I've forgotten some things since then, but Mr. Potato retaught those lessons, and at a deeper level. Learning is discovery. Discovery is joy. The joy comes in beholding something in your hand, something that wasn't there before, something you may not have even seen before or known existed, be it a potato or a flash of insight. Discovery requires digging and a willingness to get dirty.
Discovery involves experimenting, doing things wrong, making mistakes.
That lesson, as far as I'm concerned, is an auspicious start to any school year. On a school level, I'm thankful to the potatos and the garden for reminding me of the conditions required for ideal cultivation. First, gardening requires gardeners, people who give of themselves to prepare the soil for others to take root, for others to have the ideal opportunities for discover in and of a new place to begin. You are too great in number to recognize individually, but we have seen many students and families land in soft soil because of the tremendously positive impact of your work. A second condition for ideal discovery is a rock-free seed bed for learning to occur.