thoughts and feelings I presented this topic to my
> students of fourth and fifth graders. Truly fascinating. We started with
> pets and responsible owners. Aside from killing the owners, they
> suggested education as the key to controlling the overpopulation and
> abuse of owners. They worked there way off each other's comments to a
> discussion about the "human" animal, which was exciting to them. They
> enjoyed the "wild" aspect of their own species, and started talking about
> the "pet" or "tamed" aspect of the human specie. They loved the humor
> which this brought about. The comment about humans becoming less wild, as
> compared to relations to primates and the cave or grassland nomads, and
> our jealously of wild animals and their freedom was intriquing. They just
> keep going on their own thread. The homo sapiens, with increased
> intelligence and less "wildness" are more wasteful and annoying than the
> simple wild animals. And of course, how could they not end up talking
> about how "we" humans put ourselves above "them" wild animals. We are
> becoming alienated or less wild as a species, and they wondered about
> other animals communicating to each other. If they communicate like we do
> in the content and way we express to each other.
>
> Thanks for the "wild" and "tame" discussion, tweeters. The kids unwound
> the thread a bit more, and gave us permission to "communicate" like the
> human specie so rarely does. If I may share a poem we discussed for the
> week.
>
> For Poets by Al Young
>
> Stay beautiful
> but dont stay down underground too long
> Dont turn into a mole
> or a worm
> or a root
> or a stone
>
> Come on out into the sunlight
> Breathe in trees
> Knock out mountains
> Commune with snakes
> & be the very hero of birds
>
> Dont forget to poke your head up
> & blink
> Think
> Walk all around
> Swim upstream
>
> Dont forget to fly.
>