Project Reflections
| Date | Place | Reflections |
| 10-1 | Harvest Festival - Organic Farm | My time spent with young children carving pumpkins was incredible. I usually work with teens, so working with kids under twelve was very refreshing. I admire their bravery with the carving tools and their courage to get their little hands dirty with the pumpkins' innards. They were determined to create their own personal pumpkins, and all were happy with the outcomes. What a fun and rewarding way to spend a rainy afternoon. |
| 10-6 | New Market Skills Center | I am very excited to observe and participate in Les Holliday's English class. I am intrigued by his partnership teaching with James Bowers who is taking a more scientific approach to the survival curriculum. My greatest challenge for this aspect of my program project is learning everything I can about the topic of surviving the wild by foraging for native, edible plants. Knowledge with understanding is the key to enthusiastically and successfully teaching a subject to others. |
| 10-12 | Evergreen Class
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I met with Allyson regarding her transferring her primary project to Library/Archive. After speaking with my new project partner, I felt less disconcerted. We patiently await Marja's return. |
| 10-14 | New Market Skills Center | Today, I made my first contact with Mr. Holliday's students. With the instructors away at a conference, most of the students were researching the answers to a crossword puzzle, but a few had finished their assignments and could discuss their class work so far this quarter. Before my hour faded, I had made a connection with one of the students. It seems that many teenagers have a 'secret handshake', and I am always honored when they wish to share with me this form of non-verbal, positive communication. Some can be rather intricate, so I was relieved to learn that this particular action is merely right fists touching lightly. Not unlike the 'hi-five', gestures such as these promote an atmosphere of encouragement and mutual understanding. |
| 10-16 | Home | In order to participate in Mr. Holliday's class, I must be well versed in the materials his students are using. A couple of students had given me bad reviews of their first book, and although the writing style seemed a bit repetitive, I enjoyed reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The story begins through the eyes of a boy, but by the book's end, the boy has grown into a man, and his experiences are relayed in a mature voice. I appreciated the recollection the boy has of a particular teacher's enthusiasm for life and work. The author clearly illustrates the profound impact a great teacher can have on a student. Paulsen writes many passages regarding the Oneness with Nature, and many of his words relate to my Evergreen program. I was intrigued by his use of the word hummock. I had only previously seen this word used in relation to volcanic debris, and I recognized an avenue with which to utilize units of volcano curriculum such as that created for Mount Rainier National Park. |
| 10-18 | New Market Skills Center | When I entered the classroom, the students and instructor were sitting around the tables completing a group activity. I joined into the fun, and observed Mr. Holliday relate the current activity with their recent video showing of Alone in the Wilderness. I reviewed the quiz that followed the film. Mr. Holliday read an article in the local paper and correlated this with yesterday's assigned editorial reading. Most of his students were eager to participate. |
| 10-19 | New Market Skills Center | Fun was the word of the day. I participated in a team building activity with the students. Our right index fingers pressed against the right end of our neighbors' straws, while our left arms crossed over and that index finger pressed the left end of our neighbors' straws. Soon, we created a connected circle with all the straws becoming both our neighbors and our own. We then took direction from Mr. Holiday who moved us in a circle, around the room, and from standing to sitting then back to standing. All the while, we tried diligently not to break our connection (we had to make a couple of attempts). Working as a team, we were able to succeed in this challenge, and we had a lot of fun. |
| 10-19 | Home | I have been inspired today by thoughts of survival curriculums, lesson plans, and student activities. My goal is to create an 'ideal' curriculum for high school students regarding survival in the wilderness with aspects used currently in class combined with those relating but not necessarily feasible. I cannot wait to share my ideas with Mr. Holliday. |
| 10-20 | New Market Skills Center | The students are beginning a math and graphing exercise masked as an art activity. |
| 10-23 | Home | Alone in the Wilderness is the documentary of the life of Richard Proenneke. His activities and adventures are recorded in his daily journals. |
| 10-25 | New Market Skills Center | Our class began reading as a group Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Each person in the circle was asked to read one page, and only one student politely declined. I empathize with this young person as I, too, at that age possessed a dreadful fear of reading aloud in a group. To some, this phobia can be as serious as that of public speaking. I hope someday this student can gain the confidence needed to take some risk and practice reading out loud in front of others. Every student including myself was puzzled by elements of this somewhat foreign vocabulary, and all of us will be completing Mr. Holiday's vocabulary list this week. |
| 10-26 | The Evergreen State College | The focus of my primary project transitioned from Library/Archive to the Longhouse Garden. I join the group on Wednesday at four o'clock. I was really looking forward to the challenge and learning of plant taxonomy, but the idea of working with a team of folks is grand. Hopefully, I can tackle the archive project in upcoming quarters, but for now, I am very excited to get my hands dirty in the wonderful environment that I know as The Evergreen State College. |
| 10-27 | New Market Skills Center | I met with Mr. Holliday during my class observation time. We discussed the final timeline for my lessons and activity. I am so psyched about the opportunity to teach lessons, and I received positive feedback for my upcoming student activity. Mr. Holliday has been a great support, and he has proven to be of great help, as well. When I related to him that I had no idea what the true outcome of my original student activity would be, he reminded me that each lesson is a risk. Only by trying will I truly learn the techniques of teaching teens. I already know that activities that work for some groups might not work for others, but I am willing to take a chance and create what will hopefully be a very fun and meaningful outdoor exercise. Bring it on! |
