What is needed in your curriculum for class

Create a 4 hour non-formal field trip lesson plan
Create a 2 week / 3 hours per day curriculum for a school of your choice.

Below is the list of things I would like addressed but if a certain activity comes from a certain curriculum guide just mention the title of the guide, the title of the activity and the page number.

Let's talk about us all creating a two week curriculum for a certain class and all choose a different theme for the two weeks so then we actually create 12 weeks of class which I think someone like Krista Troyer, the fifth grade teacher today, would appreciate!

Title
Summary/General program description
Grades
When
Length
Maximum Students
Materials needed
Goals 
Objectives
Activities/Procedure
Concepts addressed
Correlations to science standards and to other subjects
Wrap up - how to bring it all together
Pre and Post Activities
Resources

Warsaw Raft Schedule

August 25

We will meet at the Grassy Creek Public Access off of E. 500 N. (where the E. is on the E. 500 N.) at 9:00 am and then Camp Crosley is at the far west end of James Lake.



10:00 Students arrive/announcements/raft assignments
10:30 Launch into Grassy Creek
-Topics: watersheds, plant id, water tests
11:30 Enter Tippy Lake
-Topics: Lake facts
12:00 Arrive Pie-Eyed Petey’s to board Pontoons
-Topics: Lake Eco-Zone, Secchi reading
12:45 Arrive Camp Crosley/Lunch
1:30 Watershed Activity
-Two rafts will be assigned to each tarp
2:00 Load buses

Race to the Top: an Odious Problem

Especially important viewing after our Friday discussion.

-------------

"We're lying to our kids," says professor and former charter school advocate and supporter of No Child Left Behind Diane Ravitch. High-stakes testing and punishing teachers for low-scoring kids is failing, according to her research; moreover, charter schools are only successful, when they are, because they can select the best students from the failing districts in which they are located.In a new piece at The Nation, and in her new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, Ravitch lays out the case against the policies she once supported. ; She joins Laura in studio to discuss the problems with education--and how Obama and Arne Duncan might be making things worse, not better.

http://blip.tv/file/3902166

Give a dog a bone

I really was intrigued while reading David Sobel's article. Two quotes that really stuck with me were, "What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it and feel comfortable in it before being asked to heal it's wounds" and the other quote was, "knowledge without love will not stick. But if love comes first, knowledge is sure to follow" by John Burroughs. I really liked these two quotes because they helped me think of what would be enticing to a learner and teacher. If people (whatever age) just get outdoors and explore what is around them they will start to value all the little things that make up the big picture. So I think being outdoors is the key factor to engaging kids and educators. It does suck that now with the economy that schools are cutting fields trips because those were the best perks of being in school. But since field trips are being taken away, teachers should not let that affect the children having the opportunity to go outside during class time. Teachers should take their kids around the school and explore whats near them. Educators should also have a lot of hands on activities for the children.

Now to reach adults and high schoolers EE should get those people by learning their interests and tying them in that way. It's all about playing to what people are interesting in. I like to think of it like giving a dog it's bone...... just give people their bones, but with EE involved. The media helps a lot in this arena

Enticing EE....

The same premise of allowing feeling & intellect being intimately involved in the learning process for students, goes for educators. At the end of the day, as learners we need to be hooked. Surveying teachers' to understand how to meet them halfway can be a standing grounds to providing them with a transformational experience.
It may very well take financial resources as Jennifer said, that account for teachers' participating in programming that builds their awareness & interest, so they can break down their own fears and misconceptions.
It seems like folks in the area of non-formal EE could be a resource for school-based administrators attempting to be inclusive of providing professional development on EE. Seems like school administrators also need to be pulled in within a circle amongst their own, to become inspired. Real-life examples of models in their region would also speak loudest to making this commitment become real-life application!
I whole-heartedly agree & know from experience that Sobel and others that confirm that things need to start from the very place we inhabit is the way to go. Being in the city, has been the greatest teacher in this respect. Challenging but powerful. It's actually the reason I decided to do Merry Lea as opposed to venturing to the west coast (just yet), because this first part of my living has been connected to the great lakes/midwest.

This approach would personalize the context for educators as well, having to deal with their immediate surroundings -such as on school grounds -i.e. is there only lawns or gardens too?

Why NOT EE? That is the question.......

