Teachable Moments
Friday, March 25, 2011
Unusual Siting
A storm had come through Southern California and everything was drenched!
I made my way to a local comprehensive urban high school to visit some
of my Teacher Candidates.
On my way to one of the classrooms, I had to walk past the bleachers and
football field. I noticed that there were about 10-15 students huddled
around in a circle. My initial thought was that there might be a fight
brewing or maybe the students were gambling....
Of course, being a former site administrator and just a plain ol' nosy
person, I walked over to the students and joined the huddle!
Lo and behold...the students were gawking at the fact that two ducks
were swimming around in a huge puddle created by the torrential rains!
The students were discussing among themselves about the unusual siting
of two ducks on a high school campus. They were trying to figure out
how the ducks even got to the school and how they would make it back to..
wherever!
Suddenly, the commotion startled the ducks and they took flight!
"Oh my God", many of the students exclaimed, "I didn't know that ducks
could fly like that...we only see them swimming in a pond".
Well, it occurred to me that many of our urban students have not personally
experienced many things that we, as educators, take for granted.
The internet (i.e. Google Earth) and other forms of visual media are a
wonderful way to provide experiences to students that they may not be
exposed to otherwise.
Take the time in your lessons to share these "unusual sitings"!
I made my way to a local comprehensive urban high school to visit some
of my Teacher Candidates.
On my way to one of the classrooms, I had to walk past the bleachers and
football field. I noticed that there were about 10-15 students huddled
around in a circle. My initial thought was that there might be a fight
brewing or maybe the students were gambling....
Of course, being a former site administrator and just a plain ol' nosy
person, I walked over to the students and joined the huddle!
Lo and behold...the students were gawking at the fact that two ducks
were swimming around in a huge puddle created by the torrential rains!
The students were discussing among themselves about the unusual siting
of two ducks on a high school campus. They were trying to figure out
how the ducks even got to the school and how they would make it back to..
wherever!
Suddenly, the commotion startled the ducks and they took flight!
"Oh my God", many of the students exclaimed, "I didn't know that ducks
could fly like that...we only see them swimming in a pond".
Well, it occurred to me that many of our urban students have not personally
experienced many things that we, as educators, take for granted.
The internet (i.e. Google Earth) and other forms of visual media are a
wonderful way to provide experiences to students that they may not be
exposed to otherwise.
Take the time in your lessons to share these "unusual sitings"!