| 11-1 | Home | I have found putting together all the components for a thorough lesson of thirty minutes is even harder than creating one to fill two hours. I tried to combine pertinent information with a few odd factoids. I teach tomorrow, and I have high expectation for the success of this lesson. I just hope the kids will have as much fun learning the material as I have. |
| 11-2 | New Market Skills Center | Oh, what fun we all had today. My goal was to teach the students about six edible plants of the Pacific Northwest - three from the text of Hatchet and three new introductions. While lecturing on the physical characteristics and edibility of the plants, I used the principals of the Schema Theory to emphasize each plant's Latin name. Student learning was assessed through my Latin Match Worksheet. Each student was asked to match common to Latin names with the resulting puzzle word spelling EDIBLZ. The kids ate it up. |
| 11-2 | The Evergreen State College | I arrived at the college for our 4 pm meeting at the Longhouse. I strolled about this immense garden noting specifics of plant species, individual habitats, and overall aesthetics. My Longhouse group is very enthusiastic to finally get started, and with Marja's help, we have a better idea of how to proceed. |
| 11-3 | New Market Skills Center | I began our lesson time presenting plant material to the students to review yesterday's material and reinforce their learning. After reviewing the survival strategies the character, Brian, from the text, Hatchet, used to survive in late summer and autumn, I asked the students to write a short description of what might have happened to Brian if the rescue plane had not landed until April. I will be taking the time to read and comment on each student's paper, and I will be handing back their work next Wednesday. |
| 11-8 | Home | I greatly look forward to presenting my lesson and activity this week with Mr. Holliday's class. The preparation has consisted of gathering and organizing many series of items in numerous ways. I am very confident my enthusiasm for my subject matter will win the students' attention. |
| 11-9 | New Market Skills Center | So today was Backpack Essentials Day #1 with the class. I believe my lesson was a learning experience for both the students and definitely myself. First, I learned that pictures taken at New Market must be cleared in advance with the administration. My classmate, Allyson Sims, came to observe me with the students, and her camera provoked some alarm, but all was cleared up and we were off to class. After introducing Allyson to the students, I acquired verbal permission from the students to be photographed and directed those who wished to abstain from photos to sit on the other side of Allyson and the camera. My lessons represent a continuation of past curriculum, since the students are now reading Tom Sawyer, so at first it was difficult to get them to buy in to my material, but as soon as things became more animated, they were hooked. Which brings me to my second learning experience - always test your equipment prior to class. Hence the question was posed to whether the waterproof matches would light after getting wet. With Mr. Holliday's permission I dipped one of the matches into my water supply and tried to light it by striking it against the box. A student volunteered to try, and again failure, but our defeat only emphasized the need for the water and air proof match holder. My final piece of learning represents something I have already observed by working in this vocational high school. Students engage with the material when they are allowed to experience that material using a variety of their senses. A student could not believe that my space blanket could keep her warm, so I challenged her to try it out and give the class feedback to her experience. I knew at this moment my intellectual group was with me, when I attempted to open the blanket's plastic packaging with my hands, and a couple of students suggested using my pocket knife. There was a bit of laughter within our group about this great idea. The space blanket proved to be very warm, and I feel that this class time was well spent. I closed my session with the students by giving them a brief overview of our activity scheduled for tomorrow. |
| 11-10 | New Market Skills Center | I was so nervous before class today. My activity has proven to take quite a bit of preparation, and I had my doubts as to the success of my first outdoor lesson. I split the students into three groups and gave each group an envelope containing their clue list. The goal of the exercise was to have the groups decipher the clues and retrieve the example of a backpacking essential. Each group was given the first essential, a campus map. Off they went, and to my surprise, chaos did not ensue. The students seem to have a wonderful time roaming outdoors, learning more about their campus, and finding hidden treasures, and Allyson and I had a great time observing the process. All but two of the essentials were retrieved for our group backpack assembly, and everyone received participation treats following the exercise. The best aspects to my experience this afternoon were the big smiles on the faces of the students. I love it when a plan comes together. |
| 11-15 | New Market Skills Center | Mr. Holliday met with me and gave me my classroom observation and lesson/activity evaluation. My enthusiasm is always welcome in his classroom. I greatly appreciate the time Mr. Holliday spent coaching me and giving me feedback. He is a great mentor. |
| 11-16 | New Market Skills Center | I received a written evaluation from one of the students in Mr. Holliday's class. The keeper of the secret handshake, the student wrote, "Your excitement in the classroom gets everybody motivated and wanting to learn. You make learning fun." I love teaching, and I am glad it shows. |
| 12-2 | Home | Tonight, I conquered my fear of Power Point. I have made slides before, but this evening I learned of buttons that add slides to my window. I consider myself one of the computer illiterate, so fall quarter has been quite a challenge with Dreamweaver and Power Point programs. I am crossing my fingers that I can put in my disc and make the slides appear on a big screen and move in the order I desire. |
| 12-3 | Home | Low and behold, my Power Point presentation worked. Although my group's presentation did not adhere to time restrictions, my presentation was a short ten minutes. I am sure we were all happy about that. So many presentations made the day go by quickly, but on the other hand, many classmates left early. |
