tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59998937160634831532024-03-19T03:38:17.613-04:00Garden Learningnotes from a teacher, writer, artist, & friendAmityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.comBlogger301125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-7973195691134661132015-04-08T07:05:00.001-04:002015-04-08T07:20:47.920-04:00Thoughts had while doing evaluationNature is found in abundance in Maine, and it makes an excellent source of learning. (I would say duh, but I realize that this needs to be stated up front,because we find ourselves in a culture of attaining knowledge from secondary sources, when primary sources are right outside the door).<br />
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To experience nature, you simply must go outside. I refrain from a second "duh". Many of my friends are from Washington County, Maine, a place where outside is much bigger and more exciting than inside.<br />
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As kids, we didn't spend time building worlds in Minecraft, we built them outside. From this play we learned about the natural world.<br />
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Raise your hand if you also worked outside in Washington County. Nature for people from there is both companion and sustenance. So, I refrain from "duh". Not everyone had that experience, I call it the book of Maine experience. Four seasons, seasonal labor, seasonal abundance, seasonal slow down, you learn the rhythms of life that way, and you pay attention to the signs.<br />
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As my project comes to a close, I am sorting data, identifying excellence, tracing back to the root. My top plant scientists, defined as the ones who had the most robust and diverse plant collection, can be traced back to one teacher, who wrote: "I am just a humble teacher from rural Maine!" on the original application that she submitted, three years ago now.<br />
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Twice I visited her classroom, driving past Katahdin coming and going, finding myself surrounded by rolling fields that folded into hills and blue sky. Both visits she chose to bring her students outside, and we visited the Nordic Heritage Sport Club and the Aroostook Wildlife Refuge. <br />
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The second trip, that bus ride after lunch with seventh graders going to the refuge was INSANE. To every chaperones' credit we grinned and bore it, because soon we were released into the wild, and the kids had a purpose and a plan and a wide expanse to roam. Some ran. Some skipped rocks. Many found sticks. All stopped and collected data. Many parents were involved and so was the bus driver. We were all looking for signs, signs of things we didn't know much about yet.<br />
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The ride home was the reverse: it was almost reverent. <br />
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She taught the book of Maine. It worked its magic.<br />
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Get outside today with your students.Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-17675133089520964602014-10-29T13:35:00.000-04:002014-10-29T13:35:20.068-04:00Lunder New NaturalistsYear 2 in schools with the Lunder New Naturalists has been intense! There are now 19 schools, over 600 students, and 38 teachers. I am visiting, observing, clarifying--enjoying the process of building, refining, reiterating! The pilot will be officially over June 2015. Here's a few things that have changed for this year.<br />
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1. <b>Primary source research is a focus. </b> We were able to collaborate with the folks at Houghton Library to connect kids directly to Roosevelt's diaries. From there we asked kids to decode his writing and identify his interactions with nature. They are asked to support or challenge the statement that time spent outside influence Roosevelt's conservation achievements.<br />
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2. <b>Visiting land in conservation is now a lesson, not a suggestion.</b> This year we asked all schools to identify local resources and then visit them! The power of primary experiences.<br />
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3. <b> Challenges are local. </b> Last year we asked students to work together around the state and come up with universal challenges. This year, it's all place-based stuff. Kids are teamed from around the state, but they not doing work for each other, instead they consult with each other on their local work. So far, so good. Examples: conserving piping plover habitat. Reducing colony collapse of bees. Reducing invasive species. Dune grass restoration. One school I visited has a very special population of butterflies that only live in cedar swamps. They want to make sure these guys live on.<br />
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4. <b>Our website is less confusing. </b> Overall far less reports of misunderstanding.<br />
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5. <b>Rugged deadlines.</b> Unlike last year, this year I have the whole project aligned to a timeline that is rugged but doable. Last year we made it about halfway through the project with the kids. I predict this year several schools will do it all.<br />
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I'm actually on the road right now, between school visits, and marveling at the great state of Maine.<br />
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<br />Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-57704723881879967862014-01-09T15:12:00.001-05:002014-01-09T15:14:03.028-05:00Teaching Strategies for Middle School StudentsAs a part of the <a href="http://lnn.mainegardens.org/" target="_blank">pilot project</a>'s first year, site visits were made to as many schools involved as possible. I managed to visit eight schools, and seven of the visits were when class was in session. Watching veteran teachers integrate a new program was exciting. Here are some take-aways from my observations.<br />
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1. <b>Technology that is engaging can be as simple as a pencil and paper, or marker and desktop.</b> One school I visited had a protocol for observing plants in nature, and it involved keeping an observation notebook <i>on paper</i>. iPads were used to take pictures and use the app to identify the plant, although there were many real books used as well. A two hour hike in a large recreational area was extremely productive because the students had a role and they knew what to do. Guess what happens when you use pencil and paper? It's portable and fail-proof (unless you're in the rain). This strategy kept each student <i>engaged</i> with their time out-of-doors.</div>
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Another school I visited had a brainstorming session using dry erase markers and the plastic tops of desks to quickly jot down group ideas. This isn't feasible everywhere but it was a quick and easy way to enter data.</div>
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2. <b>Get kids moving</b>. The kids who brainstormed on their desks had a second phase to the brainstorm. In the second phase they had to put their list on the board, one kid at a time going up to the board and adding an idea. The only catch was you weren't allowed to write something on the board that had been written already. This got the students reading the board and engaging with the ideas presented. It was quick, messy, loud. At the end of the time, students looked for doubles one more time and removed them, then took a picture of the final brainstorm with their iPads, and loaded the picture onto a shared Google doc which they used as a starting point for their conservation projects.</div>
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3. <b>Give a vehicle for emotions with call and response</b>. At another school that I visited, the teacher had a series of calls and responses she worked through with her students. Some were obviously old favorites and hearing the kids shout back "Yes, teach!" to her call was a fun way to get them back on task. But she did something else that I loved. She said things like, "That was hard! Give a sigh!" and the kids all sighed. "It was really hard! Sigh louder!" And they would. "You did a good job, say hooray!" and they did. And so on. It was like she intuited their emotional responses to some of the activities and gave them a chance to express themselves in a chorus. Was it kind of loud sometimes? Yes. Did it visibly reduce pressure? Yes. </div>
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4. <b>Let them be the experts.</b> In most of the schools I visited this seemed to be a theme. A student would report a problem, and the teacher would ask who knew how to solve it, and then let the kid be the expert. With the advent of Airdrop and iPads, it was as easy as projecting the device of the kid with the solution. Airdrop made sharing fast and dead simple.</div>
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Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-36583573624465370582014-01-06T12:50:00.000-05:002014-01-06T13:22:12.876-05:00Why, hello!<span style="font-size: x-small;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="427" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mainegirl/11802460824/player/4e8838c104" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></span><br />
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The past year <i>wooshed</i> by! In January I began working on <a href="http://lnn.mainegardens.org/">a pilot program for middle school students
in Maine</a>. After recruiting teachers, developing curriculum, building a
website, and launching in the fall...I have some perspective on what just
happened! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Also, let me just say... this is my dream scenario. For years,
collaboration and creation have been a part of my learning approach--as a
connectivist, I want to connect people, build a strong network, grow knowledge!
