Much Ado About Nothing

Today I had recess duty like no other. When I walked onto the grass I found all eight of the girls from my class lying with their next to the ground. I was told by the group that they were listening for the Earth's heartbeat the same way Esperanza did in the story. It amazed me how the girls tried to understand how Esperanza was feeling when she put her ear to the earth. Esperanza could not hear the heartbeat now that her father was dead and she was in a strange place. My students believed they could hear it but regretted not trying on Earth Day. They had a theory that the beat would have been stronger on that day. They drew me in and I too listened for the beat of the Earth's heart. After a bit our small group grew to a large group. Such stillness and reverence from 5th graders! At this time of the school year the students are in to being cool,not into exploring the lifeblood of the Earth. Or attempting to understand the feelings of a young girl from a book!