REFLECTIONS FROM “THE MINIATURE EARTH” SHARED
ON AUGUST 10,2010
"The Miniature Earth" puts our material gifts and things taken for granted into
perspective. Viewing data from another lens encourages greater understanding of
our own situations. Barb
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I just watched the video, Miniature World, and I think it's my favorite so far!
Being reminded to appreciate EVERYTHING we have is a grand message! Deb
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Sandy- also found the same clip with John Lennon playing Imagine in the
background- it was quite moving!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drSDhlnm0e0&feature=related
This video really brings home the need to connect kids to the real world. The more
kids know, the better they can understand and understanding leads to caring. We
need to produce children who will care for each other and this Earth. We are all
connected. Each year I show the Unicef movie to my class - showing world hunger.
The kids really take it to heart and Trick Or Treat for Unicef. Manchester School
has Community Day where every class displays their class project for caring for
others. It is wonderful. I live in Casco and see the kids from the SEEDS of Peace
Camp. It is so wonderful that small town Maine can be helping to build world peace!
Donna
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This video is a reminder of how differently many people in the world live, and how
much we take for granted. This came up when I was field testing "Energy for
Maine" curriculum last Fall, and we looked at statistics regarding how much energy
Americans use compared to people in other countries--countries with MUCH larger
populations. It brought up some good discussion regarding energy resources and
the need to use energy more wisely, but also other aspects of daily life that we
take for granted.
Also, Donors Choose is a great resource. That's how I got supplies for doing
modular origami last school year, though it took from September until late April for
the project to be funded and the materials to be shipped. It's good for projects
or materials teachers may not need immediately or things that can be planned far in
advance for. Or perhaps others have had quicker turn around times? Kellie
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This is one I've seen, but reviewing it motivates me to share it with my students. I
don't think they have any idea how their lives compare to those of the rest of the
world. Martha
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On Miniature Earth: Viewing this clip makes me want to become a missionary
crusader, as I once thought I would growing up. Everything is about education, isn't
it? You can feed the hungry a fish and they will be full for a day. Or, you can teach
the hungry how to fish, and they will be full for a lifetime. Isn't that how the old
adage goes? The world can be changed with education, for people who are openminded to learn, listen and engage
Linda.
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After viewing the video, I feel very fortunate and appreciative as a human being
for what I have in my life. Professionally, I appreciate the resources at our
disposal to make a difference for students and the resources that most of our
families have. Yes, we work with disadvantaged youth but not to the magnitude
that most of the world does. We are fortunate as a district! I did some number
crunching because the video shared that 14 of 100 people would not be able to read.
I looked at some recent reading test scores (I know they are not all the end all be
all) and found that on the average approximately 13 out of a 100 of the students
from Primary School do not meet reading level benchmarks when exiting our school.
At a brief glance this seems similar to the world average. After grade 3 even with
quality interventions, a child reading on grade level is extremely difficult. I would
want us educators to keep these students in mind as we plan now and in the future!
Kyle
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It is human nature to take all that we have for granted. We are socially responsible
for sharing our prosperity with the rest of the world. As an educator I have to
stop myself and ask the hard questions about my students. Are they safe? Are
they hungry? Are they loved? These needs must be met before I can teach them
the joys of learning! We can give our students the tools for change and the desire
for something more! Stephen
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These are interesting stats; I would like to see how similar data breaks down for
the United States/other nations. We hear critics rail over and over about how our
students' achievement stacks up against other countries, but it's comparing apples
to oranges...our culture doesn't truly support education the way other successful
nations do. I would be interested to know how other nations support the children
they teach. Also-when I see the poverty percentages in the video; I wonder how
many of those kids are even in school-? How many of them are in OUR schools?
Becca
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I think it's always good to be reminded about how good we have it relative to most
of the world's population. It's also very sad and disheartening to see how many are
suffering. Wish we could put those "100 theoretical people" on an experimental
island and see what would happen if we fed them all and took care of their health
needs, created peace, re-distributed the budget so we could spend more on
education - what would happen if they all had access to an education? Rod
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Thank you for this video. Having our children see their place in a global society is
such an important context for learning. In my class, students all view and digest
"The Story of Stuff" and this leads to some very interesting views.
I will add this video, or a version, to my class. Eliza
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MORE REFLECTIONS FROM THE DALTON SHERMAN SPEECH SHARED ON
JULY 27, 2010
Out of the mouth of a mature sixth grader comes the guiding principle for all
students. Believe in our students’ capacity and ability to learn. Discover and
encourage their strengths. Give them the tools to believe in themselves. Barb
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Dalton is an inspiration and I could share my reflection about the content of his
presentation, but after several viewings, I now look beyond his message and to his
gift. I am reminded of how important the ability to speak effectively is. It is
critical to be able to express oneself in academic, professional and personal realms.
Reading, writing, speaking and listening are the ELA teachers' charge, but the first
two areas get the lion's share of my instructional time. I needed this reminder.
Patricia
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MORE REFLECTIONS UPON THE “I TEACH THEREFORE YOU LEARN” YOU
TUBE SHARED ON JULY 19, 2010
My reflection on “I teach, therefore you learn...or do you”
The last lines of the video, “If we want them to learn from us...we may need to
learn from them,” initially gave me the idea to begin this year by having my 6th
graders collaborate in pairs/small groups on projects to teach me about a
technology in which they feel knowledgeable. After this idea incubated for a couple
of days I watched the video again. I thought of the global community in which we
all learn from each other (less “us” vs. “them”) with a feeling of abundance and not
scarcity. Then after starting to read Alan November's Web Literacy for
Educators, I was reminded that technology is a tool. It is not the objective of
learning, but the tool used to learn. Students will need to learn how to find
information, determine its validity, problem solve, work in teams, synthesize
information, think critically, and manage cyber-relationships among many other
skills. In November's introduction he tells a story/analogy that beings: “Long, long
ago, there was a magical invention called paper...there were few adult role models to
provide proper guidance, some children abused this newfound power. Middle school
girls were known to write mean and nasty notes...Boys were spending too much time
playing games on it...When the adults found out what the children were up to with
the technology, they were horrified. Paper had to be stopped!...and so it was
decided that paper should be banned from schools. The children were not upset
because they knew they could still use the new technology when they were outside
of school...there was nothing to stop them from accessing all that they wanted
without parents and teachers even knowing...things became much much worse...Years
later, some of the adults reconsider the original ban and decided to embed the
technology into the process of learning...” and his introduction went on to say we are
now at the crossroads of a new technology that we can empower ourselves and our
students with or we can ignore as illustrated in the story. When teachers and
students co-construct learning and knowledge and create an atmosphere of a global
learning community with authentic ingredients, then it will be easier to achieve the
balance. Technology is a tool and a hook. Teachers need continuous access to
technology training and application for classroom use in order to effectively use it.
Over time the tools will change, but the ability to expand our boundaries to a global
community is here to stay. I'm looking forward to my sixth graders' technology
lessons this September. Patricia
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