This project allowed me to grow a small network of teachers and learners, and
connect them. It was exciting! It was awesome. You can't see much beyond the
front page of the website, because it's private. However, the ideas driving the
program, biodiversity and conservation in Maine, and the lens of Theodore
Roosevelt's time in Maine and how he wound up being a conservation hero, and
yes, a sport, were what got kids talking. (RE: sport.This is Maine, sports are
a part of the fabric of Maine. They are those who come here to hunt, fish,
rusticate, camp, etc. Some pay for guides--Roosevelt did.) <o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Here are my informal thoughts on this project.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>1. Boys were engaged.</b> This is based on
observation in the field, the quality of videos produced by boys, and
anecdotal evidence from teachers--one particular group didn't buy-in until they learned about Roosevelt's time spent hunting and fishing in Maine. Ever since my first graduate literacy course,
and "Reading Don't Fix No Chevies", this has been a topic that intrigues
me (boys, engagement, literacy.) </span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>2. Students enjoy working with other students, and
this increased engagement.</b> This is based on two feedback surveys I
gave the students. They enjoyed seeing each other's work, interacting, and
commenting. Students began to help each other using comments and provide
feedback based on the rubrics given for the products. This is also based on
Google analytics. I have around 400 users of the site and over 100k pageviews
since the start, when I checked 8 weeks ago mid-project.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>3. Students in middle school aren't always aware
the Internet <i>is</i> real life. </b>This was based on my
observations in the field (which includes site visits, and web master views of
content and interaction). Sometimes they shared inappropriate things (their
peers called them on it, and flagged). In my site visits I showed them what I
saw as a web master--all of their content, activity, etc. The kids were wild
about this! They began to understand the bigger picture of interaction and
ethics and that this was real.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>4. Students want to follow directions, but not if
they are too hard. Or meaningless. </b>Developing curriculum for this age
group is new to me and I was told repeatedly that my instructions were too
hard. This caused shame for some students, based on teacher feedback. I don't
want kids to feel stupid, so I need to adjust the language and input fields,
and streamline as much as possible.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>5. We made something beautiful.</b> The
positive feedback on how the site looks, and functions in parts, was positive.
This was based on feedback from students and teachers online and in person. I
am so glad, because my boss and I worked our butts off. The great thing is, we
made a framework, but the content is all from the students. So really, they
made something beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>6. We made something confusing.</b> Teaming of
students was confusing because it was difficult to know who was on what team
and our collaborative space had glitches. Based on feedback, this was the most
confusing part of the experience. The second most confusing part was some of
the language of the instructions. I came out of this year with
renewed respect for middle level curriculum design and developmental markers.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>7. Kids can produce quality content and humorous
content even at this level.</b> Based on some of the videos, and some of
the timeline entries, and some of the plant collection photos, I would say
content creation is something kids really enjoy, and is a winning strategy for
collaboration and growing knowledge on a network.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b>8. Without teachers, there would be no pilot.
</b>The teachers involved did a really good job of being flexible and
making the project accessible to their kids. Their role was to
facilitate. I observed this during site visits and through communication
with the teachers. I also observed humor and many excellent teaching
strategies.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Next time I will write about some of the teaching strategies I
observed in the pilot. Thanks for bearing with me as I transitioned from a
classroom teacher and graduate student to a program coordinator for a state
wide middle level program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-60547202964408005252012-12-07T12:23:00.001-05:002012-12-07T12:23:45.311-05:00Botanical Gardens pilots naturalist program - Boothbay Register<a href="http://www.boothbayregister.com/article/botanical-gardens-pilots-naturalist-program/6629#.UMImDC8wx04.blogger">Botanical Gardens pilots naturalist program - Boothbay Register</a>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-78616812353634049502012-11-29T16:20:00.000-05:002012-11-29T16:20:22.165-05:00New program!Here is the slideshow that I used to tell my current board about the statewide initiative that was recently funded.
<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/15414302" width="427" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0;margin-bottom:5px" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/AmityBeane/board-meeting-nov-2012-15414302" title="Board meeting Nov 2012" target="_blank">Board meeting Nov 2012</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/AmityBeane" target="_blank">Amity Beane</a></strong> </div>
Notes are not included. However I'll be writing more about it as it gets going!
Very excited in anticipation of the launch!Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-85287074228185009782012-09-11T14:08:00.001-04:002012-11-19T10:37:06.408-05:00Rachel Carson. Fifty years of Silent Spring. Rachel Carson has been on my mind a lot lately. CMBG has a wonderful exhibit going on, it's visually lovely and has very interesting artifacts. I created the Sense of Wonder walk for k-6 graders that goes through a fairly wild little hillside that drops down to the river with a flourish of cedar and pine.<br />
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Rachel is central to my work at the moment. She wanted people to be in a relationship with their environment. She wanted things to remain fresh and lovely.<br />
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I kind of want a bracelet that says WWRCD. What would Rachel Carson do.<br />
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Click in to see information on a great contest!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Attention seventh graders in Maine: Silent Spring Essay Contest</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">The year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Carson's revolutionary work, Silent Spring. In celebration of this momentous</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">occasion, the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (Wells Reserve at</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Laudholm) and Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) are partnering to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">offer a statewide environmental essay contest for seventh grade students in</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Maine.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Seventh grade student essay contest applicants, please choose one of these</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">three quotes from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and explain what it means to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">you:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Quote 1: "By acquiescing in an act that can cause such suffering to a living</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">creature, who among us is not diminished as a human being?"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Quote 2: "Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">strength that will endure as long as life lasts."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Quote 3: "In nature, nothing exists alone."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Requirements: Times New Roman 12 pt font, 400-600 words, double-spaced, with</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">name and page number on each page. On the title page, please include your</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">name, address, phone number, email, school name, and school phone number, in</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">addition to your essay title. Please specify which quote you are responding</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">to. Wells Reserve at Laudholm and Rachel Carson NWR reserve the right to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">publicize submissions on their websites and other outreach materials.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Scoring: Essays will be judged by the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Education</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Advisory Committee, using a point scale based on the following criteria:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">creativity, heart, style, punctuation/spelling, and clarity. Remember, your</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">essay must consist of your own thoughts and words.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Prizes:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Grand prize: iPad</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">First place: Digital camera</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Second place: Binoculars</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Third place: Gift certificate to a local bookstore</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">All winning students will also receive a hard cover copy of Silent Spring.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Prizes will be presented to the winners at their schools by the Wells</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Reserve at Laudholm and Rachel Carson NWR education staff members.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Deadline: <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://31" x-apple-data-detectors-result="31" x-apple-data-detectors="true">December 1, 2012</a>. Winners will be notified by <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://32" x-apple-data-detectors-result="32" x-apple-data-detectors="true">December 14, 2012</a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Submission: Please email essays to Suzanne Kahn Eder at</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="mailto:Suzanne@wellsnerr.org" x-apple-data-detectors-result="33" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Suzanne@wellsnerr.org</a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Suzanne Kahn Eder</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Education Director</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;">Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="tel:(207)%20646-1555" x-apple-data-detectors-result="34" x-apple-data-detectors="true">(207) 646-1555</a> x 116</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.wellsreserve.org/" x-apple-data-detectors-result="35" x-apple-data-detectors="true">www.wellsreserve.org</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-27819364271232674012012-05-05T10:08:00.000-04:002012-08-01T18:04:08.754-04:00changes!First, note the new dynamic view of the blog!<br />
