When Dinosaurs Meet the Holocaust
Ho.ly. Moly.
I have not been this pushed, this motivated, this inspired in a LONG time. I wrote in an earlier blog about my lack of creativity and since the moment I hit the Publish button, my own muses have appeared.
John, the Falconer, reminded me why I wanted to me in a classroom.
Gunner told me that creators are nothing without the doers.
Our admin team said YES! GO! Learn, and come back!
So here we are in sunny San Diego attending our first NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers) Conference.
What started out as Cora and I's idea of a relaxing but educational break from reality has slammed me with purpose.
With this technology cadre in mind, I chose to go to workshops with titles like, "Lab In A Box", "Virtual Reality and Gamification", browsed all the amazing new technology, got my free preserved specimen and enjoyed a chocolate peanut butter cupcake as I found a front row seat to watch a feature film documentary produced by HHMI, "The Serengeti Rules".
I was SLAMMED back into reality. In a desperate attempt to get "buy in" from our students, biotech has been "gamified", hands on labs are being virtualized, and BIOlogy is being forgotten. Biology is the study of life. NOT the science of technology.
It is our world. The only one we have. My job is not to hook them with the technology. My job is to hook them with LIFE, and use the technology as a tool for preserving it for us, for our future, for LIFE.
So how do I do it?
The answer is TRUST and TRY.
At the end of last year I decided I had spent too much time in my classroom. I needed to get outside and it became my motto for this school year, "We're Goin' Outside!" I decided to flip my Anatomy curriculum on its head, virtually eliminate lecture, do all hands-on labs, bring in guest speakers, and be a little outrageous. I decided my Natural Resource Biology students would leave the classroom AT LEAST once a week whether that be physically, virtually, or by bring the outside in with guest speakers. And I can honestly say that I have succeeded. Not only are my students having fun, talking about what we've done in class to their friends, I have also integrated some exciting technological aspects to extend and deepen learning whether it be through website creation, current event research, or shared resources documents between multiple classes.
But this film was a light bulb. It has shown me I haven't gone far enough. And I forgot what my original vision and reason for changing careers was. What did I think I could bring to the classroom that no one else could or would or had?
I'm about to head in two different directions. And while I used to think that was a bad idea, my dear friend Darrell Miller taught me that sometimes dividing your attention is exactly what we need to put our whole self behind differently motivated projects. He told me recently that Steven Spielberg directed two films at once. "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List", both award winning films with VERY different priorities. One is purely creative, the other emotional. Both historical, meaningful, impactful. It exhausted and frustrated him but could provide relief from one by using the other.
Direction One is the "Impress Me" Project with Steve and Gunner. It is exciting, it is boundary pushing. It's my "Jurassic Park" and I have gained SO many resources in only a few days to help guide students on their journey through project based learning.
Direction Two is returning to my roots. "The Serengeti Rules" reminds us of how lives are intertwined. LIFE is intertwined, and that we have a duty as educators of our content to INSPIRE. To spread truth. To make people uncomfortable. I don't expect every student to be a biologist when they grow up. But I expect my job to be that of someone who endlessly seeks to share the beauty of nature and LIFE with the next generation. So they don't forget what has been and what could be. That there is hope in a world of damaged goods. My "Schindler's List" is to "Go Outside". And sometimes bring the outside in. I WILL have onsite conservation projects. I WILL take my students outside. I WILL teach them how to teach themselves, and how to have "productive failures".
LIFE is global. More so than anything.
My renewed purpose is not a choice between two divergent paths. It's a journey down two convergent paths leading to the same goal. Teaching a thoughtful, passionate, well-rounded, empathetic generation of learners to use this incredible spread of technology to broaden their world-view rather than narrow it.
Whew. No pressure.
I have not been this pushed, this motivated, this inspired in a LONG time. I wrote in an earlier blog about my lack of creativity and since the moment I hit the Publish button, my own muses have appeared.
John, the Falconer, reminded me why I wanted to me in a classroom.Gunner told me that creators are nothing without the doers.
Our admin team said YES! GO! Learn, and come back!
So here we are in sunny San Diego attending our first NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers) Conference.
What started out as Cora and I's idea of a relaxing but educational break from reality has slammed me with purpose.
With this technology cadre in mind, I chose to go to workshops with titles like, "Lab In A Box", "Virtual Reality and Gamification", browsed all the amazing new technology, got my free preserved specimen and enjoyed a chocolate peanut butter cupcake as I found a front row seat to watch a feature film documentary produced by HHMI, "The Serengeti Rules".
