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| Waiting for the Antarctic Skype call |
Today made my Top Ten list of all-time favorite teaching
days. Forget top ten. Top five for sure. OK, fine. Top three. Absolutely top three. And the first two don’t count.
It began in Boston.
Last May I had the privilege of being a workshop presenter
at the National Science Teacher Association’s national convention. I loved every minute of it. I loved sharing ideas with other
teachers and I really loved gobbling up every workshop I could fit into my bloated
schedule. I mourned the lack of
days and hours to see, hear, and learn more.
During one of those workshops, I met a researcher named Jean
Pennycook. First of all, is that
the greatest name ever, or what?
It belongs in a Jane Austin novel.
Jean presented a workshop on her annual pilgrimage to Antarctica to
study the Adelie penguin colony on Ross Island. Jean is also an educator and loves to get other teachers
hooked on penguins. From the
moment she opened her mouth I was entranced.
Among the many wonderful educational opportunities she
shared with we science freaks was the offer to Skype with our classroom students. Say WHAT? I am so there.
She also promised to mail postcards to our students with the McMurdo
Station postmark. (Sigh) I was in
teacherly heaven.
Fast forward.
We mailed our postcards a couple of weeks ago and are
working with our school art teacher to create an original flag that will be
flown at the colony with accompanying pics for posterity’s sake. Jean and I have been exchanging emails
for several months in order create a timeline of events for our
interactions. Today was the
designated day to introduce Jean and the untamed continent of Antarctica to the
Darlings. I have been so excited
for this I could hardly sleep last night.
I did harbor a bubbling fear that technical difficulties
would abort our virtual visit. The
miles separating us number something like eight thousand, after all. Not exactly a quick trip to the local 7-11. I also questioned the
quality of our connection. Would
we only see alien, frozen faces and distorted images? And lastly, would the Darlings stay attentive or spiral into
a Tourretts syndrome convention?
Turns out I had zero to fret about. It could not have been a more seamless,
perfect experience. We connected
with Jean right on schedule. The
signal was absolutely stunning. As
you’ll see in the short video clip, the moment our computers connected we were
staring into the faces of Adelie penguins. It sucked the air out of the Magic Tree House for the
briefest of moments. We couldn’t
quite believe what were seeing. It
was a little surreal.
They were glorious.
And funny. And curious. And surprisingly clean and white.
I was so
enthralled I could have wept.
Last week we brainstormed for quality questions. These I typed onto individual sheets of
paper and my students grasped in their hands today like seasoned news
reporters. We passed the digital
microphone from student to student and they spoke slowly and clearly and waited
politely for her response. My
heart nearly exploded with pride.
Pretty sure it did explode.
I am not sure what is pumping in my quasi hippie chest right now.
I got a little reflective too. I couldn’t help it.
What a magical age children live in today. School is so darn COOL! My gracious, when I was in elementary school, the highlight
of the day was being asked to go get the copies off the mimeograph in the
office and getting to smell the ink all the way back to the classroom. I’m sure I lost brain cells from all
the fumes I sniffed. Holy cow,
that stuff was intoxicating.
But these kids… they literally have the entire world in
front of them and the universe beyond with just a few keystrokes. I follow NASA on Twitter. I can’t get enough of it. The images send me into a swoon. I know I sound ancient when I say it is
utterly, completely, heart-stoppingly amazing. It IS amazing.
And I AM ancient.
I count myself blessed to be able to teach the way I would
have liked to learn. Maybe that’s
why I am so crazy about teaching.
It’s sort of a do-over for me.
Lucky me…
A short clip from the beginning of the conversation
Fun Facts:
·
Researchers must carry in all of their food for
the entire duration of their stay.
McMurdo does have a commissary, but these things must be helicoptered in
(and you thought YOUR grocery bill was high!).
·
Jean wears about 25 lbs. of clothes at a time to
stay warm.
·
You cannot determine the sex of a penguin
anatomically. Researchers just
wait to find out who lays the egg.
·
The Darlings were saddened to learn Jean would
not be decorating her tent for Christmas.
·
The ocean is about a mile from the colony. Mealtime is quite a hike for those
short waddlers.
·
The penguins are not afraid of the humans. Amazing considering they live in an
uninhabited land.
