The preparation section was awful. First, I found out that not all the pictures for the cards weren't printed out. I had to go to the main office to re-print them. Then, I realized that I didn't have an adaptor for my laptop and had to talk to Paul to find one. I was told Mrs. Cancino had one and I asked her to borrow it. She needed it for her class, so we both worked to dig out a second one to use. I plugged it into my laptop and asked for help in the card assembly and banner mounting. Ms. Melogno said that I was around 5 min. late for presentation and she let the people in. I just stood at the front as though there wasn't any chaos beforehand and delivered my lesson.
The lecture went without incident until I reached 11 o' clock. I was reminded by my teacher that I had to stop at 12:10 and remembered that I had only covered 2 answers of my 3. Once the students came back in, I was still upset over being docked a letter grade for being late, but didn't show it. I decided to continue the lesson as planned, leaving out some of the more minute details to hurry up my explanations. Throughout my lecture, Mrs. Melogno still had questions for me. I tried to include several details, but could not recall some of the sources and locations. This didn't please her. Despite these repeated episodes behind the scenes, the lesson went well in the face of the students.
I then moved on to my last activity with the sprout jars, which passed without incident and turned out very well. It kept the students engaged and taught them a bit about how to reuse common household items to help support themselves in multiple ways. Then the best answer and conclusion went by uneventfully and I ended the lesson just in time. Cleanup went quickly too.
Overall, I am NOT happy about the botched attempt at preparation. All of those weeks of work down the drain in the space of 5 short, extra minutes. The rest of the presentation was very satisfying though. I stayed composed despite so many setbacks in the start. In addition, no one listening to my lesson, besides a disappointed Ms. Melogno, seemed to suspect a thing was wrong. So, other than nightmarish preparation trouble, things went almost perfectly in my presentation.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Service Learning
L:
Early - Feb, 2011 - Started work on a saturday cleaning the chicken coop. Then harvested eggs from the hens.
total: 8 hrs.
Mid - Feb, 2011 - Helped set fence posts for new goat pen
total: 8 hrs.
Mid - Feb, 2011 - Helped take down 300 feet of old fence
total: 8 hrs.
Late - Feb, 2011 - Came back and helped move large compost pile. Harvested some more eggs.
total: 6 hrs.
March, 2011 - Prepared raised beds for garden. Pulled weeds out. Harvested eggs.
total: 4 hrs.
Mid - March, 2011 - Started to plant strawberries in beds. Harvested eggs
total: 4 hrs.
Late - April, 2011 - Helped plant tomatoes, herbs, and other crops.
total: 5 hrs.
Early May, 2011 - Harvested eggs, observed newborn goats, & cleaned out barn
total: 7 hrs.
GRAND TOTAL - 50 hrs.
Contact - Betty Joseph
(951) 769 - 4510
I:
The most important thing that I learned from this experience is that Sustainability is a full-time job that eventually becomes your life. It starts out fairly easy, then gets more and more involved and hard as you get closer to achieving it. Despite this, the physical work required to be sustainable is highly rewarding. It may not be glamorous, but in the end you can see and feel that it is completely worth it. The reason why is that as you start being sustainable, you become more aware of your habits and attempt to break or reform the bad ones.
Yet, as you break away from conventional means of aqquiring food and energy, you start to see what you are truly capable of as the weeks go by. After my first egg harvest, I had around 3 dozen eggs. At the end of packaging them, I actually looked at what I did and was shocked at how much I had accomplished in one day. What one person does in one day can feed a family for a week.
A:
This helped me answer my E.Q. in the sense that it taught me what it truly means to be sustainable without any sugar-coating or beating around the bush like many of the written sources did. I realized that if I just preached about issues or showed simple steps towards sustainability, then the people I was informing would end up either indifferent or shocked at how much work sustainability can really be once you get deeply into it. The only way I see that could possibly tell people how it is as closely as possible to reality and still convince them to be sustainable would be to list the pros and cons with explanations for each.
Early - Feb, 2011 - Started work on a saturday cleaning the chicken coop. Then harvested eggs from the hens.
total: 8 hrs.
