Backwards design. It’s something that we think about a lot here, as teachers. Start with the results. What kinds of behaviors and ideas do we want to see in our students after a semester of classes? In Literature, I want to see my students thinking figuratively. I want them to look at the ocean and see more than just an expanse of water that spans 71% of the earth. Though, I want them to see that too. One of my students looks at the sea and thinks about her first memory. In her grandpa’s arms, playing in the waves, he told her that the ocean was the glue that holds us all together. To her, the ocean looks sticky. I want my students to look at the ocean and see the O in Omeros: the white foamy hair of Seven Seas and shells clinking like skulls from bodies lost in the Middle Passage. I want them to see livelihoods there, fishing regulations, conch preservation and conch fritters. I want them to see the first time they were stung by a jelly fish and how that made them feel. I want them to not want to lose these things (even the stingy jellyfish). I want them to look at the ocean see the complexities of an expansive and diverse ecosystem with the capacity to imagine the eventual possibility of a barren waterscape. A floating trash heap the size of Texas bobbing around in the Pacific Ocean. I hope they see that. Continue reading
Cacique Update October 3, 2011
by Caciques Charlie and Devin
Hey friends and family here’s a little part of our Monday! After a quick lunch the group gathered together for circle before we hopped into vans to go to Deep Creek Middle School. Once we got there the Island School students all went to their respective classrooms to meet up with their buddies to work on our community service projects. Although this is our third Community Outreach class I had never met my buddy, so as I walked into the ninth grade classroom I scanned the room for any new faces. Sitting across the room I saw a vibrant smiling face, and her eyes lit up when she saw me. I knew this was my buddy, and I couldn’t wait to meet her! Once we went through ice breakers the entire class came together to discuss our project of helping to reconstruct a local library. Continue reading
Cacique Update October 1, 2011
by Cacique Ian Huschle
Saturday was a big day. We began at 6:30 AM with the long Saturday morning exercise. I’m on swim track for the semester, and to train for the 4-mile swim, all of us on swim track swam to the current cut. The current cut is a short strip of water cut across the point of Cape Eleuthera, leading out of the marina, and the direction of the current changes with the tides. The current will get so fast it can feel like a class-one rapid. On Saturday, we tried to swim into the current. Most of us swam pretty far up the current cut, and a few others swam all the way to the end. This was just the start of a busy day. After breakfast was research class. I am in the patch reef research class, and a typical day consists of either discussing issues in the classroom, or going out snorkeling in the field. The field is right out of my dorm room window; the bright, blue, shallow water marine ecosystem. Continue reading
Lville Office Takes Point Pleasant By Storm
[slideshow] Congratulations to Mary Assini (S00), Hannah Mauck (F04) and Scotty Aland (S05) for their efforts in the Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon this past Sunday, October 2. All first-timers, the three alumni donned their swim caps, bike shorts, and running shoes and showed ninety other participants what’s up. Mary took silver as the #2 female overall, while Hannah and Scotty took gold in their respective age groups. The shelves of the office are looking mighty shiny these days with some stellar new hardware, and the triathlon world will never be the same…
Congrats team!
–The Island School
F’11 First Flats Research Update
The Fall 2011 Flats Research program kicked off their first class with Sam Saccomanno, Annie Blanc, Kate Maroni, Tori Suslovitch, Brendan McDonnell, Franklin Rodriguez, and our research advisors, Justin, Liane, and Ally. The focus of our research group is to study and raise awareness about mangrove conservation.
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What are flats and mangroves? Flats are the area between land and sea where there is a broad surface level but shallow depth. Flats can be shallower than just a few centimeters and as deep as 2 meters. Mangroves are a plant species that thrive in the flats ecosystem and are very important on both an ecological and economic level. They are important nursery grounds and breeding sites for birds, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, reptiles and mammals, are renewable source of wood, accumulation sites for sediment, contaminants, carbon and nutrients, and offer protection against coastal erosion. Continue reading
Middlebury Solar Decathalon Team Finishes Fourth!