Second, I changed the title to "Garden Learning"--there's a story behind that title which will be shared!<br />
Third, I am no longer a public school teacher of World Languages. I am a curriculum and school resource coordinator at a 250-acre botanical garden in Maine, on a short term contract.<br />
<br />
So many changes!<br />
<br />
It's good, though. All very good. I'm loving the gardens! <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mainegirl/7136555505/" title="Untitled by Amity Beane, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/7136555505_c97897400a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-3593691938530166712012-01-23T12:01:00.001-05:002012-01-23T12:01:39.199-05:00Notes on Education Evolving: Maine's Plan for Putting Learners FirstMaine Department of Education. (2012). <i>Education Evolving: Maine's Plan for Putting Learners First</i>. Augusta, Maine.<br />
<br />
This strategic plan, released on January 17 by Commissioner Stephen Bowen, outlines five core priority areas with detailed goals, objectives, and action plans to implement change in these areas. <br />
<br />
The five core priority areas are:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Effective, Learner Centered Instruction</b></li>
<li><b>Great Teachers and Leaders</b></li>
<li><b>Multiple Pathways for Learner Achievement</b></li>
<li><b>Comprehensive School and Community Supports</b></li>
<li><b>Coordinated and Effective State Support</b></li>
</ul>
In Commissioner Bowen's opening essay, he outlines several challenges that Maine education faces and how these drive the report.<br />
<br />
The first challenge Bowen identifies is that <i>our schools are struggling to accomplish what they need to accomplish</i>. On page 3, he states: "The state's higher education institutions report that a shockingly high percentage of incoming students require remedial coursework." He emphasizes on page 4 that "our schools are not struggling due to a lack of effort." <br />
<br />
The second challenge is that <i>recent efforts to improve schools have come up short</i>. Since high-stakes testing has driven assessment, other content areas have suffered. A telling statistic from a University of Indiana study revealed that "67% of students report being bored in school every day" and over half reported that they do not see how the material was relevant to them (p. 4). The intensive work done to raise test scores have made "little discernable impact" and "a narrowing of the school curricula at a time when the job creators of the 21st century are calling for more emphasis on creative and innovative thinking and skills" (p. 4).<br />
<br />
The third challenge is that<i> our traditional approach to education is standing in the way of success</i>. I found this challenge to be a real eye-opener, as it explained how a committee of ten people sat down over a hundred years ago and wrote our current blueprint for a school day. The blueprint was not designed for students who would pursue college but who would get a full, well-rounded education in high school. It was not designed to meet the needs of the learner, but to cover subjects. Bowen ends the write-up of this challenge with: "We have to address the basic architecture of the industrial-era model of schooling built more than a century ago" (p. 5). Everything we know to be true about a traditional school day, a traditional learner, and "factory-style bell schedules" must be addressed.<br />
<br />
Challenge four is that <i>change must be achieved within existing resources</i>. Our budgets are decreasing, not increasing. We need to maximize what resources we have available (and in my own opinion that means to leverage the incredible brain power of the great teachers in the system).<br />
<br />
How will this plan be able to accomplish its goals for the five core priority areas while facing these challenges? According to Bowen's introductory essay, change will come through instructional practices, effective teachers and school leaders, multiple pathways to student achievement, a comprehensive network of school and community supports, and careful alignment of the entire educational system.<br />
<br />
The document then goes into detail of each core priority area with goals, objectives, and action steps for each area.<br />
<br />
Here are the core goals. There is a lot more information in the report--take the time to read it--<a href="http://maine.gov/education/plan/evolving.pdf" target="_blank">find it here</a>. It's 36 pages long, so not really lunch-break reading, but definitely worth the time to sit and digest the proposed goals. I think in a few years it will be interesting to see where we are at with them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Effective, Learner Centered Instruction</u><br />
<br />
Goal: A variety of instructional materials aligned with the Maine Learning Results, which include the Common Core standards, are readily available and support the instructional practice of Maine educators. <br />
<br />
Goal: Learner-centered instructional strategies are in place in all Maine classrooms. <i> </i><br />
<br />
Goal: All Maine teachers have access to modern, 21st-century assessment systems and use assessment information to inform instruction. <br />
<br />
Goal: Maine's educators have ready access to helpful data and regularly use it to tailor instruction and improve student outcomes.<br />
<br />
<u>Great Teachers and Learners</u><br />
<u><br /></u><br />
Goal: Educator preparation, training and evaluation are informed by a common understanding of effective teaching and leadership/<br />
<br />
Goal: Maine educators are consistently supported through high-quality training and professional development.<br />
<br />
Goal: Highly effective teacher evaluation systems are in place in every Maine school district.<br />
<br />
Goal: Maine's educators participate easily and often in statewide sharing of instructional best practices and professional development opportunities.<br />
<br />
<u>Multiple Pathways for Learner Achievement</u><br />
<br />
Goal: All Maine students learn in a proficiency-based model that allows them to move at their own pace and advance when they have mastered learning outcomes.<br />
<br />
Goal: Learner-designed assessments are used in schools across Maine, making students active participants in setting and meeting expectations.<br />
<br />
Goal: A wide variety of learning opportunities and settings gives all students access to educational options that work for them.<br />
<br />
Goal: All Maine learners actively participate in digital learning opportunities that engage them and allow self-directed, self-paced learning.<br />
<br />
<u>Comprehensive School and Community Supports</u><br />
<br />
Goal: All students with special learning needs have access to efficient, effective and appropriate services that help them succeed.<br />
<br />
Goal: Coordinated health and wellness programs contribute to a healthy school environment that helps learners make the most out of school.<br />
<br />
Goal: Schools and districts are engaged in unprecedented partnerships with families and the broader community as a way to expand learning opportunities for students.<br />
<br />
Goal: Students commonly access internships, apprenticeships, and other opportunities to learn in workplace settings, apply academic lessons, and explore potential career fields.<br />
<br />
<u>Coordinated and Effective State Support </u><br />
<br />
Goal: Maine students are able to move easily through a learner-centered educational system fully integrated from early childhood to adulthood.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Goal: Maine's students are supported
through adequate and effective state resources.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Goal: Information and instructional technologies are supporting instructional practice and efficient school system operations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Goal: An effective school and district accountability and improvement system helps Maine's schools meet the needs of all learners.</span></div>
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<br />Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-36244608950865537322012-01-22T10:34:00.000-05:002012-01-22T10:34:13.785-05:00new goalsWhen I completed my master's program, it took months to sink in that School was Over. Full time school is intense. I had a semester off once... (and did things like <a href="http://dr2010.ning.com/" target="_blank">DR2010</a>--some break), but for the most part I was in school continuously for three years.<br />
<br />
It's done and over with. I am at the next level. I am doing something absolutely stimulating with my brain and it's not for a grade but a paycheck.<br />
<br />
I don't think I am done with school, however. <br />
<br />
In order of priority:<br />
1.Spanish (not a master's, but something to bring me to <a href="http://languagetesting.com/scale.htm#superior" target="_blank">Superior</a> according to ACTFL-I think two or three grammar and conversation courses will help me get there)<br />
2. Certificate of Advanced Studies in Curriculum (<a href="http://www.usm.maine.edu/educational-leadership/certificate-advanced-study-educational-leadership" target="_blank">found here</a>)<br />
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<br />
Writing it down helps me focus.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mainegirl/6733072667/" title="january by Amity Beane, on Flickr"><img alt="january" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6733072667_776522162c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-35508117091835669332012-01-18T16:28:00.000-05:002012-01-18T16:28:54.814-05:00Benefits of nature: FactsheetI found a great downloadable fact sheet on the benefits of nature. <a href="http://www.promiseofplace.org/research_attachments/Chawla2007BenefitsofNaturefactsheet.pdf" target="_blank">Click here to download it</a>. Much of what I am reading about nature-deficit disorder is on this fact sheet.<br />
<br />
Chawla, L., & Cushing, D. F. (2007).