Mid - Feb, 2011 - Helped set fence posts for new goat pen
total: 8 hrs.
Mid - Feb, 2011 - Helped take down 300 feet of old fence
total: 8 hrs.
Late - Feb, 2011 - Came back and helped move large compost pile. Harvested some more eggs.
total: 6 hrs.
March, 2011 - Prepared raised beds for garden. Pulled weeds out. Harvested eggs.
total: 4 hrs.
Mid - March, 2011 - Started to plant strawberries in beds. Harvested eggs
total: 4 hrs.
Late - April, 2011 - Helped plant tomatoes, herbs, and other crops.
total: 5 hrs.
Early May, 2011 - Harvested eggs, observed newborn goats, & cleaned out barn
total: 7 hrs.
GRAND TOTAL - 50 hrs.
Contact - Betty Joseph
(951) 769 - 4510
I:
The most important thing that I learned from this experience is that Sustainability is a full-time job that eventually becomes your life. It starts out fairly easy, then gets more and more involved and hard as you get closer to achieving it. Despite this, the physical work required to be sustainable is highly rewarding. It may not be glamorous, but in the end you can see and feel that it is completely worth it. The reason why is that as you start being sustainable, you become more aware of your habits and attempt to break or reform the bad ones.
Yet, as you break away from conventional means of aqquiring food and energy, you start to see what you are truly capable of as the weeks go by. After my first egg harvest, I had around 3 dozen eggs. At the end of packaging them, I actually looked at what I did and was shocked at how much I had accomplished in one day. What one person does in one day can feed a family for a week.
A:
This helped me answer my E.Q. in the sense that it taught me what it truly means to be sustainable without any sugar-coating or beating around the bush like many of the written sources did. I realized that if I just preached about issues or showed simple steps towards sustainability, then the people I was informing would end up either indifferent or shocked at how much work sustainability can really be once you get deeply into it. The only way I see that could possibly tell people how it is as closely as possible to reality and still convince them to be sustainable would be to list the pros and cons with explanations for each.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
2 Hour Presentation Rough Draft
Name _Kaitlyn Grayson_____________ Topic: ____Sustainability___________ Presentation Teacher _Melogno_______
EQ: What is the best way to convince people to adopt a sustainable lifestyle?
Classroom Theme: Recycling bins, a model solar panel, a model windmill, a banner w/ E.Q., recycled paper, dried Spanish moss, and rope.
Sponge Activity: (Do not address EQ, but engage your audience in preparation for the presentation. Speaking length should be 3-7 min and will not be timed; be sure to include the activity time range above.)
1. What is the activity: A quick Quiz to see what the class knows already.
2. How it will be done: a powerpoint with each group answering the 5 to 10 questions and explanations of the answers afterwards
3. How the activity relates to answer: It lets the instructor know what confusion there is about sustainability
Introduction: Hello, . . . House! My name is Kaitlyn Grayson and my E.Q. is: What is the best way to convince people to adopt a sustainable lifestyle? So, what I plan to do is clarify some misconceptions about sustainability and why we should practice it. First, how about a little history lesson?
Foundation: I will explain the history of sustainability first and then get into why we should practice sustainability (environmental crisis, pollution, etc.). Also, I will define some of the phrases that occur in my topic.
Answer 1: Inform people about the pros and cons of sustainability.
Information taught:
Sustainability can help reduce our pollution output and keep providing for us in the future.
We need to know at least a couple of benefits of each lifestyle in order to better understand each one and which one to choose. Conventional methods are often cheaper in order to obtain goods and are more readily available. We need to know at least a couple of benefits of each lifestyle in order to better understand each one and which one to choose.
Answer 2: Discuss the global issues brought about by traditional modern lifestyles.
Information taught:
Traditional modern lifestyles are starting to create disastrous consequences for different population. We need to know the danger of continuing our traditional modern lifestyles in order to see what’s ahead and what to plan for it.
Conservation is planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect. We need to know conservation is in order to better understand what strategies can help save natural resources.
Answer 3: Show basic conservation techniques to the people.
Information taught:
This way they will know some simple ways of how to help the environment and take steps towards sustainability.
