To The Woods - Day 1 - May 26, 2015

Today was the first day of STEMmersion at the Dayton Regional STEM School, the start of the Into the Woods class. We began the day by discussing the quote that would drive this class for the next few weeks; "I went to the woods because I wish to live deliberately." - Henry David Thoreau. We analyzed the meaning of this quote along with a short passage about awareness; awareness of other people's lives, awareness of your personal surroundings, and awareness of the beauty of nature. This was done as a whole class along with a short discussion. Following this, the class spent some time getting to know each other by drawing their hands on a piece of paper, writing something about themselves in each finger, and sharing papers with other students. After meeting everyone, we began a team-building exercise in which two teams competed to cross the hallway the fastest. No one was allowed to touch the floor, so students had to work as teams to use four boards and get the whole team across. My team lost due to some bad decision making, but it was fun either way. 

Students trying the waddling tactic, shifting their weight to slide across the floor.

Soon after finishing the team-building exercise, we spent time setting up these blogs, which really wasn't all that exciting, but I feel like I need to mention it. We took a quick break and prepared for our guest speaker. Scott Geisel, an instructor at Wright State University, came in to give a presentation on nature writing. His presentation helped students to think critically about their experiences in nature and translate them into a meaningful writing piece using symbolism and metaphors. I personally found is presentation to be extremely helpful, and I plan to use the notes I took throughout the entirety of this course. At the end of the presentation, Mr. Geisel had students do a free-write about an experience they had in nature. I decided to write a paragraph about an experience I had in Moab, Utah (Klondike Bluffs - Tower Arch) using the techniques Mr. Geisel described in the presentation. This is what I wrote:

I can remember rolling up on the trailhead, quickly stopping and watching the dust settle around me. The dusty air had a distinct smell of dry, desert rock, something that can't be described, only experienced. Squeezing between the slickrock and feeling the sandstone grinding against my hand and hard against my shoes, I emerge under the main arch. I look up, seeing the two arch sections and the tower of sandstone looming intimidatingly behind them. The rough expanse of rock is interrupted by tufts of grass poking out of crevices. The remains of a collapsed arch sit crumbled adjacent to the main arch, comfortably nestled between stone walls, a fantastic display of the relief of stress. Thousands of years of erosion constantly boring a hole through a wall of rock, building stress, finally caused the wall to give way, reducing it to a neat pile of rubble, allowing new vegetation a place to grow in this otherwise barren place. Climbing up the folds of the smooth-looking but rough-to-the-touch sandstone reveals the area from a different perspective (see picture). The sandstone appears darker in some places, showing the path the water from a rare rainfall takes as it cascades over and defines the shape of the stone. - I hope to use this paragraph to gauge my improvement in nature-writing skills over the course of this course. 

The photo from which I drew inspiration for my free-write. 

Mr. Geisel conducting his presentation in front of the class. 

After thanking Mr. Geisel for teaching us nature writing skills, we took a break for lunch. After lunch, we set up in the gym for yoga. Unfortunately, the yoga instructor was a no-show, so we sat and developed a list of guidelines for the class. We collaborated as a group to develop a list including a time-out punishment strategy (so good, right? I love it) and other general rules. After cleaning the yoga mats, we began writing entries for our blogs, which I am still writing. So I guess I'm done for the day.