Congratulations to Katie Romanov (F’05) and the rest of Team Middlebury College for their impressive finish in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathalon 2011!
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Solar Decathlon is a biennial competition that challenges twenty collegiate teams from around the world to design and build net zero energy houses that are attractive, affordable and entirely solar-powered. Team Middlebury College’s entry, Self-Reliance, received 1st place in three of the ten decathlon contests: communications, home entertainment and market appeal.
As the first undergraduate liberal arts team ever to make it into the finals on their own, Team Middlebury College is extremely proud to have performed as a top contender amongst teams from technical architecture and engineering institutions. Right before the final results announcement in West Potomac Park on Saturday Oct. 1st, the team’s Communications Coordinator Katie Romanov ’11 commented, “If we could finish in the top five, and be the little engine that could, we’d be thrilled!”
Read the full press release here!
Cacique Update October 2, 2011
Being Cacique on my Birthday today was awesome, especially because it was a Sunday, and we got to sleep in and have
exploration time almost all day. In the morning after everyone woke up around nine, the girls took a trip to High Rock to celebrate. The view was very relaxing and it was a great opportunity to even out farmer’s tans. After we went to brunch that day, my advisor, Peter, brought 6 pints of ice cream for girl’s dorm to share. I think everyone almost forgot what cold food tasted like, the girls were very happy, and the boys were a little jealous. For the rest of the day, people spent their time working on their Eleutheros, and Marine Ecology papers, and by dinner people were hungry for birthday cake, and since it was a Sunday and most of the faculty was off campus, students got as much as they wanted. My sweet sixteen was a lot more than I had expected it to be, and every one here took part to make it a great day.
F’11 First Lionfish Research Update
By Maddy Philipp and Katie Harpin
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Greetings from the Lionfish Research team! We are now three weeks into the program and have already learned so much. The purpose of our study is to look at how grouper and currents affect the distribution of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) found around Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas. So far we have gone on two mock dives. Unfortunately our second one got cut short due to an unexpected thunderstorm. We have also learned how to identify grouper and take the total length of fish from a distance underwater. For one of our classes, we took a trip to CEI and learned how to dissect a lionfish. From the dissection we could see what the lionfish had eaten. We also learned that lionfish can expand their stomachs up to 30 times its normal size. For another class we became scientist for a day and learned the correct structure for scientific papers. We have 3 research classes a week and two of those usually involve fieldwork. Although the readings may be strenuous, the lionfish team is excited to have the opportunity to work alongside biologists and helping to further the worlds knowledge on lionfish.
Cacique Update September 30, 2011
By Cacique Ihna
As our van pulled up beside a field covered with more rocks than open land, multiple “Are we here?” remarks filled the car. My scrutinizing eyes surveyed, in confusion, the surrounding area that appeared to be just a random unharvestable plot. Going to the “farm”, I had an image of big, open fields with neat rows of crops, but, instead, random blotches of fruit trees welcomed me. I was a bit ashamed of myself; all term, I have been learning to always keep an open mind and to try to rid all my preconceived notions but that is not what I did. I quickly thought of the farmer, Reverend Nixon, as someone who must have been careless, but, after I met him, I realized how industrious he actually is. Continue reading
Salutations to the Sunday
My alarm sounded. Confused, I turned it off and rolled over. Today is Sunday, the one day at The Island School when students and faculty alike take advantage of sleeping in. I was content nuzzling back into my pillows until I remembered: today was the day Griffin had asked me, or maybe convinced me, to lead yoga at the sandbar. I left my house in the dark noticing the silence of campus, the brilliance of the stars in the morning sky. Stepping into the boathouse I made out the silhouettes of students sitting with lifejackets as promised: 6:10 am and ready to go. We groggily filled two boats and headed out as the first glimpses of daylight shone through the clouds in the distance. The water was quiet, each movement of our boat breaking the steady silence of the sea. The pale pink of a sunrise reflected on the glassy surface as we all came to life. [slideshow] Continue reading