Polar Opposites

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.