Virtual Field Trip- Lakes of Missouri

We have been really fortunate to have an extremely pleasant summer weather wise this year. I'm talking ridiculously mild. Beautiful scenery, cool breezes, and best of all a complete lack of humidity. My hair has really loved it.

Anyways, the point of all of this wonderful weather talk is that it makes for very enjoyable hiking and exploration weather. Lots of walking has been happening here, and I have been privileged to have friends who also love to walk and take in the scenery. I have been to random rope swings, parks, the big tree, developing neighborhoods, and even down the pedestrian paths to Walmart. The other day, Brittany and I were in want of a new path and so I decided to take her to a path by a dog park I had been to a few times.

While driving there I was ranting about something or another and passed the spot that I had intended to turn onto. I kept driving and came upon an exit for the MKT trail that I had never noticed on my many drives down Forum. What the heck, I thought, and turned in and parked. We began our journey down the wide and very accessible MKT trail. Various people passed by us, a woman walking her dog and a few hippy looking bikers. I am in the bad habbit of listening to everyone, so you can imagine my intrigue when I overheard the very rough hippy-esque woman on a bike tell her friend the third member of their party had stopped at the lake.


"A lake would be amazing right now," was
the exact thought that crossed my mind at that moment. Luckily the same thought crossed Brittany's mind and we decided to find this lake.

We did not have to walk far at all to find the trail that branched off toward a lovely field with much greenery. The gravel path wound around the field which then turned into a beautiful lake and wildlife area. I was absolutely astonished. Seriously? Seriously. How had I never known this existed?

________

There were wildflowers and tall grasses; old trees and benches with dedication engraved onto them lined the pathway circling the lake.

Strolling around the lake was not only and enjoyable setting for scenery but also for conversation. Twin Lakes is so engaging, I went back the next week with Marissa and caught the lake at sunset. If you are in Columbia, this should be a must see for you. If not, go find a spot like this near you. They pop up in the most surprising places!

Virtual Field Trip- Chicago Botanical Garden

The first weekend I arrived in Chicago, I took a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden. It's free to the public, but parking is $20 unless you have a yearly pass. The garden's 385 acres are overwhelmingly beautiful and I easily found myself lost while winding through the various paths of the 23 different themed gardens. I had the desire to see and touch every plant, flower, and vegetable, but we were on a mission.

We had to come watch the Garden Chef Series where chefs from various restaurants around the Chicago area come to the outdoor kitchen to give cooking demonstrations. Renown chefs such as Rick Bayless and Gale Gand have been featured here which made my anticipation for the demo high. Today's chef was Janine MacLachlan from the Rustic Kitchen, a cooking school located two hours outside of Chicago on a secluded farm. She was bubbly and fun and gave a wonderful demonstration on my favorite foods such as granola and ginger ale, and I even learned how to make a ginger plumb clafoutis. I highly recommend this super easy desert to anybody who likes pie but does not want the hassle of making a crust.

After eating the samples from the demo (they were only one bite which was not nearly enough) we perused through the pepper and vegetable gardens. The foods are cultivated to perfection with rows and rows of peppers, eggplants, and swiss chard surrounded by the largest heads of lettuce I have ever come across. The only aspect that is not perfectly lovely about these plants is that they can not be picked and cooked up.



The Botanic Garden is by far my new favorite place in Chicago. I can not wait to go back a thousand times and explore every facet of the expansive awesomeness.

TEchnology Lesson Plan

Objective(s):
SWBAT define wave unit vocabulary


Vocab:
wave, wave length, amplitude, frequency, period

Activator/Do Now:
What does the word wave mean to you?

Strategies/Activities:
1. Pre Read: Wave Videos

2. Read stratified sound wave articles

3. Create word cloud using Wordle and unit vocab words

4.Begin to individually create 3D Graphic flash cards

Exit Slip/Final CFU:
What is amplitude? How does amplitude change a wave?


Wave Videos:







Wordle Vocabulary

Can't Hardly Wait....

@thenerdyteacher claims in this post that everything he learned about education he learned from the epic 90's movie Can't Hardly Wait. This is an awesome and hysterical comparison that has some very sobering parallelisms.

The main points are as follows:

1. Dumping bad reform, like dumping a bad girlfriend, is okay as long as the next one is better.
2. Teachers are being trashed in the name of reform.
3. Teachers need to speak up now and not wait.
4. We should be ourselves, just like we encourage students to do the same.

Who knew the crazy movie's of the 90's could be so wise.

Can't Hardly Wait

TED Talks: Always Wear Dark Suits

As teachers we have to be constantly be attentive to burnout. The following video from TED Talks is an interesting new perspective on how burnout works, and the great rewards for burnout prevention in teachers. The main idea of burnout prevention is having graduates come back into the classroom to share with new students and former teachers what they have done since graduation. It's an innovative idea that and if it takes hold, it will change how we "do school."

Always Wear Dark Suits

Our Broken Escalator

linked a post to Nicolas Kristof's article in the New York Times entitled Our Broken Escalator, which discusses the problems with funding education in Afghanistan, and not ensuring funding in our own school systems in the U.S.

The point remains that education is the best way to combat poverty, and while we can focus on doing that in countries across the world poverty is still striking large communities all over the country.

Here is an excerpt from the article

"When I report on poverty in Africa and poverty in America, the differences are vast. But there is a common thread: chipping away at poverty is difficult and uncertain work, but perhaps the anti-poverty program with the very best record is education — and that’s as true in New York as it is in Nigeria.

Granted, budget shortfalls are real, and schools need reforms as well as dollars. Pouring money into a broken system isn’t a solution, and we need more accountability. But it’s also true that blindly slashing budgets is making the problems worse. As Derek Bok, the former Harvard president, once observed, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”"

I can't think of a better way to state how much education in America needs to change.

Health and Education

@ED.gov posted Secretaries Duncan and Sebelius announce awards of $95 million to 278 school-based health center programs.

The link leads to an article in which the Department of Education will be funding 278 school-based health center programs with $95 million which they estimate will be able to help increase the population these centers help by 50%. These centers provide health care to students who would otherwise not receive the health care. Services such as basic health care, including asthma treatments, eye care, and dentist care help students stay in class and become distracted by ailments that can be easily treated.

Of the 278 health centers being funded, nine Chicago centers will receive a total of approx. $9 million dollars.

“Healthy children are better able to learn and succeed in school,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “These grants will improve access to care for children, and help maximize their potential to learn.”