David Sobel's paper resounded heavily with me (though I didn't really care for his comparing "victims of EE" to child abuse victims- kinda tacky!). HOWEVER, he made some really good points about how EE could be so much more enticing if educators focused on what is in their own backyard. A couple of weeks ago at the kids garden I run, I had couple of kids point at a fallen down stop sign in front of the garden and tell me that we needed to get rid of it so it wouldn't hurt the spotted cheetah. Cheetah? I asked. Where are there cheetahs around here? They just stared at me blankly, and then yelled "Save the Cheetahs!". Later, I checked out one of the classrooms and saw that they had posters of endangered species all over their room, and also a corner where a paper "rain forest" was being built (though, i don't remember cheetahs being there either....). Anyway, last week I pointed at a big hole that we had in the garden. What could it be? I asked the young ones. All hands went up. " A BIG, FAT SNAKE!" they said in unison. I shook my head. Very unlikely, but cool nonetheless. What about a groundhog, I suggested. Once again, blank looks all around. What is a groundhog, they inquired. BACKYARDS, teachers. Backyards........ that is the answer.

How can we make EE more enticing for educators and learners?

I don't know if the question is HOW, but WHEN. When will EE become more enticing for educators and learners. I know that it has got to be sometime soon, at least I hope so. When I look at the current state of the environment, it feels as though EE may be the only thing that can give any of us hope.

I think in order to make EE enticing, we have got to make the environment a top priority. Eventually the average joe will want to know what is really happening with global warming, climate change, deforestation, pollution, etc. I feel like when this begins to happen, and I think and hope it is now, people will want to learn about the environment and teachers will want to teach about the environment. I feel as though this is happening at smaller scales right now. If not, why would we be in this program at all? Why would Merry Lea exist?

In Texas, I would walk into my mentor's office at least weekly and complain about the common man. I would sit there and tell him that I was SO different from everyone and so was he and how could we ever expect anything to change. He told me every single time that I was being silly because so many people feel the same way and never say anything. One time, he even posed the question to one of my classes and every single person raised their hand.

So maybe the way to make EE more enticing is to speak about EE. To make EE matter and really advocate for it. Maybe there really are those people, like the rest of us that are everywhere and just need someone to hold their hand through the process. I think EE is enticing in itself. I think that it has to be one of the greatest things ever, especially when it comes to education. I just think people need to know about and to know about the issues. With this, EE is enticing in itself.

Eatin' It Up

Why don't people eat up environmental education. I wish it was like that game Hungry Hungry Hippos. Those hippos really loved marbles...even when they weren't that hungry. Poison Ivy, mosquitoes, poisonous berries, and monsters! all contribute to teacher fear. I know there are many reasons why teachers aren't eating up environmental education, but I do believe it all boils down to fear. So many teachers fear that they don't know how to take kids outside. Questions like, "What if they fall down, what if someone gets stung by a bee, what if there are bears" all plague teachers. We live in a litigious society, and administrators know and fear this. This past year a 5th grade teacher in our corporation told her class that she was taking them to a bog. I offered to show her some things before she took her students on the trip. She never contacted me, and I found out they never went to the bog. Maybe it was a time thing, but I don't think so. Stories like Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel are deeply ingrained in our psyche. In these stories "the woods" are seen as dangerous. We need to remove these elements of danger so that teachers can explore. If we can teach educators to embrace adventure rather than fear, we can transform environmental education. Educators only need a little training to be comfortable with the outdoors. It is a change in mindset that will revolutionize environmental education.

Standards

Standards are like rules and laws and if we didn't have those I feel that our world would be one be mess. There always have to be some boundaries so that people are all on the same page. Now I do think some standards are a little over board and sometimes not necessary. Like schools being order to make cuts because they didn't meet the standards on the state wide test. So I guess what I'm trying to say that there needs to be standards set up but the restriction those standards have needs to be well thought through and think of all the aspects.

Standards

While doing our reading about these standards, I kept going back to different times in my life when I felt the "force" of standards. One big moment was when Oliver was a little (little!) guy, and we had a wellness appointment with his pediatrician. At the appointment, the doctor asked me how many words Oliver could say. At that time, he was mostly using grunts and hand motions to communicate- not like the clear sentences his little girl friends were using. I was petrified! What was I DOING WRONG? Did he lack words because I didn't believe kids should be stuck in front of Baby Einstein to learn about the world? Were the 8 books a day I read to him not enough? Should I have knocked him down when he started walking before he turned 1? I later went back to have another appointment, and there was another doctor there, with another set of standards. Besides Oliver's 3 words that he could say, she also included the 5 words that he signed (in sign language) as vocabulary. Whew! We made the grade! And i learned a VERY important lesson that day- everyone is different! And to not be afraid of one person's standards. And yes, these standards are put in place for a reason- to make sure kids are progressing in development (which is essential!). However, everyone progresses at different rates, and standards cannot predict the learning curve for everyone. I am happy to say that lil' O progressed very nicely, and I actually have a difficult time getting him to NOT talk.......

ps.

Standards should be taken for face value- and not as scare tactics!

