Sharon Oard Warner: Teaching the Young the Value of the Past
September 26, 2017
At the D. H. Lawrence Ranch Initiatives, we are working to impart the value and importance of the property we serve, not only to potential donors, University staff and faculty — but also to future generations.
On Friday, September 8th, 2017, a few days before Lawrence’s September 11th birthday, Ranch caretaker Ricardo Medina welcomed a group of first and second graders from Anasi Charter School in El Prado, NM.
The children and their teacher, Emily Ross, enjoyed an afternoon of sketching and poetry under the branches of the Lawrence Tree.
Lawrence began his career as a teacher, and though he gave up the classroom to regain his health and to pursue a writing career, he never forgot the importance of teaching. In the last months of his life, Lawrence mused in letters about returning to the Ranch to “make a bit of a thing with the young.” Maybe it’s time, he said to not worry so much about his own work and instead put his energies into teaching.
Perhaps Lawrence was thinking along these lines:
For children to understand the significance of a painting like O’Keeffe’s “The Lawrence Tree,” they need to experience the joy of creation. For children to value a structure that’s stood for hundreds of years, they need to stand in the doorway of a place like the Homesteader’s Cabin.
Sharon’s original post can be found here.
