The Intrepid Teacher...Dear Kaia...WM Chamberlain's Class Letter to Kaia...
The Intrepid Teacher is a blog created by Jabiz Radisana, a teacher at an international school in Doha,
Qatar. He speaks of an experience where he reads The Last Child in the Woods. Upon reading this book he has a revelation that his daughter does not spend enough time outside. So, he takes his daughter outside to explore with cameras in hand. Together, as a team they discover the beauty in their surroundings which are composed of a desert landscape, trash mounds, and construction refuse. In spite of their dismal surroundings, they find their beauty and capture them on film.
On this impromptu field trip Jabiz states that, "We spoke of the wind, the setting sun, and how plants can grow with little water. We spoke about the power of art to make the ugly appear beautiful. We asked questions of each other. We guessed at answers. The two of us were a mobile outdoor classroom. Father and daughter in an empty field in the desert." However, the learning didn't stop here and opened up a whole new world (no pun intended) of opportunity.
This experience with his daughter leads him to create the blog entitled "Dear Kaia" which is a blog that allows Kaia to share her photographs and experiences with different classrooms and children around the world. At first, like any parent, Jabiz was apprehensive about putting Kaia out there on the web but it proved to be a success. Not only did he connect with Mr. Chamberlain's class he also connected with many others throughout the world thus creating a virtual classroom while giving Kaia an meaningful learning experience.
The creation of Kaia's blog along with the connections that Mr. Chamerlain's class is making are vivid signs that changes in the education system are happening. These changes are for the better. It is evident that the internet and technology are powerful tools that can bring cultures together, create awareness, and provide many with invaluable learning experiences.
The Intrepid Teacher is a blog created by Jabiz Radisana, a teacher at an international school in Doha,
Qatar. He speaks of an experience where he reads The Last Child in the Woods. Upon reading this book he has a revelation that his daughter does not spend enough time outside. So, he takes his daughter outside to explore with cameras in hand. Together, as a team they discover the beauty in their surroundings which are composed of a desert landscape, trash mounds, and construction refuse. In spite of their dismal surroundings, they find their beauty and capture them on film.On this impromptu field trip Jabiz states that, "We spoke of the wind, the setting sun, and how plants can grow with little water. We spoke about the power of art to make the ugly appear beautiful. We asked questions of each other. We guessed at answers. The two of us were a mobile outdoor classroom. Father and daughter in an empty field in the desert." However, the learning didn't stop here and opened up a whole new world (no pun intended) of opportunity.
This experience with his daughter leads him to create the blog entitled "Dear Kaia" which is a blog that allows Kaia to share her photographs and experiences with different classrooms and children around the world. At first, like any parent, Jabiz was apprehensive about putting Kaia out there on the web but it proved to be a success. Not only did he connect with Mr. Chamberlain's class he also connected with many others throughout the world thus creating a virtual classroom while giving Kaia an meaningful learning experience.
The creation of Kaia's blog along with the connections that Mr. Chamerlain's class is making are vivid signs that changes in the education system are happening. These changes are for the better. It is evident that the internet and technology are powerful tools that can bring cultures together, create awareness, and provide many with invaluable learning experiences.
Comments 4 Kids
This week I got the chance to comment on Cezar's post in New Zeland. Cezar is currently in the 3rd grade and is learning to speak his native language Maori. He spoke Maori for about 30 seconds on his video post and it was interesting to listen to a language that I was completely unfamiliar with. To view Cezar's mihi (greeting in Maori) click the link below.Cezar's Mihi
Comments 4 Teachers
For this assignment I got to follow the Anne Marie Holmwood's post entitled "The Meaning of Life or 42". Anne teaches media arts and creative writing in British Columbia. Her posts were very interesting. One focused on her experience in grad school, she read a poem that captured her expereince and then posted it to You Tube and embedded it in her blog. The poem was great and she shed light on some of the aspects that make me nervous about being a teacher. The main aspect being having to tailor your curriculum to the standardized tests at the time. When I read the comments for this post she actually stated that in Canada parents have the right to not have their child participate in standardized testing. The parents are required to have some sort of academic/educaitonal activity provided for these students during test time. I thought that this was great. Standardized tests are probably not used as rigorously as they are here in good ol' America. I wish I could teach in Canada.
The other post I viewed was a speech written by Anne's twelve year old daughter Willa. Will gave a speech for a competition that dealt with the impact that technology would have on her community. She went over the pros and cons of each side and came up with a lovely conclusion. Through reading this post you can tell that the apple does not fall too far from the tree here.
Visit The Meaning of Life or 42 Here
I just watched the greeting as well. I completely agree. It is amazing to hear languages other than ones we are all familiar with! I absolutely love doing the comments for kids because it lets me see the lives of different students all over the world!
ReplyDeleteI also like reading about the man and daughter that explored the outside world together. I agree that most children now do not get to spend enough time outside. It seems that there are so many other activities that children can do on the internet or on game consoles. I think that some children now days spend more time inside playing games and watching TV than they do playing outside and enjoying the air and the earth. I love that they got to experience that together, with "cameras in hand".