The Fence

"The Fence" is a very short video clip that offers a great starting point for discussion topics of man vs. nature. 

In choosing an agriculturist (taker) and eventually an industrialist lifestyle, man has positioned himself first as an enemy of nature and then the defender of nature.

How soon though, will either nature completely disappear or decide to strike back?

Discussion Themes:

Hunter Gatherer to Agriculturalist

Man vs. Nature

Takers vs. Leaver

Man as enemy of Nature

Man's control of the Earth

Endangered Earth

Progress vs. The Environment

etc...etc...etc...



Student Want Ad

At the beginning of each new course I assign my students the following writing assignment to gauge why they want to be a member of my classroom.  The prompt is a take off on the Want Ad the pupil responds to, in the book Ishmael. 

Want Ad

TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL

Must have an earnest desire

to make positive changes in

the world we share.

Apply in Person.

Write a paragraph explaining, why I should select you as a pupil for this class.

I get all sorts of responses from this assignment, but what is most important is to get students to understand that the choice for their learning is not only up to them but also up to me.   Since my message to my students is that I teach thinking and use a raodway called science to travel there, it is very important for students to realize that their learning is a process.  My class is part of their path that will eventually place them in a world where their abilities, to learn, to adapt, to make choices will not only impact them but also me and everyone else in this world.

Reading in Science - Beyond the Textbook

The number one skill necessary for success on standardized tests is the ability to read. Even success in the math section of standardized tests is dependent upon the ability to read. 

Students should be told from the first moment that they can read that this is the one skill they should hone above all others in order to do well on the tests that will determine much of their academic placement for the rest of their time in school.

However, if you ask most students, they will associate reading with English.  They very rarely associate reading with the other subjects and they do not consider reading the text as reading. 

That is why I make reading a part of my science curriculum whenever possible.  I have implemented reading outside of the text in my Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science classes for many years now.  I use these books to provide students with concepts that can supplement the text but also to encourage students to explore the subject from a variety of viewpoints.  But, most importantly this additional reading is to get students to understand that reading is not something that is isolated to the English classroom.

In Biology, my classes read The Hot Zone by Douglas Preston as a summer reading text prior to their freshman year of Biology.  There is no better way to get a group of 9^th grade boys enthused about a subject then having a true story about death, blood gore and search into hidden caves in Africa to find the source of the disease. (see TED Talk Ali Carr-Chellman: Gaming to Re-engage Boys in Learning) There are many science topics that can be discussed from the study of the Ebola outbreak from Central Africa to Reston, Virginia including, the scientific method, epidemiology, immune system, vectors, hosts, disease, bacteria, virus, plague, AIDS, the CDC and WHO and cultural views of death.     

  

I have used Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton to introduce the concepts and ramifications of biotechnology. While I do not necessarily want my students to think they will be visiting genetically created dinosaurs in their future, I do want them to understand the possibilities of genetic research and the ramifications of the widespread use of biotechnology without the proper oversight or as Crichton points out a lack of a watchdog for this revolution. Jurassic Park is another book that provides a great story line to get students, especially teen age boys, engaged in the subject of Biology.

The third book I use in Biology is Jennie by Douglas Preston.  Jennie is the story of a chimpanzee brought from Africa and raised in a family as one of their own children. The story provides opportunity to discuss the biological, sociological and psychological differences between man and other primates.  Insights into the process of learning that takes place as Jennie assimilates into life as a chimpanzee in a human existence from language to imagination the observations are fascinating.  Do not replace this text with the Disney movie version as with most movies it does not live up to the story line or have nearly the same educational impact as the book.

I have already described the use of Ishmael by Daniel Quinn in my Environmental Science classes.  I have used A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr to discuss water and the legislative process of environmental issues. Students have read Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks in Chemistry to understand the development of the periodic table and the understanding of chemical study.  In Physics, I have used Richard Feynman’s Six Easy Pieces to introduce the basics and complexity of Physics.

Reading novels, biographies, non-fiction are great means to get students to appreciate the subject of science without the formalness and dryness of most textbooks.  Let’s face it, most of us have experienced the flat forehead of a reading nap from an exploration of a biology or chemistry text book.

Ishmael Will Change the Way Your Students Think

I adopted this text for my Environmental Science course four years ago.  Although I use it in a science course, the topics covered include: human culture, anthropology, religion, politics, ecology, biology and history, just to name a few.  The text creates just enough discomfort in the students to force them to take a look at their place in the world and how the choices they make have an impact on everything and everybody.

·        Ishmael by Daniel Quinn provides students the opportunity to question where mankind has come from and what the future holds if we continue upon our current path.

·        The novel questions our societal values from many points of view including anthropology, culture, ecology, economics, environment, ethics, industry, politics, prejudice, science and sociology. 

·        Ishmael’s teaching centers primarily upon the Taker versus the Leaver in society. Students evaluate the choices made by individuals, communities and countries and their ultimate effect on our own survival as a human race.   

·        More than 250 colleges and universities have courses based upon Ishmael or use Ishmael as a significant reading within the curriculum. 

·        Educators who use Ishmael report significant improvement in students approach to problem solving and critical thinking.  

·        The Ishmael Companion workbook is available for teachers for sample discussion points, activities and assignments.

·        The Ishmael community is an online resource for supplemental materials for both teachers and students. 

Ishmael is a half ton silverback gorilla. He is a student of ecology, life, freedom, and the human condition. He is also a teacher. He teaches that which all humans need to learn -- must learn -- if our species, and the rest of life on Earth as we know it, is to survive.

The book opens with a deceptively ordinary personals ad: "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world." Seeking a direction for his life, a young man answers the ad and is startled to find that the teacher is a lowland gorilla named Ishmael, a creature uniquely placed to vision anew the human story.

 
Quinn says Ishmael is a story about hope. "I think we have a much finer and more exciting destiny than conquering and ruling the world," he says. "This book shows that we can learn about what that destiny is from the life around us -- and in Ishmael it just happens that life speaks with the voice of a lowland gorilla."

For more on Daniel Quinn and Ishmael visit: http://www.ishmael.com/welcome.cfm