*To those who said that students are like grass and that it was the teacher's job to fertilize them.

At a professional development seminar at a national conference, I was part of a group charged with designing a metaphor for our role as teachers. Over my objections, we decided that our role was to fertilize our students.

As we followed the directions to draw out our metaphor, the members in my group became more and more condescending in their attitudes toward students. I never did figure out why we had a lawn mower in our picture. However, as a gardener, I know that as long as you keep grass cut, it can never bloom. It was enough to make one want to scream.

Instead of screaming, I went home and created this piece of artwork.