Our colleague and friend (and vilified teacher of Physics) had a terrible life threatening health crisis on Thursday. It was horrific and wonderful all in the same moment. It looks like he will be fine, but is in the ICU about an hour away.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
relinquishing control
Each Friday, during the last hour, we have a "check-out." The faculty often design something: a sticky wall, a team building exercise, or a discussion about Spring quarter. This last Friday we thought of a lot of things we could do, fish bowl or debrief on the emotional upheaval of physics, but Linda had a brilliant idea of asking the students what they wanted as a gesture of our co-ownership of SUSTAIN. It was so fun. Linda talked for a few minutes about jointly creating something, then we (the faculty) sat down.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
the hidden cost of change - week 6
it's been nearly a month since my last entry here.
i've been reflecting a great deal on all that is happening, but not here...not in the open. there is a way in which i don't want my thoughts to be known. in terms of the students in SUSTAIN, in some ways, they are thriving. their relationships with one another are strong and they are deeply engaged in their community projects. they have all said that they have never worked this much in their (short) college career, but it is meanful work, in contrast to the meaningless work that they see their non-SUSTAIN peers doing.
but there is a great and terrible thing that is happening...
i've been reflecting a great deal on all that is happening, but not here...not in the open. there is a way in which i don't want my thoughts to be known. in terms of the students in SUSTAIN, in some ways, they are thriving. their relationships with one another are strong and they are deeply engaged in their community projects. they have all said that they have never worked this much in their (short) college career, but it is meanful work, in contrast to the meaningless work that they see their non-SUSTAIN peers doing.
but there is a great and terrible thing that is happening...
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Day 9-Profoundly grateful
i am profoundly grateful for my colleagues. today, while the students were checking-in in their project teams, the faculty rounded up to also check in. this is always a sweet time for me because i have such feelings of warmth toward all my colleagues. by the way, it is true that not all of us were there and i do miss those who weren't.
pete and i recreated a conflict that we allegedly "had" during the day. it turned out that it was a live conflict, rather than one that we were "over." in the end, i found myself crying quitely to myself, really for the poignant beautfy of the acts of love and kindness that were so subtley ocurring.
pete and i recreated a conflict that we allegedly "had" during the day. it turned out that it was a live conflict, rather than one that we were "over." in the end, i found myself crying quitely to myself, really for the poignant beautfy of the acts of love and kindness that were so subtley ocurring.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Faculty collaboration - The only hope
We, the faculty teaching in SUSTAIN, have been meeting for almost a year each week for two hours. Right now the meetings are on Friday from 9 to 11. So here we are. Roger reminded us that we did this because we wanted to confront and consider how to live sustainably. We are now inside of this thing we call SUSTAIN and are confronted in a direct way with the ways we are, the system is, unsustainable.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
When students are given a choice, they take it
We, the faculty, have been talking with the students about treating them as co-learners. We have been talking about treating them as people, with values, interests, motivations of their own.
Among the first thing that we discovered is that they want to exercise their human rights: During the times that they don't have assigned classes, they asked if they have to "be there."
Among the first thing that we discovered is that they want to exercise their human rights: During the times that they don't have assigned classes, they asked if they have to "be there."
The ways we oppress each other
I am teaching the Physics for the liberal arts and business students. This course is a conceptual course that includes some math, but is more of a survey than a focus on proficiency of analysis.
Last Thursday, it was announced that there were two different sets of physics students. One of the very motivated students in my class took me aside and wanted to know if they were really going to be learning physics because it sounded, from what the other instructor said, that they would not be learning real physics.
In the room, one of the students called my class "baby physics." It is really kind of a horrible thing we do to each other, creating an imagined separation between the "tough ones" (i.e, men) and the "soft ones (i.e., sissies or women) and all the misogynistic value judgments that are embedded into that separation.
Last Thursday, it was announced that there were two different sets of physics students. One of the very motivated students in my class took me aside and wanted to know if they were really going to be learning physics because it sounded, from what the other instructor said, that they would not be learning real physics.
In the room, one of the students called my class "baby physics." It is really kind of a horrible thing we do to each other, creating an imagined separation between the "tough ones" (i.e, men) and the "soft ones (i.e., sissies or women) and all the misogynistic value judgments that are embedded into that separation.
Day 6-Down for the count already
My colleague Liz just dropped me off at home out of mercy for me. I'm so sick that I'm rather a menace to society. I was supposed to be 2-hours in studio time today with SUSTAIN.
It feels like we are in a delightful whirlwind of creativity, but these whirlwinds are someone personal vortices, colliding with others in the 60 seconds after a meeting in which we are all running in different directions.
It feels like we are in a delightful whirlwind of creativity, but these whirlwinds are someone personal vortices, colliding with others in the 60 seconds after a meeting in which we are all running in different directions.
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