The Animal School: A Fable by George Reavis

The Animal School was written by George Reavis when he was an Assistant Superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools in the 1940's. The book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1884548318/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=9224151549&ref=pd_sl_464gr9mdhp_b

An amzing video to this impactful fable can also be found at: http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/ or YouTube with the words cut off at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8limRtHZPs

The Animal School: A Fable

Once upon a time, the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a "new world." So they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming, even better than the instructor.  But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in or order to practice running.  This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school so nobody worried about that except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a charlie horse from overexertion and then got a "C" in climbing and a "D" in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely, In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.

At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceedingly well and also run, climb, and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.

The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

And the moral of the story is ........?

In the last post, I shared my experience in kindergarten and how further schooling had a negative impact on my artistic ability. I know you have similar stories in your life. I would LOVE your feedback on your personal experiences and what you have done to overcome or maybe you never overcame!