Benefits of nature for children's health, Fact Sheet #1, April 2007.
Children, Youth and Environments Center for Resarch and Design.
Retrieved January 18, 2012 from http://www.peecworks.org/PEEC/PEEC_Research/S01798C0C-01798C1A.<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.peecworks.org/PEEC/PEEC_Research/" target="_blank">Click here</a> for much more research on place-based education. <br />
<br />Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-74653495082048360722012-01-18T10:36:00.000-05:002012-01-24T13:43:29.989-05:00Notes on Wiscasset session of Science Dine and Discuss regarding the National Academies Report entitled A Framework for K-12 Science EducationHow's that for the longest title ever?<br />
<br />
Last night I attended a Dine and Discuss session to unpack the current state of science standards in my fair state of Maine. The session was led by a science specialist from Wiscasset, Shari Templeton, who kept us laughing as she explained, in part, the lengthy document known as "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas". (Want to download a free copy? <a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165" target="_blank">Find it here</a>.) Let's call it "the Framework" to keep things simple. And kudos to Shari for running an informative meeting while maintaining a sense of humor and making us feel at ease. Information and feeling informed is empowering, and I appreciate the state's effort to help keep science teachers and those interested in science in the loop while these changes are being implemented.<br />
<br />
Some background: Maine has been chosen as a lead state in the development of new science standards. The Framework is a guiding document, not the standards. The standards are in process by an organization called Achieve, Inc. (Side note: I had the opportunity to get on board with them when I was knee-deep in OER stuff--but declined due to content/time commitment--I could have been right on the pulse of this stuff if only I had jumped on that train!) The idea is that the folks at Achieve will use the Framework to guide them as they develop new standards that will be less "wide" and more "deep". Maine adopted the Common Core standards for math and English language arts in 2011, and these new standards developed by Achieve (called the Next Generation Science Standards) will be ready by the end of 2012 for adoption. For all intents and purposes, these Next Generation standards will become the Common Core for science. Maine is definitely going to adopt them.<br />
<br />
So, what is this Framework all about? As Shari led us through the practices and crosscutting concepts, she assured us (a crowd of mostly practicing science teachers) that the information presented is not really new, it has definitely been covered in previous standards. However the way that it is presented is much more integrated, includes engineering practices, and has some new vocabulary. It is designed to get kids thinking deeply about science across the k-12 continuum. From the foreword: "The framework highlights the power of integrating understanding the ideas of science with engagement in the practices of science and is designed to build students' proficiency and appreciation for science over multiple years of school."<br />
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We looked at the 8 Science and Engineering practices and the Crosscutting concepts in the session. Shari started our session by saying it was no secret that Engineering is now front and center along with Science in terms of the standards. In the state of Maine, we have more engineering jobs than engineering grads. Simply put we need more people to think of engineering as a viable course of study, and it will now be part of the curriculum.<br />
<br />
Here are the 8 Science and Engineering practices:<br />
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)<br />
2. Developing and using models<br />
3. Planning and carrying out investigations<br />
4. Analyzing and interpreting data<br />
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking<br />
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)<br />
7. Engaging in argument from evidence<br />
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information<br />
<br />
Here are the Crosscutting concepts:<br />
1. Patterns<br />
2. Cause and effect; Mechanism and explanation<br />
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity<br />
4. Systems and system models<br />
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation<br />
6. Structure and function<br />
7. Stability and change<br />
<br />
We touched on the Disciplinary Core Ideas in the four areas of <b>Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences,</b> and<b> Engineering, Technology, and the Applications of Sciences</b>. We looked at grade bands--the Framework is set up to say "by the end of grade 2 students will....by the end of grade 5 students will...by the end of grade 8 students will...." meaning that these core ideas are presented over time in an integrated way.<br />
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One teacher present asked for exemplars or models of how this integration over time will occur. She, like many good teachers, makes a lot of her own lessons and units, and exemplars will certainly help with that. She made the point that inquiry based learning, while the richest, takes the longest, and that working with other content areas that have different expectations can also take a long time--science teachers and English teachers really want different kinds of writing from their students. Since the standards are not ready to look at yet (Spring 2012 is the expected date to put eyes on them) there is no clear answer to the exemplar question yet. Textbook companies, when the standards go live, will certainly be re-tooling their work to re-align. Shari also informed us that there will be a lot of overlap with math and ELA Common Core standards. Maine assessments, assuming everything goes smoothly, will transition by 2015.<br />
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There are several guiding assumptions of the Framework which are worth sharing. <i> Children are born investigators</i> and are able to build progressively more sophisticated explanations over time. The Framework focuses on a <i>limited set of core ideas</i> in order to avoid the coverage of multiple disconnected topics. Another assumption is that <i>understanding develops over time</i> and students need sustained opportunities to work with and develop the underlying ideas and to appreciate those ideas' interconnectedness over a period of years rather than weeks or months. Also, <i>science and engineering require both knowledge and practice </i>-- "the theories, models, instruments, and methods for collecting and displaying data, as well as the norms for building arguments through evidence, are developed collectively in a vast network of scientists working together over extended periods". It is important to <i>connect to students' interests and experience</i>, as research suggests this is critical to learning. And finally, the idea of <i>promoting equity</i> is so that all students have high-quality opportunities combined with rigorous standards to engage in significant science and engineering learning.<br />
<br />
Shari led us through an experiment designed to illustrate how implementation might occur with new standards. We divided into groups and were asked to make a claim, show evidence, and then show reasoning for our claim. This was a water based experiment and it was messy, hands-on, and everyone in the room became engaged with the experiment. (We filled a glass with water and put an index card over it. We flipped the glass upside down and the water did not come out, it was capped by the card).<br />
<br />
Our group made a claim, shared our evidence, and presented our reasoning--however we were not correct in our claim as to how the card and water stayed intact with the glass. In fact, no one got it right--someone eventually Googled it which made us all laugh because we all know that is what the kids would do. The point was, we were all involved. We were all engaged. And by the end, we all wanted to know WHY. It opened up a different way of looking at the experiment--instead of a cookbook approach (step one, two, three--) it was more of a sandbox approach with lots of questions why and lots of experimentation. I found I did not have the vocabulary to make sense of it--the ultimate answer had to do with molecular attraction, a concept I was not familiar with (I am a Spanish teacher, remember)--but that I was deeply curious after playing with the experiment. The claim, evidence, reasoning piece made a lot of sense. Teaching students to "argue" or defend their claim is central to the Framework. Engaging them is also central--there is the idea that kids are naturally curious and we have to tap into that to engage them.<br />
<br />
Long story short--the new standards are not ready yet, but the Framework is what will guide their creation, and the changes are designed to help Maine students reach their science and engineering potential over time. As a non-science teacher I found the approach to creating new standards via this long report done by several professionals and research institutions an adequate/appropriate method. I am excited at the prospect of creating integrated curriculum that engages students and helps them discover their world.<br />
<br />
Reference:<br />
<br />
National Research Council. <i>A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas</i>. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2011. <br />
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<br />Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0Boothbay, ME, USA43.8763889 -69.633611143.784821900000004 -69.7915396 43.9679559 -69.4756826tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-10056074684870049462012-01-14T11:46:00.000-05:002012-01-14T11:46:54.559-05:00reflexionesBeing out of the classroom is -- well, it takes getting used to. I have a lot of time to think about how I teach, excuse me, <i>taught</i>. It's given me the room to step back and see things differently. I feel very much on the right track with the amount of oral, face-to-face, person-to-person, laugh-out-loud, social interactions I require of my students. I also know the ease with which I can grade oral work is thanks in whole to the 1 to 1 computer program at my school--kids can use Garageband and email to send me work. The video components required for assessment are so easy to make and grade with Vimeo and Keynote. <a href="http://zachary-jones.com/zambombazo/" target="_blank">Zambombazo</a>, the world's best Spanish culture website, is still free. And the access it gives my students to pop culture is non pareil.<br />
