Miz Alice stressed "the system of things" when she taught school because she wanted the newer generations realize that if they don't see that we are in communion with Nature and we have to give back what we take away. For example, the people have been taking crabs from the bay at Smith Island and now there aren't a lot of crabs left. If the fishermen had slowed down, hadn't taken as many, and not taken the babies/let them mature, there would still be a lot of crabs in the bay (390). So her thinking is that if the newer generations see that we are all connected they won't make the same mistakes. Sadly Miz Alice lets the Least Heat-Moon and the reader know that this plan did not work out.
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Great question. I noticed that right before she says that "ecology" was her "theme," she says, "A teacher should carry a theme--a refrain to sing ideas from" (389). That is a cool idea, that the teacher does not just present a bunch of disconnected facts, but everything is part of a whole bigger picture. We live in a specialized society, and in a university like SMU, all the different departments are specialized categories of knowledge. It's hard for students to see any pattern or unity to their education. I have a question for anybody who wants to answer it: Is having a theme like "ecology" going too far in the direction of teaching from your own perspective? Is that OK?
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