The Beauty of a Beneficial Burn
Are you familiar with the concept of a beneficial burn? It is also called “prescribed fire” by ecologists and environmentalists. Typically, we don’t like hearing the word burn…burned cookies…burned forests…burned egos. However, like everything else that God designed, there is a purpose and place in our educational ecosystem for a beneficial burn.
In the wilds of nature, areas that need periodic fire become unhealthy when natural processes are not allowed to take their course. Trees are overcrowded, flammable undergrowth builds up to hazardous levels, and certain species are choked out of existence. Is that so different from our classroom ecosystems? Aren’t there times when you are so bogged down with details that you miss the big picture? Doesn’t it sometimes feel as if your students can’t see the forest due to the trees? Now is the perfect time to reflect over the last semester and see what would benefit from a purposeful burn.
Aren’t there times when you are so bogged down with details that you miss the big picture?
Doesn’t it sometimes feel as if your students can’t see the forest due to the trees?
Reflection isn’t a new practice in education, even though it is often not fully utilized. But, what good does reflection do if it doesn’t lead to change and improvement? What vital things in your ecosystem are overgrown and need to be purged? What needs to be cleared and composted?
Let’s look at the similarities between classroom ecosystems and ecosystems in the natural world. Creation points to connections we miss if we don’t take the time to study natural processes the God put in place.
Burning helps recycle dead material for nutrient-rich soil. Fire can turn chaff into fertilizer. How can students help in this process? Have students react to the quality of content delivery (mini-lesson) and resulting student growth (independent practice). Take the time to have students reflect and respond to gauge which practices you need to increase, and which you need to burn. Enrich the nutrients in your classroom soil through knowledge of what did and didn’t work this semester.
Take the time to have students reflect and respond to gauge which practices you need to increase, and which you need to burn.
Burning minimizes pests and the spread of disease. Looking back, what were your greatest challenges among the organisms in your ecosystem? How well did you gauge the water levels of your students so that you could irrigate those in drought, build dams for those who are drowning, provide circulation for those who are stagnant, and build scaffolding and space to grow for those who are healthy? How can you shore up your behavior boundaries while engaging students fully?
Burning promotes the growth of healthy organisms. So often we take an idea that sounded good and beat it to death. We overuse it in an attempt to make our ecosystems look glossy and lush when they are actually starving for a space to develop and grow. Just because an idea looks flashy, it doesn’t mean it is necessarily best for students. What can you eliminate that will allow time for rest and reflection?
So often we take an idea that sounded good and beat it to death. We overuse it in an attempt to make our ecosystems look glossy and lush when they are actually starving for a space to develop and grow.
Lastly, how are you right now? Maybe you let the weeds of everyday life separate you from time with the Father. Spiritual fertilizer is critical for your personal growth. Maybe you checked off so many urgent boxes that you forgot to check your own water level. Knowing your triggers and setting boundaries is vital. Maybe you forgot the value of adding the nutrients of joyful living into your schedule. A beneficial burn may be just what you need to bring environmental balance back to your own ecosystem. This holiday, as it says in Numbers 6:24-26, “May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace”.