Standards

I think the idea of standards is a good one. Not only for educators, but for parents and students. Educators should be given an idea of what they are supposed to teaching and held accountable. The problem with this is that they also have a lot more on their plates. The standards set by the State on Indiana for Science, and the NCATE for Environmental Educators are great, but I do not know if they are realistic. I don't feel like I got the kind of education that is being described and I went to one of the top public schools in Ohio that had an A rating each year. I feel as though when it came to Science and Math that my education was lacking. I was horrible at science and math, so what did they do? They put me in remedial math and science classes so that I could "catch up". All this really did was remind me that I did not do well in these classes, so the education that I got was not up to standards. In these classes my teachers focused on getting the remedial kids to pass the standardized tests so that our school score didn't go down.

I have not only noticed it in these subjects but in many others. I was in Honors English classes since 7th grade. Funny that I was in remedial math and science and honors english. My english classes were much better than the remedial classes or just regular english classes. I would ask my friends what they did and it didn't even compare to the type of education that we were getting in the honors classes. I assumed this was similar in honors classes for math and science, but i wasn't even close to being allowed in those classes.

So, do I think standards are good? Yes. Can their expectations be realistic? I don't think so. At least not right now. In order for it to be realistic we need much better teacher education. We would also need a way to get every kid engaged in every subject, which is also a very hard thing and I am not sure where you can even start with a solution.

Multiple Intelligence Test Results

Interpersonal 33

Musical 33

Spatial-Visual 31

Intrapersonal 31

Bodily-Kinesthetic 27

Linguistic 23

Logical-Mathematical 12

Pretty much what I thought!

Standards

Let me premise this post with a statement. I'm not an expert on standards, but I do have a strong dislike for the misuse of standards. I do believe standards are important. Without standards important concepts would be lost. Teachers who don't feel confident with scientific concepts rely on standards to guide them. Unfortunately, administrators use standards as regulatory law. Many high school teachers are required to write the standard they are teaching on wipe boards outside their classrooms. Administrators feel students need to visually see the expectations/standards for that day's lesson. If you have ever met a teenager, you already know they won't and don't read those wipe boards. Maybe it's an accountability thing. Teachers need accountability, but I don't believe wipe boards are the answer. Writing the standards outside teacher classrooms becomes a chore rather than a teaching tool. The Indiana standards for Environmental Education are fairly progressive, but are seen by many as unnecessary paperwork.

No one called me normal

What are standards for?

I am sure that there are many reasons for standards but I have thought of three.

1. Accountability. We are always putting our trust into other people, whether for education, driving, electric wiring. Without standards people could do things without the qualifications therefore leading to harm of others.

2. The "real world" In most job interviews that I have had people always want to know how well I can use a computer. It has become the standard that people know word, excel and other programs. Another reason for standards is that the skills people "need" in the real world are aquirred

3. Efficient teaching. The final reason that I could think of is efficient teaching. If a teacher didn't follow the curiculm for that year the teacher next year would be screwed. Having to get kids up to snuff with last years learning and this years.

Sometimes I think that there is a lot of emphasis on standards and it makes our world go in circles. But I think that they can do positive things.

Standards of the day...

Over a year ago, I started training as a doula aka birth assistant -not the midwife, but the person supporting the mother) and one of the most amazing reminders time after time is the amazing intelligence of a woman's body in preparing and laboring to give birth. Unfortunately, when interventions that are not absolutely medically necessary are the norm, the birthing experience is hijacked for many women. In short, we were constantly reminded of certain "expectations" and more or less the sequence of stages in labor that kind of serve as the template for what to expect, but the journey's stage is ultimately set by the woman's body, and things happen on her body's time/space. Reading about standards brought me back to the idea that we all need (i.e. EDUCATORS)support in journeying through whatever the task at hand is. It didn't surprise me to read the following within the IN Environmental Education Teacher Survey General Conclusions:
-Most teachers do not use the outdoors to teach a variety of subjects more than 3 times each year.
-Among teachers who do not integrate environmental education into their teaching, there is a strong feeling that it is not relevant to what they teach.
-The primary perceived barrier to integrating environmental education in the curriculum is lack of time in the school day.
The recommendations for what to target sound great, but where is the capacity-building model for schools, districts (the wholeness of it all), and above all teacher support to actually be in position to implement? I think teachers would be better equipped in creating the responsive learning environments we all envision by making things actually feasible on a real tangible level.

At the end of the day, everything comes down to fund$, so policy really can be a force to mandate the future of EE in public education. How much are those military spending figures #%@%! again?



The truth about Farmer Joe-movie critique

One word reviews: good, unique, dramatic, sad, hopeful

Overall I did like the movie, it was edutaining and provided a farmer with a face.

When I thought about if this movie is EE this is what I came up with:

This movie seems to have a variety of elements that we have been talking about.

