The Path We Choose Can Choose Us

I was exposed to the poetry of Robert Frost some time ago. Although there are conventional meanings that have been pinned to his work, I maintain a firm stance that everything is open to interpretation. Furthermore, I don't believe in a single right answer. There are very few absolutes in this world. By far my favorite work of Frost is his poem "The Road Not Taken". I've had a steadfast conventional interpretation of this poem for quite some time, but as an education major, my perspective has shifted considerably. It begins by saying that:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth


Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

I've always considered this to be a choice by the narrator to pick one life path over another, but as I consider multiple intelligences, as outlined by Howard Gardner, I find myself questioning that rationale.  Perhaps is was less of a conscious decision than I originally believed.  What if the narrator was predisposed to a certain way of learning.  Frost takes a naturalistic approach in his poem.  I make this comparison between learning and life path because they run parallel throughout our lives.  The method in which we learn best is as much of a variable in our decisions as the ones that we tend to emphasize (i.e. money, love, convenience).  Perhaps if people were more conscious of their learning style, they might make better decisions.

Regardless, as a teacher I am constantly considering everything I come into contact with in terms of it's educational application.  I recently came across a site created by Coca-Cola on Facebook of all places.  It allows the user to create a song using user defined lyrics and a selection of a couple voices and musical styles.  It even allows for a download of the finished song.  Although a bit simplistic, I think that this could provide a teacher with a valuable resource to use with students.  Personally, I would have been ecstatic if I could study using a song on my ipod.

The site is Crammer Keeper

There are new experiences all around us, but we need to be able to recognize them.