Some techniques are as simple as shutting off water and electricity when they aren’t using them.Answer 1 Activity:
1. What is the activity: Trivia Game - Lesser Evil?
2. How it will be done: the class will be in groups of 4 and each group has different comparisons. Each group has a secret partner with a duplicate comparison to make them defend their own opinions. Each group decides on what is less harmful to the environment. (e.g. car vs. bus, bath vs. shower)
2. How the activity relates to answer: It ties into the fact that sustainability involves pro and con approaches to conservation techniques and these are common parts of conservation knowledge. They are being weighed against each other.
3. All materials for activity:
a laptop, slides printed on papers, and the class
Answer 2 Activity:
1. What is the activity: Trivia Game – What Did This?
2. How it will be done: The class will be in groups of 4 and each group has different comparisons. Each group has a secret partner with a duplicate comparison to make them defend their own opinions. The groups decides on what pollution/activity triggered different negative environmental effects.
2. How the activity relates to answer: This discusses the negative consequences of our current actions and sends a message that we need to change our ways in order to help the environment and be sustainable.
3. All materials for activity:
a laptop, slides printed on papers, and the class
Answer 3 Activity:
1. What is the activity: Make your own sprout jar
2. How it will be done: I will give each person a plastic water bottle and instruct them to cut the top off and put alfalfa seeds in with some water, slosh it around, and drain it. Then cover the top with cheese cloth and put the newly made jar in the sun. They will have alfalfa sprouts to eat in a few days.
2. How the activity relates to answer: This is a way to teach people simple ways to be more sustainable by growing some of their own food.
3. All materials for activity:
old water bottles, alfalfa seeds, cheese cloth, water, and the class
Best Answer:
Inform people about the pros and cons of sustainability.
Sustainability can help reduce our pollution output and keep providing for us in the future.
We need to know at least a couple of benefits of each lifestyle in order to better understand each one and which one to choose. Conventional methods are often cheaper in order to obtain goods and are more readily available. We need to know at least a couple of benefits of each lifestyle in order to better understand each one and which one to choose.
Three Meaningful sources:
1. Madigan, Carleen. The Backyard Homestead. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub., 2009. Print.
2. Service Learning w/ Betty Joeseph
3. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2007. Print.
Product:
I now have more respect and appreciation of what we already have at our disposal outside of modern technology. I feel we take nature for granted and now I have become a vegetarian and recycle almost everything I use. I am also trying to spread the message so that other people can help too. After all, I can’t do this alone.
Conclusion:
This is the end of my presentation and I hope that you will all use this information in the future and/or present to make good choices in your lives. After all, what you do not only effects your life, but your friends, family, and even people you don't know. Earth-wise, every little bit of help counts towards a cleaner and brighter future. Thank you for your time.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Independent Study Component 2
log: 4/2/11: Volunteered w/ Urban Conservation Corps and planted 30 trees in a group with 2 other people among a larger group of volunteers. Took place on Sheep Mountain in the San Bernardino Nat'l Forest.
total time: 8 hrs.
4/9 & 4/12: Volunteered at the Bernard Field Station in Claremont. Dr. Jennifer Gee, the new interim mgr. allowed me to help clear some trails and remove invasive plants. Also made food for hummingbirds. Then, I dug out part of an old, dry pond to revitalize the habitat.
total time: 7.5 hrs.
4/16 & 4/17: Went to Caroline Park & Prospect Park in Redlands to pick up trash. Collected little in Caroline, but a lot in Prospect. Mainly cigarette butts and food wrappers. Found one recyclable can.
total time: 7.5 hrs.
4/23: Went through Thompson Creek Trail in Claremont to pick up trash. Found very little. Just a few gum wrappers and an old baby shoe. A few grubby, blue things too. Good thing I used the bag to pick those up . . .
total time: 4 hrs.
4/28: Volunteered again w/ Dr. Gee at the Field Station. Dug out the rest of the pond. Had to remove an island of dirt in the middle. Also set up hummingbird feeder.
total time: 2 hrs.
4/28: Went to Vale Park and Cahuilla Park in Claremont to pick up trash. Not much trash at Vale, but plenty in Cahuilla.
total time: 1 hr.
