I hate scarecrows.          

The Wikipedia, the bible of the young, says, “A scarecrow is a decoy in the shape of a human.”

It adds, they are "dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on cast seed and growing crops.”

But birds can’t farm. Do you want them to plough fallows?

So for goodness' sake, let them peck in peace. Minus scarecrows.

The same goes for tweens and teenagers. No illusionists to tween-teen-proof the world.

They make reality so much less than the whole truth that it becomes a falsehood.

I demand there be no bogeymen to frighten the young from seeing the wonder of life.

Or limit their knowledge to a need to know basis. They are tweens and teenagers not the income tax department. They must ask questions.

My black-rimmed glasses and curt manner may fool many people into believing I have an iron-clad exterior. 

My students know better.

They love the oddities of my classes… no strict and rigid teaching but gentle, flexible and indulgent learning.

I believe how I treat them will decide how they view themselves. 

My students wait to be jolted by surprise in my classes, learn differently and at the pace they want.

That know they can study the solar system and learn to escape from a car trunk.

They can read Shakespeare and Dickens as much as Wimpy Kind and Dork Diaries.

In my class they work harder than they ever thought they could.

I am convinced more than us adults, they trust life to show up in its real shape. 

I hence consciously choose to be with these wise beings who see wonder.

So when my students ask or want to show me their discoveries, I never say no.

As Socrates the Greek philosopher said wonder is the start of wisdom.