Shape Shifter

So. Today was my last day volunteering at Green Central Elementary School. It was sad leaving, I didn't tell any of the kids it was my last day because I wasn't sure how they would react. The kids switched groups again last Monday, so I went with the fourth graders back to the classroom. It depends on the day, but sometimes the kids are good, and sometimes they are out of control. Today was an “out of control� day. It seems like when they're in the classroom, they get antsy, and a little crazy. No matter what, there is no way your going to get them to listen to you. Probably only 2 or 3 kids are listening at a time. It's not like the other volunteers and I don't try…we really do. But they are really rude and talk back and definitely don't listen. I know they are good kids...they just get a little excited sometimes. Anyway, they are starting an experiment that will show them how the earth is a "big greenhouse". It actually is pretty cool. I remember learning a lot of that stuff back when I was in elementary school. I have learned a lot from these kids, they're crazy, but overall pretty fun. I've had a good time getting to know them this semester, I'm sad to leave, but I'm glad I got the experience.

Posted by pairo002 at 7:49 PM | Permalink

GOAL 8 DEVELOP A GLOBEL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT DUBAI

This group's presentation was fairly interesting, it was noticeable that they did their research and they had a creative way of putting it together. Overall, they did a pretty good job. the part I found most interesting was on tourism in Dubai. I didn't catch exactly what the group stated, but I found it interesting that Dubai has plans for the world's largest mall with some 1,000+ stores. Also, that they were going to eventually have a 7 mile long hotel strip..which is a pretty large amount of hotels for their millions of tourists that they want to have by 2015. Also this group mentioned how Dubai is somewhat like a mechanical arm. It is a fast growing area that is depending on infrastructure to take their ideas into plans and structures. I found it amazing how much Dubai is focused on luxury and tourism. It is a totally different realm than what we experience every day.

Posted by pairo002 at 12:10 PM | Permalink

It has been SO long since I've been to my volunteer program. I usually go every other week, and for three weeks the program was not running. I hadn't seen the kids forever and I wasn't sure if they were going open up to me like they did before. The last time I went to Green Central, I felt the kids were just starting to warm up to me. It was really nice to be back in the A.C.E.S. atmosphere. I stayed with the fourth graders that I usually go with. The last time I was at Green Central for the A.C.E.S. program, the kids had just started a new unit about birds, zooming in more on owls and hawks. Last Wednesday, the kids were working on an art project, which consisted of making owl pellets. I know...sounds gross huh? Haha, it was actually a pretty interesting sight. The week before the kids had made paper machee by blowing up balloons and pasting the paper machee to it. This past week, they decorated their pellets with horse hair (yes...horse hair), paint, cotton balls, and feathers. I’m not going to lie..I was a little grossed out, but it was actually a pretty fun day. These kids had a great time. Clean up was a catastrophe though...which was accepted. =) After we were done making the pellets, I started working with a few kids with flash cards. I'm not going to lie..I had to check the back of a few cards to remind myself of the questions! It's been a while since I did multiplication flash cards! A few kids were extremely engaged with figuring out the answers to the mathematical questions. I felt really good teaching/helping them along with this. I felt like they were actually learning things from me. It is strange to think that I could be making an influence on these kids’ lives.

Posted by pairo002 at 11:58 AM | Permalink

The semester is coming to and END (finalllllly), so that means groups are scrambling to put the finishing touches on their research projects. Round one of presentations were given this week. Our group presents next week so it was interesting to see how this group organized their information.

SUSTAINIBILITY & LOCAL MATERIALS

I liked how each person researched their own part. The presentation was well put together, and it seemed well practiced. As an audience member I could tell that they really knew their information and they knew how to present it in a way we could relate to.

The use of green housing and green roofs were the first two concepts. These two concepts have been pounded into our brain throughout the semesters studying architecture. I did agree with everything they brought up an example is the use of LCD lights and how they save energy. Even though they are expensive...they are extremely helpful to our environment.

The Issue of COB building I thought was really informative. This was a new concept that I had never heard about before, so it was pretty cool hearing the details of this construction. After this presentation it made me want to research this building concept and learn about it a little more extensively. I thought it was a cool idea of customization. It is a unique way of building.

Lastly the concept of Bamboo concluded their presentation. I actually learned a lot about the plant that I didn't know before. It seems that bamboo could be used as a strong building material and it is one of the fastest growing plants in the US. It probably wouldn't be good here in the Midwest...but in regions of the world that the plant would be accustomed to it would be great!

Posted by pairo002 at 5:29 PM | Permalink

I made some title pages before..but I didn't like them. SO I made some new ones! =)

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Posted by pairo002 at 12:51 PM | Permalink