by Peter Twitchell
I like the concept of the letter “V” formation geese and other migrating birds fly in. Someone told me once that the reason geese fly in a “V” formation is so they can fly with less air resistance, go further without flapping themselves to death.
I decided to call a pilot friend of mine, so that I could write about this collaborative effort of such a wise species of birds. I called my friend Steve Willis and learned that term “drafting” is what the birds do to save more energy when migrating South or coming back up North.
Now I ask you. How in the world did those birds figure that out? Was it by accident? Regardless, it takes the whole flock to make it work. You figure each one of those geese flying in that “V” formation does its part flying the lead position. Wow, one of the miracles of nature!
There’s a great lesson we humans can learn from this. I used to sit on the Bethel Advisory School Board with local parents and Dr. Brenneman. It was a pleasure. Also served on the LKSD Board of Education with people like Louie Bunyan and Paul Kiunya.
One of the misfortunes of our educational systems across our great nation is putting kids in a box by themselves. Don’t ever put kids in a box. It’s tragic for children’s morale when they are categorized as gifted or slow learners.
I don’t like the terms “smart” and “dumb” because kids are neither. School kids should understand that they are part of a whole. Each child in the classroom is an important part of the whole body of students in the classroom and educational system. Each one of us holds an important piece of the puzzle.
I like the movie “Snow Walker” with Canadian actor Barry Pepper. As the movie begins in a barren scene an Inuit man is mocked as he tries to sell his beautiful artwork of a caribou on a tanned rabbit hide. The Inuit man is accidentally pushed into Barry, who plays a maverick bush pilot.
The Inuit man apologizes, “I’m sorry brother.” Barry tells him, “I’m not your brother.” The next day Barry transports a sick Inuit with T.B. and crashes in the wilderness. The Inuit teaches him survival skills and saves his life.
