Musing on working outside

As I mentioned here, May is now in full bloom and looking more and more like Summertime, enough so I can be outside without a coat and I have to be careful about getting sunburns. As it was really nice, I decided to take the students out for their lesson with me. That's one of the good things with teaching: it's one of the jobs that you can do outside, if the weather allows it, but you don't have to. I don't know if I could do a real outdoor job. I never really had one. Well, I love to pick up fruits and do bits of gardening for the mother-in-law, but I never had a paid job that required to work outside.

Working outside appeals to me as an intellectual. There is something about being outside that seems to encourage reflection: Newton discovered gravity outside, Greek philosophers and philosophers in general conceived a lot of their thoughts outside. There is that overrated movie, Dead Poet Society, which has its main character teaches his students outside half the time, it seems. I always strongly disliked that movie, but I see the merit of this method. In an ideal world with an ideal job, I would teach literature, all sorts of literature, outside, near an oak, a willow or what have you, having afternoon tea on cool Autumn days, or drinking beer, and on hot Summer days drinking Pimm's. It would not be an orthodox teaching method, but it would certainly be entertaining and I guarantee it would give results.

Anyway, I will have to leave my job soon, as my contract will end. There is already something that I might have, but that would be office work. Just when summer is starting which, presuming I get it, would be a shame. I think working outside fits my creative mind better.