We have a bird feeder in our backyard. When we fill it, the birds come in droves. All different kinds of birds come and take turns getting the birdseed. Some birds are beautiful. They are the kinds of birds we hoped to attract when we put the feeder out. However, others are big and aggressive. They chase off the pretty little birds and eat the feed quickly. When the feed is gone, the birds come back for a few days looking to see if we have filled the feeder, but after several days of no food, they stop coming. When we finally fill the feeder back up with seed, it takes the birds some time to come back. The funny thing is though, that the more often we fill it, the less time it takes for the birds to come back. When the birds know they can be filled in our back yard, they are willing to take the gamble on the food being available.
The seed is knowledge. We are the birds. When something new is available for us to learn, we are willing to fight for our turn. However, when we feel like we are no longer being "fed" from a source, whether it is a teacher, book, class, or something else, we stop coming. Also, like the birds, some of us are more aggressive than others. The diversity of birds can also account for the many different kinds of learners.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI like your metaphor, novel and meaningful. I like your way of describing how the birds compete with each other, and how they vary in the time to come back for food. Vivid descriptions. I have a question: In this metaphor, are "we" analogs to "teachers"? Thanks.
Very cool, Elizabeth. I find it interesting that you connected the willingness of us birds to keep coming back for more, and it makes me think about where your little bird friends are getting their fill when it's not from your backyard. You can't guarantee there's always the same birds coming to eat, but I'm sure many of them are the same. They still manage to survive, even when your feeder is not full. So, where are they going for their food - and where are we going for our knowledge? They could very well choose not to look elsewhere: in which case, if you all stopped filling your feeder, they would die. Similarly, we could choose not to look elsewhere to learn more things when one source stops giving to us: in which case, we would stop learning altogether. It's important that we seek out feeders (or other sources of "nourishment") in a variety of places in order to keep on thriving!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I like that in your metaphor knowledge is discussed as something that is nourishing and also desirable. I think that knowledge is very much like food in that we are all motivated by it because it is necessary for survival but many of us also find certain knowledge satisfying because it just tastes good to us!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first bird feeder metaphor for learning that I've heard. I like it! Seems to work well. I especially appreciate your explanation of the components of the metaphor.
ReplyDelete