I was SLAMMED back into reality. In a desperate attempt to get "buy in" from our students, biotech has been "gamified", hands on labs are being virtualized, and BIOlogy is being forgotten. Biology is the study of life. NOT the science of technology.
It is our world. The only one we have. My job is not to hook them with the technology. My job is to hook them with LIFE, and use the technology as a tool for preserving it for us, for our future, for LIFE.
So how do I do it?
The answer is TRUST and TRY.
At the end of last year I decided I had spent too much time in my classroom. I needed to get outside and it became my motto for this school year, "We're Goin' Outside!" I decided to flip my Anatomy curriculum on its head, virtually eliminate lecture, do all hands-on labs, bring in guest speakers, and be a little outrageous. I decided my Natural Resource Biology students would leave the classroom AT LEAST once a week whether that be physically, virtually, or by bring the outside in with guest speakers. And I can honestly say that I have succeeded. Not only are my students having fun, talking about what we've done in class to their friends, I have also integrated some exciting technological aspects to extend and deepen learning whether it be through website creation, current event research, or shared resources documents between multiple classes.
But this film was a light bulb. It has shown me I haven't gone far enough. And I forgot what my original vision and reason for changing careers was. What did I think I could bring to the classroom that no one else could or would or had?
I'm about to head in two different directions. And while I used to think that was a bad idea, my dear friend Darrell Miller taught me that sometimes dividing your attention is exactly what we need to put our whole self behind differently motivated projects. He told me recently that Steven Spielberg directed two films at once. "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List", both award winning films with VERY different priorities. One is purely creative, the other emotional. Both historical, meaningful, impactful. It exhausted and frustrated him but could provide relief from one by using the other.
Direction One is the "Impress Me" Project with Steve and Gunner. It is exciting, it is boundary pushing. It's my "Jurassic Park" and I have gained SO many resources in only a few days to help guide students on their journey through project based learning.
Direction Two is returning to my roots. "The Serengeti Rules" reminds us of how lives are intertwined. LIFE is intertwined, and that we have a duty as educators of our content to INSPIRE. To spread truth. To make people uncomfortable. I don't expect every student to be a biologist when they grow up. But I expect my job to be that of someone who endlessly seeks to share the beauty of nature and LIFE with the next generation. So they don't forget what has been and what could be. That there is hope in a world of damaged goods. My "Schindler's List" is to "Go Outside". And sometimes bring the outside in. I WILL have onsite conservation projects. I WILL take my students outside. I WILL teach them how to teach themselves, and how to have "productive failures".
LIFE is global. More so than anything.
My renewed purpose is not a choice between two divergent paths. It's a journey down two convergent paths leading to the same goal. Teaching a thoughtful, passionate, well-rounded, empathetic generation of learners to use this incredible spread of technology to broaden their world-view rather than narrow it.
Whew. No pressure.
I relate to this on a spiritual level - so often I found myself mentally split in two very different places in the effort to "create purpose". It's funny when the majority of the world says, "Focus on one thing instead of dividing yourself too much." when in fact some of the best parts of life and teaching occur when you take the moment to go down the slightly sketchy unfleshed out alleyway of creativity and risk. YOU CAN DO IT! :)
ReplyDeletePS - Not going to lie, I'm super jealous you had a falcon in your room. Every since I read "My Side of the Mountain" as a kid, I lowkey have always wanted to spend some time on a mountain living on the land. I think of Camp Waskowitz and how much I loved that even though I seriously like flushing toilets and dislike dirt. That might be a fun "Go Outside" thought...
^ This is Nicole btw. The drawbacks of using WordPress is it doesn't like to play nice with Blogger for commenting. >:/
DeleteAllison, you are incredible & an inspiration! At a time when I am also trying to re-define my approach to the profession of teaching, I have been seeking someone to work with that will "push" me to think differently. This blog post summarizes our struggle for balance & the direction that we can take if we so choose. Our "Impress Me" project has sparked this new approach, but I find myself still being held back by the constraints that have always driven us as teachers in the classroom. While our subject content is not identical, I believe and agree with my whole heart your sentiment that we are not teaching biology or social studies or language arts. We are truly teaching LIFE every day! You refer to yourself as having "a lack of creativity," but I am here to testify that your willingness to try new things, to "go for it" and to commit to being better is a true definition of creativity. I am energized by what it to come from our "triad" of creativity with you & Gunner and I look forward to "brainstorming" some ideas for our classrooms to teach LIFE. :)
ReplyDeleteSteve
Thank you for this....such an encouraging read that we can and will do this. We can and will change education to teach LIFE and everything that means today!
ReplyDelete