While I was combing a few radio programs’ podcasts for audio that I could use in BHS’ School Innovation Seminar class, I came across a clip from the NPR program, State of the Re:Union. While I initially began listening to hear a segment on the city’s schools, it wasn’t an education-related piece that jumped out. Instead, it was an 8-minute piece on the city’s fruit trees.

The piece focuses on the city of Tucson, Arizona. On one level, it’s a story about community, place, connection, and resilience. It may even offer some lessons about our own community’s growing diversity…

But I also wonder if it might also be a parable.

• What untapped resources are left un-harvested here in Burlington and Winooski?
• What would it look like if we mobilized to harvest our own bounty?
• Where would that abundance be found?

A second parable feels similarly relevant, even if it comes from the other side of the world. In Meghalaya, India, there is a cultural practice that must be seen to be believed…  To watch a clip from the Human Planet series, click here.

Similar to the story of fruit trees in Tuscon, I found myself thinking of this as a metaphor.

• How might this be a metaphor for learning?
• What wisdom does this example hold about living well, about what it means to know a place, or about what stewardship looks like?
• What other lessons can be drawn from Meghalaya?

– Dov