L) a:
“I, Kaitlyn Grayson, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
b:
I cleaned up 5 different parks/trail areas and joined 3 organizations that aid in habitat conservation: The Urban Conservation Corps, The Bernard Field Station, and The Apprentice Ecologist Initiative. In the process, I have recycled 1 can and 4 plastic bottles. Also, I picked up around 3 lbs. of trash, primarily waste paper and chip bags. I helped a team of 2 other people plant 30 trees too. Lastly, I helped to partly restore a pond ecosystem back to the way it originally was.
I)
The significant parts of my work represent 30 hrs. of work due to the fact that the areas of the parks and trail areas were large and I had to comb the entire place looking for litter to pick up. Also, The pond that I restored had been drained and turned into a vegetable garden by the Field Stations previous owner, thus I had to remove all of the dirt from it and uproot all of the vegetables planted there. As for the tree planting, I was with a large UCC group that had to drive to the forest and hike 1/4 mile to Sheep Mountain and split into smaller planting groups of 3. We had to grab our shovels and then collect 10 trees from the cooler, and make sure each planting site was approximately 18 ft away from other trees. The area had a lot of large rocks and hard soil, so it took a while to find and dig into each spot. We also had to shade each tree partly with rock piles we put up to ensure their hydration and survival.
A)
It helped me answer my E.Q. in the sense that I was only looking at the whole big concept of sustainability before. In a way, not seeing the forest for the trees. I learned that sustainability isn't just reducing energy or water use, it is a whole conglomeration of different aspects that require a sustainable person to get involved in matters outside of their lives. We need to not only protect ourselves, but the life around us. The only way to do that is to take part in conservation and protection. It means that we ALL need to take responsibility and clean up not only our own messes, but others' as well. The wild areas on our planet can't clean themselves. So, if others won't clean up the mess, those who are being sustainable will have to.
total time: 8 hrs.
4/9 & 4/12: Volunteered at the Bernard Field Station in Claremont. Dr. Jennifer Gee, the new interim mgr. allowed me to help clear some trails and remove invasive plants. Also made food for hummingbirds. Then, I dug out part of an old, dry pond to revitalize the habitat.
total time: 7.5 hrs.
4/16 & 4/17: Went to Caroline Park & Prospect Park in Redlands to pick up trash. Collected little in Caroline, but a lot in Prospect. Mainly cigarette butts and food wrappers. Found one recyclable can.
total time: 7.5 hrs.
4/23: Went through Thompson Creek Trail in Claremont to pick up trash. Found very little. Just a few gum wrappers and an old baby shoe. A few grubby, blue things too. Good thing I used the bag to pick those up . . .
total time: 4 hrs.
4/28: Volunteered again w/ Dr. Gee at the Field Station. Dug out the rest of the pond. Had to remove an island of dirt in the middle. Also set up hummingbird feeder.
total time: 2 hrs.
4/28: Went to Vale Park and Cahuilla Park in Claremont to pick up trash. Not much trash at Vale, but plenty in Cahuilla.
total time: 1 hr.
L) a:
“I, Kaitlyn Grayson, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
b:
I cleaned up 5 different parks/trail areas and joined 3 organizations that aid in habitat conservation: The Urban Conservation Corps, The Bernard Field Station, and The Apprentice Ecologist Initiative. In the process, I have recycled 1 can and 4 plastic bottles. Also, I picked up around 3 lbs. of trash, primarily waste paper and chip bags. I helped a team of 2 other people plant 30 trees too. Lastly, I helped to partly restore a pond ecosystem back to the way it originally was.
I)
The significant parts of my work represent 30 hrs. of work due to the fact that the areas of the parks and trail areas were large and I had to comb the entire place looking for litter to pick up. Also, The pond that I restored had been drained and turned into a vegetable garden by the Field Stations previous owner, thus I had to remove all of the dirt from it and uproot all of the vegetables planted there. As for the tree planting, I was with a large UCC group that had to drive to the forest and hike 1/4 mile to Sheep Mountain and split into smaller planting groups of 3. We had to grab our shovels and then collect 10 trees from the cooler, and make sure each planting site was approximately 18 ft away from other trees. The area had a lot of large rocks and hard soil, so it took a while to find and dig into each spot. We also had to shade each tree partly with rock piles we put up to ensure their hydration and survival.