The movie seems to start at the affectiveness end of things. Making people feel something towards the farmer, especially for the older generations who can relate to great community, farming, tractors, horses and hard times. And there are numerous mentions of love, which is also very relatable. They are creating a feeling and emotion that the viewer feels towards the characters.

Next the film moves into a more informative stage where farming, economics, politics, life styles, are discussed. Giving a little more information for people so that they know (even if it is just a little) about the land and situations that surround it.

Finally the action part. I was glad that the difficulty of farming organically was shown. It is not just love and party but really hard work, which may be why some farmers choose not too. But with the help of the community it turned out and it wasn't just dependent on the farmer. Seeing the people help with the farm and ultimately purchase some land was not only hopeful but motivating for me to become part of a community that cares for each other and the land like that.

Although the film was able to do all of these things, making me aware, feel, and want to take action, it was not about telling facts and giving multiple view points, with that in mind I would vote no for being environmental education. But I do think that it can be an effective tool, one part of EE.

Those are some of my thoughts.

I suck. Or I am an Idealist and it hurts somedays. I want the ideal world.

I suck. I suck because I haven’t “really” converted my friends to become greenies. None of them. I’ve made them think. I’ve made them feel guilty. I’ve made them say “oh no here comes Paul.” But as an educator somedays I feel like I failed....
I have a morning routine of making coffee and then washing dishes while looking out at sunrise pondering the meaning of life and some days staring at my neighbors 5 barrels of trash. I consider them friends but they still have not heard my urges of recycling cardboard or the preaching of lessening impact before we perish in the firery depths of hell.
Some days I feel like Debby Downer from Saturday Night Live and I wish I could just watch soccer with my buds and not think about the carbon footprint of a large stadium or the BP spill and my friends disinterest in talking with me about it or the amount of waste I created by watching that soccer match. Chip bags and bottles.
The average American produces from 3-5 pounds of trash per day, which adds up to 50 tons per year. That means over 200 million tons of trash are produced by everyone in the U.S. every year! Up to 70% of this trash is buried in landfills.
I’ve been in EE now for 20 years and I’ve lived in Goshen for ten and I know my friends are not perfect and neither am I but this idealist is allowed to get down once in a while.
If you remember in that list that compared yesterday’s with today’s emphasis in environmental education, one comparison that I pointed out was “business as usual” versus “urgency”. I do feel it is more urgent now to make a difference.
My friends do do their part and I wouldn’t say reluctantly, by recycling, shopping at the Farmers Market - but I want more! We need more! I want them to act out! I want them to go to the city council meetings! I want them to run for some sort of political seat on a sustainability ticket! I want them to understand – I want to make a difference in their behavior and attitudes. Shall I test them?
I am anxious about the future and I want to make people change now – but how do we do it? We help them remove their barriers - lack of time, Money, Confidence, Interest, Lack of information about opportunities to learn, Scheduling problems, “Red tape”, Problems with child care, Transportation. I must continually refresh my hope, increase my knowledge base and keep active in the environmental/ecological community. Part of my job as a friend, father, neighbor, educator is to help remove these “barriers” so we can all become more environmentally literate and responsible citizens!
Wouldn’t that be great?

Musical 36
Interpersonal 36
Bodily-Kinesthetic 35
Spatial-Visual 34
Intrapersonal 30
Linguistic 28
Logical-Mathematical 26

I believe like Stevie Wonder that there should be music all the time to sooth savage beast but I was surprised I was so high up in the musical rankings!

Old Farts.

My grandparents had this picture framed in their home. For some reason it always cracked me up. Two kids talking about how long they've been farming. At some point those "farm

er's", may lose the innocence of childhood. They won't care why the sky is blue, or why zebras have stripes. Why do some people lose their ability to be curious? Is it house payments, credit card bills, laziness, or age that cause them to lose a lust for life? My friend and colleague Bob has changed. He's 64 years old and still teaches history at Manchester High School. He hasn't lost the desire to learn. I can't remember the last time he didn't mention something he had read that day. Bob is one of the hardest working teachers I know. I guarantee he hasn't used one worksheet he used the year before. I believe he has a desire to learn because he has never lost the desire to learn. Sometimes I think he reads so much because it's become a habit. He can't stop even if he wanted to stop. When he reads he learns, and many times I've seen changes.

Here are the scores:

Interpersonal: 37

Intrapersonal: 33

Spacial: 32

Musical: 29
Linguistic: 26
Math: 20

Kinesthetic: 19

Multiple Intelligences Test

My scores were:

Interpersonal: 37

Intrapersonal:35

Musical:34

Linguistic:32

Spatial-Visual:27

Bodily-Kinesthetic:23

Logical-Mathematical:22

Basically what I thought my 4 highest would be. I did not think they would be in that order though, so that surprised me a bit.