Language and Beauty and Respect (Entrance 4)

Robin Wall Kimmerer is an incredible writer. I've been a few chapters away from finishing Braiding Sweetgrass for an embarrassingly long time (apparently I've been busy since the beginning of September). I think this is a book I will return to over and over again. I tear up at almost every section due in part to the beautiful connection and togetherness which she shows a path towards. However, it is also heart breaking to acknowledge how things could have been if these cultures weren't nearly destroyed. Anyway, let's make this a bit more relevant.

In physics, I have never felt this kind of disconnect between the language spoken by science and that of the natural world. Perhaps because physics tends to deal with physical phenomena rather than things (living or otherwise). I completely relate to Kimmerer's description of biological science being "a language of distance... a language of objects" (p. 49), but I don't exactly share this view about scientific language in general, and I think even less so for mathematics.

I do imagine that some learners of science and math jargon feel similar to Kimmerer in her quest to learn her own language. Of course the challenge is entirely different, but it can feel like an entirely new language. There is a certain amount of vocabulary one must acquire in order to easily discuss ideas in any topic.

"The grammar of animacy" is such a beautiful concept, but I don't see a way to bring it into the classroom without somehow appropriating culture. I could have the kids use a verb form of "normal force" for example but this is obviously flawed on several levels, and even then perhaps a Potawatomi speaker would consider this force inanimate. In contrast, I do find my language has shifted somewhat to the "someone is in my hat" (p.56) idea since reading this chapter this summer, but I don't see how I could bring this into the classroom.

Perhaps the way to do it is through identifying and learning from more-than-human teachers. Thrown objects can teach us about projectile motion, but what teacher is best equipped to teach this? Conservation of energy can be learned on a roller coaster, but is a roller coaster a teacher?