Episode #38: 2 Christopher - Chapter 17 - Education

Jan,15 2026

<-#37: 2 Christopher - Chapter 16 - Plow#39: 2 Christopher - Chapter 18 - Mayor ->

On instruction, stewardship, and the matter of who may teach

17:1

In that year, when the dust had learned to travel far,

a man came with papers and a briefcase

bearing the seal of the state.

17:2

He said he was sent

to demonstrate modern agricultural instruction

to rural schools.

17:3

He arrived early,

expecting children

and a bell.

17:4

Instead, he found rows of desks open to the air,

and students already at work.

17:5

The children were unclothed,

as was the teacher standing among them.

17:6

The man stopped in the doorway.

17:7

He removed his hat,

then put it back on,

as if unsure which action was correct.

17:8

The teacher looked up and said calmly,

"You may come in."

17:9

It was my wife, Myriam.

17:10

She said,

"We are discussing soil horizons.

If you wish to listen, you may."

17:11

The man said,

"I was not informed-"

17:12

She answered,

"No one is informed of how others live.

They only notice."

17:13

He cleared his throat

and sat.

17:14

A child stood and pointed to a drawing,

naming layers of earth

with precision.

17:15

Another explained

why shallow roots fail in heat.

17:16

A third described

how wind lifts bare soil first.

17:17

The man began to write,

then stopped writing,

then began again,

as another student spoke of nitrogen

17:18

He said quietly,

"These are advanced concepts."

17:19

Myriam replied,

"They are necessary ones."

17:20

He asked,

"Are these children farmers?"

17:21

She said,

"They are caretakers in training."

17:22

At midday,

another woman entered

and took Myriam's place.

17:23

She taught arithmetic

using crop yields and rainfall.

17:24

Later, a third woman taught reading,

using field journals kept by the children themselves.

17:25

The man asked found my wife and asked her,

"Where is the headmistress?"

17:26

Myriam answered,

"There is none."

17:27

He said,

"And who oversees the curriculum?"

17:28

She replied,

"The needs of the land,

and the gifts of the mothers."

17:29

He frowned and said,

"Married women do not usually-"

17:30

She interrupted gently,

"Raise children?"

17:31

He fell silent.

17:32

She said,

"Each teaches what she knows best.

One science, one letters, one numbers."

17:33

"The children learn that knowledge

belongs to the community,

not to a title."

17:34

The man closed his case.

17:35

He said,

"I must speak to the one in charge."

17:36

Since no one is, they brought him to Christopher.

17:37

Christopher listened

as the man spoke of propriety,

standards,

and appearances.

17:38

At last, Christopher said,

"Do the children understand the land?"

17:39

The man said,

"Yes, it appears so."

17:40

Christopher asked,

"Do they treat it carefully?"

17:41

The man said,

"I assume they do, from their field journals."

17:42

Christopher asked,

"Do they eat?"

17:43

The man said,

"Yes."

17:44

Christopher said,

"Then they are being educated."

17:45

The man protested,

"But modesty-"

17:46

Christopher replied,

"Is not the subject today."

17:47

He said,

"God asked us to tend the garden,

not to memorize the fence."

17:48

"Children who do not know the land

will either abuse it

or fear it."

17:49

"Neither feeds anyone."

17:50

The man asked,

"And the mothers?"

17:51

Christopher said,

"Those who teach from strength

teach best."

17:52

"And those who live the lesson

do not need authority to explain it."

17:53

The man stood,

unsure whether he had failed

or learned.

17:54

He left without filing a complaint.

17:55

That afternoon,

the children returned to their work.

17:56

The dust passed overhead.

17:57

And the land remained,

for another season,

in careful hands.

<-#37: 2 Christopher - Chapter 16 - Plow#39: 2 Christopher - Chapter 18 - Mayor ->