<br />
I feel less satisfied with the grammar.<br />
<br />
My mission to go to DR to improve my grammar was a complete failure. The environment I was in demanded English. The Spanish I heard was a delightful mix of many foreigners trying to speak Spanish. The high point was the absolute delight expressed by the kids when I used my "teacher voice" in Spanish. Kids marveled at that--their eyes lit up with understanding. But they also ignored my mistakes because my accent was correct.<br />
<br />
Stateside, when I returned from the DR and visited my old students and old classroom, I received feedback. My top student in Spanish 4 told me that I focused more on culture than on grammar. He said having a grammar-oriented teacher (my sub) was the perfect complement to my style. He said this very diplomatically and generously. <br />
<br />
I realize he is right. For me, Spanish is a means of telling a story. I love a cultural lens to lessons because I love the stories. For me, the rules are important but vague. My strictest teacher, Luisana, from days of old in the city of sun, Valencia--her strict reprimands and my host brothers who laughed at me outright and fixed my grammar with a smile--those days are gone. Far behind. My best education in Spanish grammar is...19 years old.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mainegirl/296031713/" title="venezuela 1993 by Amity Beane, on Flickr"><img alt="venezuela 1993" height="851" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/105/296031713_5c1452d2fb_b.jpg" width="1024" /></a> <br />
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I know I need to focus on grammar. Testing myself with the many free online placement tests puts me at B2/C1 or advanced mid/advanced high. How can I get to that elusive superior rating without some serious grammar work? How do I fix the foundation? There seems to be no other choice but to go back to school and really try to fix this thing. It will make my teaching a lot better. I still want to focus on the stories, but I want to do it with perfect grammar.<br />
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<br />Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-78176256126972325382012-01-13T14:12:00.000-05:002012-01-13T14:12:17.300-05:00Notes on "Last Child in the Woods" Part III<span id="internal-source-marker_0.08938755186819336" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.08938755186819336" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Louv, Richard (2005, 2008). </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.08938755186819336" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Part III The Best of Intentions: Why Johnnie and Jeannie Don’t Play Outside Anymore</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.08938755186819336" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.08938755186819336" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Time and Fear</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
111 “Our lives may be more productive, but less inventive. In an
effort to value and structure time, some of us unintentionally may be
killing dreamtime.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 112 “It takes time--loose, unstructured dreamtime--to experience nature in a meaningful way.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 120 “We can now look at at this way: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
121 “By taking nature experience out of the leisure column and placing
it in the health column, we are more likely to take our children on that
hike--more likely to, well, have fun.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Bogeyman Syndrome Redux</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
123 “Fear is the emotion that separates a developing child from the
full, essential benefits of nature. Fear of traffic, of crime, of
stranger-danger, and of nature itself.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
124 “Stephen Kellert, professor of social ecology at Yale, and a
leading thinker on biophilia, describes how experience in the
surrounding home territory, especially in nearby nature, helps shape
children's cognitive maturation, including the developed abilities of
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t Know Much About Natural History: Education as a Barrier to Nature</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
133 “Practitioners in the new fields of conservation psychology
(focused on how people become environmentalists) and ecopsychology (the
study of how ecology interacts with the human psyche) not that, as
Americans become increasingly urbanized, their attitudes towards animals
change in paradoxical ways.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
133 “To urbanized people, the source of food and the reality of nature
are becoming more abstract. At the same time, urban folks are more
likely to feel protective of animals--or to fear them.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
135 “If educators are to help heal the broken bond between the young
and the natural world, they and the rest of us must confront the
unintended educational consequences of an overly-abstract science
education: ecophobia and the death of natural history studies.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
137 “Public education is enamored of, even mesmerized by, what might be
called silicon faith: a myopic focus on high technology as salvation.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where Will the Future Stewards of Nature Come From?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 148. “Pergams and Zaradic warn of what they call “videophilia”--a shift from loving streams (biophilia) to loving screens.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
159 “”If children do not attach to the land, they will not reap the
psychological and spiritual benefits they can glean from nature, nor
will they feel a long-term commitment to the environment, to the place.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
159 “Passion does not arrive on a videotape or a CD; passion is
personal. Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of
the young; it travels along the grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If
we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also
save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature.”</span>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-8749784758847957482012-01-11T15:54:00.001-05:002012-01-11T15:54:57.208-05:00Notes on "Last Child in the Woods" Part II<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8440726142943378" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.8440726142943378" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Louv, Richard (2005, 2008). </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8440726142943378" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Part II Why The Young (and the Rest of Us) Need Nature</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Climbing the Tree of Health</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
43 “A widening circle of researchers believes that the loss of natural
habitat, or the disconnection from nature even when it is available, has
enormous implications for human health and child development. They say
the quality of exposure to nature affects our health at almost cellular
level.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
45 “the idea that natural landscapes, or at least gardens, can be
therapeutic and restorative is, in fact, and ancient one that has
filtered down through the ages. Over two thousand years ago, Chinese
Taoists created gardens and greenhouses they believed to be beneficial
for health.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
45 “Beginning in the 1870’s, the Quakers’ Friends Hospital in
Pennsylvania used acres of natural landscape and a greenhouse as part of
its treatment of mental illness.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
46 “...Roger Ulrich, a Texas A&M researcher, has shown that people
who watch images of natural landscape after a stressful experience calm
markedly in only five minutes: their muscle tension, pulse, and
skin-conductance ratings plummet.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 47 “In the United States, children ages six to eleven spend about thirty hours a week looking at a TV or computer monitor.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
48 “The physical exercise and emotional stretching that that children
enjoy in unorganized play is more varied and less time-bound than is
found in organized sports.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 49 “Nature is often overlooked as a healing balm for the emotional hardships in a child’s life.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
51 “Wells and colleague Gary Evans assessed the degree of nature in and
around the homes of rural children in grades three through five. They
found that children with more nature near their homes received lower
ratings than peers with less nature near their homes on measures of
behavioral conduct disorders, anxiety, and depression. Children with
more nature near their homes also rated themselves higher than their
corresponding peers on a global measure of self-worth.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A Life of the Senses: Nature vs the Know-It-All State of Mind</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 56 “Nature is beautiful but not always pretty.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 58 “...as human beings we need direct, natural experiences; we require fully activated senses in order to feel fully alive.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
63 “Why do so many Americans say they want their children to watch less
TV, yet continue to expand the opportunities for them to watch it?
