It is said that education is all about bringing out already existing potential instead of blindly stuffing facts.. Some parents and teachers try to be potters who mould the clay the way they like. Each child has infinite potential and is a future tree and therefore be treated the way a gardener treats a seed. Based on what the famous philospher Socrates said “Educations is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”, this poem advocates Gardening instead of Potting to groom your children. Though directed at teachers and educators, this is equally true for parents as well.

To shape your child’s future, it is absolutely essential
To know his already existing inner potential

Some people spend a lifetime in pinpointing their talent
In such matters, nobody can afford to be nonchalant

It is only by early identification of your child’s unique gift
That you can really make your child’s fortunes lift

A teacher has to indulge more in talent extracting than knowledge stuffing
Choosing potting instead of Gardening tantamounts to bluffing.

Instead of potting which in molding clay can mislay
Opt for gardening which in sprouting seed produces the right breed

Gardening can really shape a child’s destiny
Potting sooner or latter will cause a mutiny

Being a gardener can prevent your child from lifelong imprisonment
Being a potter can avoid true enlightenment

If you choose to be a gardener, your will come out a winner
As a potter, in your child you will stifle the creator

When you opt to be a gardener, you are a true trainer
When you opt to be a potter, you are a mistaken, misguided selector

As a Gardner, you shall be the ideal career designer
As a potter, you shall be courting disaster

A Gardner is not a stuffer but a finetuner
Instead of being a potter, be a mentor, an educator.



Associated article- Shaping your child's future- Do you want to be a gardner or a potter?

Another poem- The wrong career.