A)
It helped me answer my E.Q. in the sense that I was only looking at the whole big concept of sustainability before. In a way, not seeing the forest for the trees. I learned that sustainability isn't just reducing energy or water use, it is a whole conglomeration of different aspects that require a sustainable person to get involved in matters outside of their lives. We need to not only protect ourselves, but the life around us. The only way to do that is to take part in conservation and protection. It means that we ALL need to take responsibility and clean up not only our own messes, but others' as well. The wild areas on our planet can't clean themselves. So, if others won't clean up the mess, those who are being sustainable will have to.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Art Project Proposal
Topic: Sustainability
Idea: I wanted to write and recite a poem or series of poems about sustainable lifestyles and the positive impacts of them. Also, the consequences of if we just ignore the environment's warning signs.
Connection to E.Q. - The poems will shed an artistic light on the issues at hand in the world due to pollution and offer a solution which is adopting a sustainable lifestyle.
Idea: I wanted to write and recite a poem or series of poems about sustainable lifestyles and the positive impacts of them. Also, the consequences of if we just ignore the environment's warning signs.
Connection to E.Q. - The poems will shed an artistic light on the issues at hand in the world due to pollution and offer a solution which is adopting a sustainable lifestyle.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
4th Interview Q's
1) What obstacles did you face while attempting to become more environmentally friendly?
2) What is the most rewarding thing you've experienced while doing this?
3) Who got you started with this lifestyle?
4) Where did you start this lifestyle?
5) Why should I care about sustainability?
6) What's a carbon footprint?
7) How do I start to adopt a sustainable lifestyle?
8) How can I talk others into doing it?
9) What sources do you recommend for the remainder of my research?
10) Who else should I talk to for my topic?
11) How hard is it to get started with a sustainable lifestyle?
12) How easy is it to maintain this lifestyle?
13) Where is the best location on a property for a "green" power source for a house?
14) Why should we volunteer to clean up other areas when we already have cleaned up our own lives?
16) Isn't the creation of the mechanisms for "green" power causing a lot of pollution?
18) Why did the "Green Movement" start anyway?
19) What do you do to help the environment beside be sustainable at your own home?
20) What is the best way to convince someone to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle?
2) What is the most rewarding thing you've experienced while doing this?
3) Who got you started with this lifestyle?
4) Where did you start this lifestyle?
5) Why should I care about sustainability?
6) What's a carbon footprint?
7) How do I start to adopt a sustainable lifestyle?
8) How can I talk others into doing it?
9) What sources do you recommend for the remainder of my research?
10) Who else should I talk to for my topic?
11) How hard is it to get started with a sustainable lifestyle?
12) How easy is it to maintain this lifestyle?
13) Where is the best location on a property for a "green" power source for a house?
14) Why should we volunteer to clean up other areas when we already have cleaned up our own lives?
16) Isn't the creation of the mechanisms for "green" power causing a lot of pollution?
18) Why did the "Green Movement" start anyway?
19) What do you do to help the environment beside be sustainable at your own home?
20) What is the best way to convince someone to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Independent Component 2
I plan on volunteering for the Forest Service by cleaning up trails and performing other duties to help maintain the local state and national parks/forests. This pertains to Sustainable Living in the sense that it doesn't just involve your personal life. Sustainable Living extends to involve the whole world. Many people who practice it volunteer in State and National Parks in order to ensure that the planet is taken care of and enjoyed by multiple generations. I will keep a log and take pictures of what I do from day to day.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Final draft of 20 Minute Lesson Plan
1) 3 minute quiz w/ 5 multiple - choice questions on sustainability:
- What is sustainability?
- What is global warming doing to our planet?
- What can we do about wasting energy?
- What can we do about wasting water?
- What other stuff can we do to take action against pollution and waste?
2) 2 minute explanation of answers3) 10 minute lecture/powerpoint on basic aspects of Sustainability
4) 5 minute grow your own herbs
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