More important, why do so many people consider the physical world no
longer worth watching?”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
65 “Dewey argued a century ago that worship of secondary experience in
childhood came with the risk of depersonalizing human life.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
65 “In 1998 a controversial Carnegie Mellon University study found that
people who spend even a few hours on the Internet each week suffer
higher levels of depression and loneliness than people who use the Net
infrequently.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
67 “Much of our learning comes from doing, from making, from feeling
with our hands; and though many would like to believe otherwise, the
world is not entirely available from a keyboard.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
68 “Not surprisingly, as the young grow up in a world of narrow yet
overwhelming sensory input, many of them develop a wired, know-it-all
state of mind. That which cannot be Googled does not count. Yet a
fuller, grander, more mysterious world, one worthy of a child’s awe, is
available to children and the rest of us.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The “Eighth Intelligence”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> p. 72 Howard Gardner “More recently he added an eighth intelligence: naturalist intelligence (“nature smart”).</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 73 “However, the impact of nature experience on early childhood development is, in terms of neuroscience, understudied.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
73 “Gardner’s designation of the eighth intelligence suggests another
rich arena for research, but his theory has immediate application for
teachers and parents who might otherwise overlook the importance of
natural experience to learning and child development.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Genius of Childhood: How Nature Nurtures Creativity</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
86 “As an expert in the design of play and learning environments, Moore
has written that natural settings are essential for healthy child
development because they stimulate all the senses and integrate informal
play with formal learning. According to Moore, multi-sensory
experiences in nature help to build ‘the cognitive constructs necessary
for sustained intellectual development,” and stimulate imagination by
supplying the child with the free space and materials for what he calls
children’s ‘architecture and artifacts.’”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 87 “Nature, which excites all the senses, remains the richest source of loose parts.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
87 “The loose-parts theory is supported by studies of play that compare
green, natural play areas with blacktop playgrounds. Swedish studies
found that children on asphalt playgrounds had play that was much more
interrupted; they played in short segments. But in more natural
playgrounds, children invented whole sagas that they carried from day
to day to day--making and collecting meaning.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 89 “Taylor’s and Kuo’s research demonstrated that children have greater ability to concentrate in more natural settings.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 89 “What happens when creative children can no longer choose a green space in which to be creative?”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 92 “Nature offers a well from which many, famous or not, draw a creative sense of pattern and connection.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
97 “The Japanese, said Hirshberg, recognized that American creativity
comes largely from our freedom, our space--our physical space and our
mental space. He offered no academic studies to support his theory;
nonetheless, his statement rang true, and it has stayed with me.
Growing up, many of us were blessed with natural space and the
imagination that filled it.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
98 “Nature presents the young with something so much greater than they
are; it offers an environment where they can easily contemplate infinity
and eternity.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nature-Deficit Disorder and the Restorative Environment</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
100 “Ironically, the detachment of education from the physical world
not only coincided with the dramatic rise in life-threatening childhood
obesity but also with a growing body of evidence that links physical
exercise and experience in nature to mental acuity and concentration.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
102 “Children’s Hospital in Seattle maintains that each hour of TV
watched per day by preschoolers increases by ten percent the likelihood
that they will develop concentration problems and other symptoms of
attention-deficit disorders by age seven.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
104 The fascination factor associated with nature is restorative, and
it helps relieve people from directed-attention fatigue. Indeed,
according to the Kaplans, nature can be the most effective source of
such restorative relief.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
104 ‘In a paper presented to the American Psychological Society in
1993, the Kaplans surveyed more than twelve hundred corporate and state
office workers. Those with a window view of trees, bushes, or large
lawns experiences significantly less frustration and more work
enthusiasm than those employees without those views.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 105 “In 2000, Wells conducted a study that found being close to nature, in general, helps boost a child’s attention span.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
108 “More time in nature--combined with less television and more
stimulating play and educational settings--may go a long way toward
reducing attention deficits in children, and, just as important,
increasing their joy in life.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
109 “An expanded application of attention-restoration theory would be
useful in the design of homes, classrooms, and curricula.”</span>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-40494647125791256882012-01-11T14:38:00.001-05:002012-01-11T14:38:52.714-05:00Notes on "Last Child in the Woods" Part I<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8440726142943378" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Louv, Richard (2005, 2008). </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Part 1: The New Relationship Between Children and Nature</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gifts of Nature</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 7 “Unlike television, nature does not steal time; it amplifies it.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 10 “The woods were my Ritalin.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Third Frontier</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
16 “In the space of a century, the American experience of
nature--culturally influential around the world--has gone from direct
utilitarianism to romantic attachment to electronic detachment.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
19 “Not yet fully formed or explored, this new frontier is
characterized by at least five trends: a severance of the public and
private mind from our food’s origins; a disappearing line between
machines, humans, and other animals; the invasion of our cities by wild
animals (even as urban/suburban designers replace wildness with
synthetic nature); and the rise of a new kind of suburban form.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
23 “We can no longer assume a cultural core belief in the perfection of
nature.” On scientific development such as “critter on a chip” or the
ear on the mouse.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 25 “Today sprawl does not guarantee space.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Criminalization of Natural Play</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
28 “Countless communities have virtually outlawed unstructured outdoor
nature play, often because of the threat of lawsuits, but also because
of a growing obsession with order.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
28 “Most housing tracts, condos, and planned communities constructed in
the past two to three decades are controlled by strict covenants that
discourage or ban the kind of outdoor play many of us enjoyed as
children.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
30 “If endangered or threatened species are to coexist with humans,
adults and children do need to tread lightly. But poor land-use
decisions, which reduce accessible nature in cities, do far more damage
to the environment than do children.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 30 :The US Department of Agriculture projects forests declining from 767,000 in 1982 to 377,000 in 2022.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
30 “The cumulative impact of over-development, multiplying park rules,
well-meaning (and usually necessary) environmental regulations, building
regulations, community covenants, and fear of litigation sends a
chilling message to our children that their free-range play is
unwelcome, that organized sports on manicured playing fields are the
only officially sanctioned form of outdoor recreation.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
33 “Another British study discovered that average eight-year-olds were
better able to identify characters from the Japanese card-trading game
Pokemon than native species in the community they lived: Pikachu,
Metapod, and Wigglytuff were names more familiar than otter, beaver, or
oak tree.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
33 “In Israel, researchers revealed that nearly all adults surveyed
indicated that natural outdoor areas were the most significant
environments of their childhood, while less than half children ages
eight to eleven shared that view.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
34 “...In Amsterdam, a study compared children’s play in the
Netherlands in the 1950’s and 1960’s to child’s play in the first years
of the 21st century: Children today play outside less often and for
briefer periods; they have a more restricted home range and have fewer,
less diverse playmates.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 34 “In the United States, children are spending less time playing outdoors--or in any unstructured way.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
34 “Also, children spend less time playing outdoors than their mothers
did when they were young, according to Rhona L. Clements, a professor of
education at Manhattanville College in New York State/ She and her
colleagues surveyed eight hundred mothers, whose responses were compared
to to views of mothers interviewed generations ago: 71 percent of
today’s mothers said they recalled playing outdoors every day as
children, but only 26 percent of them said their children played
outdoors daily.” </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
35 “Clearly the childhood break from nature is part of a larger
dislocation--physical restriction of childhood in a rapidly urbanizing
world, with nature experience a major casualty.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
35 ”...new studies suggest that exposure to nature may reduce the
symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and that it
can improve all children’s cognitive abilities and resistance to
negative stresses and depression.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
36 “Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation
from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention
difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.”</span>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-6752228845348664012012-01-11T09:41:00.000-05:002012-01-11T09:41:05.594-05:00Notes on "Becoming Teddy Roosevelt"Vietze, Andrew (2010). <i>Becoming Teddy Roosevelt: How a Maine guide inspired America's 26th president</i>. Camden, ME: Downeast.<br />
<br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8440726142943378" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Nature of New York</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.20
“...they discovered that both were constantly astonished by the poetry
of the natural world. “ (an observation on Sewall and TR’s
relationship)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
21 “If he was reflective at all during the latter part o this Maine
sojourn, it was not about the death that had so weighed on him just
before his arrival, but about how much loved being in the woods.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
21 on Maine routines “They would have harvested the garden, begun to
ready their houses for the weather ahead, prepared for another season of
cutting trees, and gotten back into the affairs of the town they were
building out in the woods.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
24 “‘I made up my mind that I must try to learn so that I would not
again be put in such a helpless position.’” On bullies on the train up
to Maine.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
25 “With an ocean out one door and the woods out another, these summers
were full of magic for the imaginative naturalist, who would happily
take off by himself, traipsing in the bushes or down close to the
grass.” On his summers in the country.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
26 “After discovery, for Roosevelt, came the desire to understand his
findings, and then share that understanding with the world.” On
observing a dead seal.<br class="kix-line-break" />p. 28 “She spent hours
reading him stories of larger-than-life men and feats of heroism, both
fiction and non-fiction, books about knights and sailors and soldiers.”
