I cannot believe how much I learned in just one short week. I feel like I am taking so much from this class and I hope that I'll be able to apply it a lot to my teaching in a traditional classroom. I know that I will be able to apply it to my life in general, especially what we have learned about being sustainable. Taking the survey to find out our footprint was eye opening and really made me think about what changes I can make in my life to be a better citizen. I am inspired to buy more local produce, make my own bread, and ride my bike a little more often.
It was also great to take a closer look at what UNH does to be sustainable. After being here for four years, I almost take what the office of sustainability does for granted. Hearing the reactions of other students who went to different universities for undergrad reminded me that not all schools are as green, or even nearly as green, as UNH. I am proud to have a degree from such an amazing institution. It was great to think about how we as teachers can do some of the things that UNH does at our own schools. My favorite idea was having some kind of reward, like a raffle, for all students and faculty that ride their bike to school.
I thought that I would be anti coring trees, but I got really excited about it when it came time to do it and I realized how much we can learn from the core. I got to start the core into the tree and it was really fun! I felt like a scientist.
I wasn't as crazy about the GPS. I don't like technology very much in general, and especially when I'm in the woods I'd much rather be without it. I found myself getting stressed out when it wasn't working completely correctly, like pointing us in the wrong direction. I'm also not confident that I would be able to find the right screens to use if I was doing it by myself. I hope that I am in a group with someone that is more comfortable with GPS than I am so I have time to continue to develop this skill.
This really has been a week full of wonder, adventures, and learning. I hope that I have some chances to get into the woods this weekend so I can try to find some of the things we have learned about. I also hope that I continue to get this much out of the class as we being delving into our research projects.
1 comment:
Hi Lizzy,
I am enjoying your blog. I like the way you are always thinking about how you will apply what you are learning in to a classroom setting. Some of the things you will learn will be easy to bring into a class such as the ecological footprint. Others will be harder such as getting students onto a piece of land in a sustained manner. Sometimes just a little patch of woods, fields, or stream can be a wonderland to students if they can be there enough. I hope you continue to have fun.
Post a Comment