At this point, we're less than three weeks away from embarking upon our sixth major international study/service expedition. Our group consists of seven Explorations Academy students, one college-age intern, and two Explorations teachers: Suzy Wittman and myself. As the excitement builds toward our departure, three things stand out for me as a co-leader of this expedition.
First, this is really an adventure, not a tour. While we are sure to visit some notable sites like a tiger reserve and the Taj Mahal, this is not a canned or prepackaged set of experiences. Our group is traveling with a draft itinerary and an exploratory spirit. We will be going to places, such as the Himalayan village where our service project takes place, that are not discussed in guidebooks. And as we travel and learn, we will be continually editing our itinerary to try to get the most out of the experience.
(Incidentally, check out the current issue of Smithsonian magazine, which sports a cover photo of the Taj!)
Second, this is school. Our expedition is built around a full curriculum of four high school classes, including Indic Art and Architecture, South Asian History and Culture, Sustainability and Natural Resources, and Human Relations Across Cultures. As we travel, we will be studying, reading, writing, and reflecting. We're still not sure about the extent of Internet access in some or the places we will be visiting, but hopefully some of our reflections will appear in this blog!
Third, we are making an earnest effort to walk our talk relative to sustainability. In this age of increasing awareness of atmospheric carbon, we cannot in good conscience fly to the opposite side of the planet without addressing how we are affecting that planet. Our curriculum includes sustainability, and so does our trip preparation. We have gone out for three separate tree planting projects to help mitigate the impact of the atmospheric carbon that will be released by our travels. And we plan to plant trees in India as well.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
A Fresh Start
Well, we haven't really gotten going with this blog yet, but when the time is right, a teacher just has to be ready to go. So here is an introduction to this feature: Blog Etiquette!
Blog Etiquette is a tool. If we can learn to use it, it will allow us to communcate in this really cool blog medium. Without it, the blog simply can't and won't work. Most of you are familiar with instant messaging or text messaging. Blogging is different from instant messaging, for several reasons. First, this blog is a public, not private, form of communication. Anyone can and will read (or try to read) your posts. You are writing for the public eye! Second, the blog has a purpose (dialog around concepts being explored by a group) that goes beyond informal communication between friends.
Reluctantly -- because I hate to discourage dialog -- we have removed some posted messages that did not belong on the blog. Please use the blog, but in doing so, I also ask that you to follow these five basic conventions. (Consider this a starting set; we may want to add more as our dialog continues. Do you want to suggest others?)
• Relevance. Post ideas, observations, thoughts and experiences that relate to our school, curriculum, and classes -- not about your favorite foods or ski resorts. Make comments that express something to further the group dialog and give others something to think about.
• Language and Punctuation. Write so that anyone can make sense of your posts. Capitalize names and the first word in your sentence, for example, and avoid such things as jargon, acronyms, text shortcuts (like "u" instead of "you") vulgarity, and profanity.
• Social Norms. Be polite and respectful of your fellow bloggers. This is not the place to call names, insult someone's professionalism, or air grievances. Disagreements about the topic being discussed are fine, just express them as such and not as personal attacks.
• Accountability. Take responsibility for your own statements. Don't try to impersonate others or post anonymously. We know each other and the blog represents (hopefully) a positive extension of our relationships, not a way to undermine others or take swipes at people who aren't in the room.
• Flow. Post your message in response to the most recently published blog entry. We will lose our conversational thread if you are posting responses to last month's messages. (I eliminated the pop-up windows to make it easier to follow the thread.) And when you respond to another post, make it completely clear which one you are replying to.
Thanks, all. Again, it remains to be seen how this blog will play itself out. We will accommodate comments as best we can. More content-related entries will come shortly -- we have a lot going on in our preparations for this exciting term!
Blog Etiquette is a tool. If we can learn to use it, it will allow us to communcate in this really cool blog medium. Without it, the blog simply can't and won't work. Most of you are familiar with instant messaging or text messaging. Blogging is different from instant messaging, for several reasons. First, this blog is a public, not private, form of communication. Anyone can and will read (or try to read) your posts. You are writing for the public eye! Second, the blog has a purpose (dialog around concepts being explored by a group) that goes beyond informal communication between friends.
Reluctantly -- because I hate to discourage dialog -- we have removed some posted messages that did not belong on the blog. Please use the blog, but in doing so, I also ask that you to follow these five basic conventions. (Consider this a starting set; we may want to add more as our dialog continues. Do you want to suggest others?)
• Relevance. Post ideas, observations, thoughts and experiences that relate to our school, curriculum, and classes -- not about your favorite foods or ski resorts. Make comments that express something to further the group dialog and give others something to think about.
• Language and Punctuation. Write so that anyone can make sense of your posts. Capitalize names and the first word in your sentence, for example, and avoid such things as jargon, acronyms, text shortcuts (like "u" instead of "you") vulgarity, and profanity.
• Social Norms. Be polite and respectful of your fellow bloggers. This is not the place to call names, insult someone's professionalism, or air grievances. Disagreements about the topic being discussed are fine, just express them as such and not as personal attacks.
• Accountability. Take responsibility for your own statements. Don't try to impersonate others or post anonymously. We know each other and the blog represents (hopefully) a positive extension of our relationships, not a way to undermine others or take swipes at people who aren't in the room.
• Flow. Post your message in response to the most recently published blog entry. We will lose our conversational thread if you are posting responses to last month's messages. (I eliminated the pop-up windows to make it easier to follow the thread.) And when you respond to another post, make it completely clear which one you are replying to.
Thanks, all. Again, it remains to be seen how this blog will play itself out. We will accommodate comments as best we can. More content-related entries will come shortly -- we have a lot going on in our preparations for this exciting term!
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