on TR’s mother’s role in his life.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pine Tree Pioneers</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
32 “This was the last frontier of New England, a place where stands of
spruce stood majestic and tall, never touched by an ax or blase.”
Describing Aroostook County in the 1820’s.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
33 ….”the Bloodless Aroostook War or the more colorful Pork and Beans
war.” on establishing the official boundary line between Maine and New
Brunswick.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
37 “Working ceaselessly Sewall was able to ease the circumstances of
the family little by little. Under is tutelage--and that of a Penobscot
Indian neighbor--David and Sam Sewall became fairly expert woodsmen.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
38 “The academy of nature proved to be his favorite classroom, though,
and he learned much simply by following his father and older brothers
around.” Bill Sewall’s education</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
39 “..he brought a gif to his little brother--a compass. The small
instrument gave the boy even more self-confidence than the canoe and the
gun had earlier.” Bill Sewall’s education.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
41 “Bill donated his share to and Island Falls man who had a family to
support and no income. ‘That was the way the old-time people dealt
with their neighbors up here in the woods,’ he late explained.” Bill
Sewall’s character</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
42 “Like so many Mainers then-and even now-life was a seasonal cycle,
and every couple of months brought a new occupation.” Reality of rural
Maine life.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A Grander, More Beautiful Sight</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 48 “‘I have never seen a grander or more beautiful sight than the Northern woods in winter.’” TR on Maine</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
50 “Dow was able to find the animal’s prints, and they crept along the
trail even though it dragged them through cedar swamps, over hardwood
ridges, through hemlock woods, and across cranberry bogs.” Will Dow on
hunting with TR.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
50 “‘The reason he knew so much about everything, I found, was that
wherever he went he got in with the right people.’” Sewall on TR’s ways
of acquiring knowledge.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
51 “‘He said he could read about such things, but here he had
first-hand accounts of backwoods life form the men who had lived it and
knew what they were talking about.’” Sewall on TR’s ways of acquiring
knowledge</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tough as a Pine Knot</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
59 “‘If I follow my own natural bent I will be a naturalist, for you
know how I love nature, the woods, birds and plants and the rough Arab
life of the big woods.’” TR on what he would do if he didn’t enter
public service</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
59 “‘...”I don’t know a better or more intelligent race of men than the
shrewd, plucky, honest, Yankees--all of them hunters, lumbermen, or
small farmers.’” TR on Yankees</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Harvard Cool</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 65 “And enthusiasm, of course, was the trait that all but defined Theodore Roosevelt.” On his not fitting in at Harvard.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 66 “Roosevelt took to college like he did most things--with a zeal that bordered on the manic.” </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
67 “Working in a basement lab with a stiff white coat was the last
thing Theodore Roosevelt wanted to do.” On his naturalist leanings.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p. 67 “To TR, the wonders of science--its future and frontiers--were out in the fields and forests and sea awaiting discovery.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Playing the Frontier</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
75 “‘It was listening to those talks after supper in the old shack on
the Cannonball that I first came to understand that the Lord made the
earth for all of us and not just for the chosen few.’” TR out West</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Light Comes In; Light Goes Out</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
83 “...Mary loved the window the Sewall House gave her on the wider
world. This came both from her husband’s unending quest for knowledge
and from the many guests who stayed with them. Bill was keenly
interested in the goings-on beyond the limits of Island Falls. He read
the newspaper daily, and both he and Mary regularly visited the
community library, which was in Dave Sewall’s house, on the hunt for new
books.” On life and learning in rural Maine.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
87 “...his sister Sarah told him to go make his fortune and then
‘return and live in his real home.’” On Sewall’s Maine roots and Western
adventure.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Badlands Babies</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
94 “Bill Sewall was forever impressed by the gumption Roosevelt showed
in such situations, describing him as ‘afraid of nothing and nobody’”.
On how they dealt with other people claiming their land out West.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Beef</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
111 Bill Sewall on losing money out West. “‘...Roosevelt did not
pretend to be a businessman. He never cared about making money and he
didn’t go to Dakota for the money he expected to make there; he came
because he liked the country and he liked the people and he liked the
wild, adventurous life.’”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Futures and Fame</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
145 Bill Sewall on progress. “‘Many changes I have seen during my
eighty odd years of life, but I do not believe people are any happier
now, for all the improvements and new ways, than we were back in the old
days.’”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Czar of Aroostook County</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
157 “He may have become famous, but he still rose early and worked to
make something of each day.” On Bill Sewall’s work ethic</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
160 “Somehow Sewall found the stamina to do it all--customs collector,
sheriff, guide, logger, farmer, hotelier.” On his many duties.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
162 TR’s achievements. “TR Came to conservation via his passion for
hunting, and Sewall, of course, was his greatest hunting mentor.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">p.
163 “During his tenure, Roosevelt worked tireless at protecting the
nation’s natural heritage, saving some 84,000 acres a day. He was
actively involved in the creation of 150 national forests, 5 national
parks, 4 national game preserves, 18 national monuments (including the
Grand Canyon), 24 reclamation projects, and 51 federal bird preserves
(including the first, on Pelican Island, Florida).”</span>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-6473593262978490932012-01-06T09:47:00.000-05:002012-01-07T18:02:44.995-05:00Quests<i>draft </i><b><br /></b><br />
<br />
<b>What is a Quest?</b><br />
1. "Questing is a place-based education model of creating and exchanging treasure hunts in order to collect and share your community's distinct natural and cultural heritage -- your special places and stories." From <a href="http://vitalcommunities.org/">vitalcommunities.org</a><br />
"A quest is a community treasure hunt that guides people through -- and teaches them how to see -- a unique community treasure." From <a href="http://poeticsofplace.org/">poeticsofplace.org</a>.<br />
"Each Quest would be made up of three parts: clues, which teach visitors how to see—or read—a community story; a map guiding them along a specific route; leading to a particular “treasure” and treasure box, complete with a story about the site, a sign-in book, and a hand-carved stamp featuring a symbol for the site." from <a href="http://poeticsofplace.org/">poeticsofplace.org </a><br />
"Commonly written in rhyming verse, a Quest contains <i>movement clues</i>
that get you from one spot to the next. (A Quest usually includes a
site map as well.) The features at these spots illustrate the story.
Quests also have <i>informational clues</i>, that interpret the
meaning of the features and their place in the story – maybe an old mill
site, a beaver dam, an eroded bank, or a low salt marsh." from<a href="http://muscongusbay.org/" target="_blank"> muscongusbay.org</a><br />
2. Originated in England 150 years ago and is called letter-boxing there<br />
<br />
<b>Why do it?</b><br />
1. To learn deeply about a local place<br />
2. To work with community members and involve the community in teaching and learning about a place <br />
3. Map community assets<br />
4. Foster sense of place and community<br />
<br />
<b>How is a Quest made?</b> (adapted from the<a href="http://vitalcommunities.org/" target="_blank"> vitalcommunities.org</a> site)<br />
1. Pick a spot that that is special in your community.<br />
2. Ask permission to make a Quest<br />
3. Visit the site 2 or 3 times to begin to understand it,and start to think of how to form a Quest that fits the location<br />
4. Look for the experts: people in your community who can teach you more about your location. Ask them to join you at the location.<br />
5. Be a researcher and take notes on what those experts tell you!<br />
6. Choose a strategy. Be creative. How will you create the clues?<br />
7. Draw rough maps of your site. Also sketch or note the unique features that would make good clues.<br />
8. Make a rough draft of your Quest strategy with the clues.<br />
9. Field test the rough draft with lots of people and make changes to make it better.<br />
10. Write a description of what makes your Quest location unique. A few paragraphs is fine--be sure to state why your location is special. This will go in your Quest box.<br />
11. Draw final Quest Map.<br />
12. Make a stamp to use for stamping Quest passports.<br />
13. Get a box to use as a Quest Box (plastic food containers work well). Waterproof the introduction to the site and attach it securely to the inside cover of the box. In the box: a log book; pencil/pen; stamp; ink pad; pencil sharpener.<br />
14. Hide the box.<br />
15. Make sure the box will be monitored long term.<br />
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<b>What are potential challenges?</b><a href="http://muscongusbay.org/" target="_blank"> (from muscongusbay.org teacher evaluations in 2009)</a><b><br /></b><br />
1. Finding enough planning time<br />
2. Maintaining student engagement<br />
3. Creating a good work flowAmityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-7845233018436512472011-08-31T18:26:00.000-04:002011-08-31T18:26:21.747-04:00In Veron at the public school<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mainegirl/6100142597/" title="31 agosto by Amity Beane, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6189/6100142597_14fb0ab012_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="31 agosto"></a>
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For so many education is a privilege and not a right. This girl attends for a small fee at the only public high school in a community of 50,000 people.Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-56147372681157598602011-08-10T09:49:00.001-04:002011-11-15T09:29:42.314-05:00mission, vision, and philosophy wordle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<pre id="embed"> </pre>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-10302449301406732982011-04-20T17:01:00.000-04:002011-04-20T17:01:00.740-04:00around the world in less than a minute<iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22647049?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/22647049">Voyage</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6815937">MAGROUND Images</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-33324702539710967312011-03-27T09:34:00.000-04:002011-03-27T09:34:27.310-04:00EdmodoI recently re-discovered I belonged to a community called <a href="http://edmodo.com/">Edmodo</a>. This re-connect occurred due to my OER work. Through the state people in charge of my OER work, I was able to conference call with a great gal at Edmodo, Michelle Best, who explained how it works and where OER might fit in to the program.<br />
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What has hit me in the past few days is that Edmodo is designed to curate. You are essentially a gatherer of your own materials mined from the web to teach a lesson. You can also attach files from your desktop. You can arrange these items for your classes. You can share them easily with your peers. You can tag them. You can find them easily.<br />
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Why is this an a-ha for me? Basically, my desk at this time of year is over-run with paper. Paper is everywhere in my room. It's getting way too cluttered.<br />
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Edmodo is my cloud. I'm going to work my way through my courses, and Edmodo them up. So I don't need all this paper everywhere. And if my computer crashes, I will still have my site there.Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-63418400964745516632011-03-15T10:30:00.001-04:002011-03-15T10:30:33.778-04:00popplet<object height="460" width="460"><param value="http://popplet.com/app/Popplet_Alpha.swf?page_id=9028&em=1" name="movie"></param><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen"></param><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"></param><embed src="http://popplet.com/app/Popplet_Alpha.swf?page_id=9028&em=1" height="460" width="460" allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-53625766952574342022011-03-14T20:53:00.000-04:002011-03-14T20:53:52.500-04:00How to use Garageband to assess speaking in World LanguagesHere's something that has been working lately. I have used it with different grammatical structures levels 2-3-4. It's been taking a good 45 minutes per class.<br />
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The question is about music. What's your most favorite song? Who sings it? What's the genre? Why do you like it?<br />
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There are no wrong answers. We listen to the music. Everyone has to share 5-10 seconds. We ask the questions to each other and listen. <br />
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Using Garageband, I then direct the kids to record themselves speaking. You have to break the kids up into pairs. I have a good building for recording, it's very quiet.<br />
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The script is there already, as is the soundtrack. So, recording is easy, and then have the project sent as an attachment in email for grading.<br />
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The richest learning seems to be when we are listening to the music. <br />
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I grade the recording on accuracy and fluency. It's a skill sharpener. Short, sweet, and effective. <br />
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I use Garageband to assess speaking quite frequently. I think I will play the convos for the kids tomorrow and do dictation. (Evil cackle). Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5999893716063483153.post-6569770767124938772011-03-12T11:00:00.000-05:002011-03-12T11:05:59.096-05:00música: irka mateo<embed allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="file=http://culture.wnyc.org/audio/xspf/117549/&repeat=list&autostart=false&popurl=http://culture.wnyc.org/audio/xspf/117549/%3Fdownload%3Dhttp%3A//www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/audio.wnyc.org/sr/sr20110310_mp3_irkamateo.mp3" height="29" quality="high" src="http://culture.wnyc.org/media/audioplayer/red_progress_player_no_pop.swf" width="515" wmode="transparent"></embed><script type="text/javascript">
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</script><br />
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<blockquote>In 1492, the island of Hispaniola, which is now where Haiti and the Dominican Republic sit, was ruled in part by a female Taíno chief and poet named Anacaona. After she was killed by Spanish colonists, the chief became a potent symbol of national pride for Dominicans. <i>Anacaona </i>is also the name of a 2010 album by Irka Mateo, a Dominican singer who specializes in bringing indigenous themes and musical forms into her songwriting. Mateo spent years traveling across her country researching poorly-documented folkloric traditions, and later hosted a television show about traditional artists called Music From Kiskeya. These days, she’s living in New York and has put together an incendiary band that makes deeply Dominican music that is both thoughtful and danceable. “Hombre de la tierra” features the classic sound of the button accordion, along with <i>bachata</i>-inflected guitars, hard-driving drums, and Mateo’s spirited vocals.</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/music-hub/2011/mar/11/gig-alert-irka-mateo/">from Gig Alerts </a>Amityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12794224308505339831noreply@blogger.com0