Dear Teach

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Dear Teach: Lines

Hi Boys and Girls,

Have you ever heard the expression, "Don't cross the line or that's way over the line?"

If so, what could it mean? Does it literally mean to 'not walk or move beyond a line,' as when perhaps you are playing a game? Or could it mean not to behave in an inappropriate manner when engaged in a conversation? Or not to follow the decorum expected within a school environment, or within the realm of our society?

So, one could ask," Do humans cross that line?" Most definitely; at times for the good, at times for the bad!

The issue of lines is rather profound when you consider it.

First, consider the earth and every land mass on it.

Does it have naturally occurring lines to distinguish aspects of its land formations? No, not really, at least not in the way I am considering this question.

Man may place lines at select locations to delineate, let's say a country's boundary which is most typically found in political maps.

Authentic political world map, but beware,
lines keep shifting and changing! Oh MY!

A fictitious map from Lands Beyond,
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

What purpose do these lines serve? Keep people in or keep people out or do the lines indicate where one country's rules end and another country's begin, and so on.

So, let's imagine a world without lines. What would it be like to live in an open, free-moving globe where one can simply travel across these invisible lines? To travel anywhere within the globe without red tape, but instead possess an open passport, so to speak.

What are the benefits of such an open global society? Are there disadvantages? If so, what are they? What would it take to achieve such a life? What concessions would mankind have to make? Have we evolved as a species to embrace this open lifestyle? Why or why not?

Who would want to see this happen? Who would not? Why?

Next, let's take a look at our man-made neighborhood environments. You will find that lines abound, some naturally occurring, some not. Here are just a few images to think about:

"Rain Room" at the Museum of Modern Art, the destination for visitors who LINE Up for hours.
Timothy Clark/Agence France-Presse--Getty Images NYT

What lines do you see in the Rain Room? What direction do they go in? Do you see them collect above the man's face? Or is it an illusion? See the lines within the grates? Note the direction they move in? Again, an illusion? Why? How? When? What purpose do they serve?

Note, straight lines are used to create a circle. What else can you see?
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

"Can you read between the lines?" Which means can you draw a conclusion regarding an issue without it being deliberately stated?

"Walk in a line" and so many more expressions exist with the word, "line." What are they? Where are they useful? When are they limiting?

Finally, let's look at lines in nature. Look closely at all forms of life and you will see nature at its finest:

The farmer cuts the wheat in straight lines

What lines do you see here?

Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly in grass,

What line arrangement do you notice?

Adjacent lines of corn and cut wheat
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Though different on top, and in lines, crops
live harmoniously sideby side, using the same
material to grow and express their true identity

Clearer lines emerge
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Plants grow upwards, in linear fashion
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Note perfectly spaced tree-line, the line of Belgium
blocks set block by block, the slabs of concrete,
almost reminiscent of
The Happy Medium, from a Wrinkle in Time
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Then there are crooked lines as in the Col de Manse:

And curved lines naturally occurring in nature
and within man-made structures:

Double Rainbow
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Water Arc
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Terraced lines, Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Lines in asphalt, both straight and crooked
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Note, the natural progression of nature to fill any
viable space in which it can flourish, including lines
©2013Belle Mead, NJ JMW

Clearly, some lines are pretty, some are not, some are man-made, some are naturally occurring.

So, if we took away lines, would it give order to a disorderly universe, or do the lines create disorder in an orderly universe? You decide. But whatever you do, remember, "Do not cross the line!"

Be well kids!

The Teach.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Dear Teach: Your Own Personal Robot

Hi Boys and Girls,

If there was a chance you could have a robot, what would you use it for? Would you have do your homework? Clean your room? Do all your chores? Play basketball with you or program it so it can help you win every chess game you engage in?

Well, as science fictiony as it may sound, it may be a real possibility within your young life to actually have a personalized robot, and maybe to purchase one via a mail order. Can you imagine? A mail order robot!

Well, today it was announced that a Pentagon-funded humanoid named Atlas has made its first public appearance. It is a hydraulic powered machine equipped with laser and stereo vision systems. The hope is that someday, not too far in the distant future, robots such as this one will help humans in natural and man-made disasters. The primary function of this robot is to someday perform rescue missions that may be too dangerous for humans.

Clearly, we as a homo sapiens are on the cusp of The Robo-Sapien Age, a brave new world has emerged.

If you were to design a robot, what would it look like? Would it resemble a human being, or have three arms and one eye? Would it be a close relative of man or would you build a robot of a completely different species?

In today's New York Times, Friday, July 12, 2013

Robot in action

Another Perspective on Robots by Rodney Brooks

Design a robot of your own and its wardrobe.

Will it wear designer clothes or perhaps its own brand-Robot line you created?

Be well kids,

The Teach

Dear Teach: Challenges Through the Eyes of Children

Hi Boys and Girls,

You know, most of us would surely agree that life is challenging in many familiar ways. Some challenges kids face are school related, or deal with family, or friends, or maybe center around health issues, but fortunately, most of us have probably not dealt with challenges of such a serious magnitude [and yes, of course there is always the exception].

In three different accounts I share, consider: a character in a book whose life is loosely based on a real place with real struggles, another is based on a real life person who became a spokesman/child for enslaved children, and last, an everyday 21st century child who wanted to make a difference.

First, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt is a story that takes place both on the island of Magala, off the coast of Maine and in a small nearby town where all the shutters are painted green. The year is 1912, and Turner Buckminister has moved to the town of Phippsburg with his family, and his minister father to discover the town isn't your everyday community, but one in which "people point and laugh at one another, where Turner's mistakes are known to the whole town, where you are told what it thinks and what it wants you to think."

Turner has a tough time fitting in until he meets Lizzie, a smart lively girl who lives in a settlement established by former slaves on Magala Island. The story deals with racial issues that tug at the human spirit.

If you want to laugh, to think deeply, and have a good cry then this book is for you.

Karen Cushman, author of The Midwife's Apprentice, wrote an eloquent afterword for this book, and one thing is certain, Gary Schmidt truly deserved the Newbery Honor Award for his book.

And though the characters' names are fictitious, the story is based on fact, truthful and shameful facts of the destruction of a settlement where African Americans once lived. Today, a stigma still exists surrounding the history and events that occurred on Magala Island.

Needless to say, the story will provide you with many things to think about. There is a reoccurring universal theme here, one that seems to plague humanity-the inability to LOVE and to forgive.

Second, is the story based on the life of a boy, Iqbal Masih, born in Pakistan in 1983, who became enslaved as a four year old in order to pay off a family debt, "In 1986, Iqbal's older brother was to be married and the family needed money to pay for a celebration. For a very poor family in Pakistan, the only way to borrow money is to ask a local employer. These employers specialize in this kind of barter, where the employer loans a family money in exchange for the bonded labor of a small child."

His story is a difficult one, yet not so new. Under harsh conditions, Iqbal spent 6 years of his life working for a carpet maker in Pakistan toiling 6 days a week, 14 hours a day along with many other young children. At the age of ten he was finally freed and fought against bonded child labor.

Note the Kite, a symbol

Story based on Iqbal Masih by
Francesco D'Adamo

Iqbal Masih, age 12 [1983-1995]

The ending to both these stories is both heart wrenching and poignant, mostly because they are either true as in Iqbal's plight which ends in his death, and that of Lizzie's. Though she may have been a fictitious character, the story still capitalizes on the issues of bias crimes of hate.

So, what can you do?

Well, if after reading this material you are driven to continue your own research, then do so. Find out all you can about the places, the people, the causes, the circumstances, the end result, and then know, there really is only one thing left to do, and that is to be grateful for all the good you do have.

To understand that suffering is brought on by people and that it can also end by people.

Hate begets hate MLK; and the only way to remove it is to love, yes, as much of a cliche that it is, it is still the only hope humanity has: forgive, and forgive with all your might.

Further, it is never fair to say,"Well this group suffered more, than let's say, that group," because whether it involves one person who is bullied, or a group of people who are discriminated against, there is still suffering.

Suffering is suffering.

And if there is a purpose for it, then it surely must be to bring one to a higher realization that life is indeed good and one must strive to embrace all that is good: AT ALL COSTS.

So, instead choose to be kind toward everyone who is within your sphere. In turn, each of those people will be kind to people in their sphere, and soon believe it or not, we will have what I like to call, "a global halo effect."

Imagine what that would look like...can you imagine it even for a few seconds?

It is possible.

Now, take a look at the third account and how this child managed to turn his own personal family struggle into a positive spin.

Akash Viswanath Mehts, age 10 writes an article for Stone Soup, July 2009, "Love--A Cursed Blessing."

He states, " 'First of all, you must know that my story is not unique. It's merely the same tale as millions, maybe even billions of human beings; a few thousand hearts broken every day the same way as my life was shattered. Shattered but able to be put back together, piece by piece... But I take it the other way. I say the opposite; for every bad thing a good thing appears.' "

Akash recounts in six chapters when he was 6 years old the story of his parent's divorce, the personal struggle, and the new found joys of embracing a different life.

" ' I realized it was my mother's home and not my father's. At first I thought it was a joke. Then I wept, and then we all slept in the same bed, crying throughout the night.' "

July 2009, Stone Soup

Author, Akash Viswanath Mehta, age 10

After reading his story, I was curious to find the title of the book he mentioned his father had finally published. Though I was unable to locate it, instead I found the following clip where Akash is seen participating in a controversial situation involving Dow Chemical.

Here's the clip:

What are your thoughts on this?

And though, I have shared some sobering accounts, one ideal is certain, and it is in Einstein's response to a question once posed: Is the universe a friendly one?

To which he replied, "Yes, it is a very friendly Universe."

Therefore, above all else kids, keep that ideal in mind.

Happy reading and thinking kids.

The Teach

PS. Dear Einstein, Do scientists pray?

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Dear Teach:The Calm Before the Storm

Hi Boys and Girls,

Have you ever heard the expression the calm before the storm? Well, wiktionary defines it as "A period of peace before a disturbance or crisis; an unnatural or false calm before a storm."

And, evidently the expression has also been used in a song by rock band, Fall Out Boys "...Calm before the storm set it off, and the sun burnt out tonight..."

But according to the Discovery Channel this old sailor's adage used for generations is explained by: ...people believe that the worst storms are immediately preceded [ come before] by a period of calm, smooth weather. The reason for these periods of calm is simple; storms are caused by an updraft of moisture and heat coalescing [ come together as one] in one area. As storm clouds form, some of the moisture-saturated [filled with] air is pushed out of the tops of the highest clouds in the storm system. As this air descends back down, it begins to compress, becoming drier and warmer. Warm, dry air is more stable than cool, wet air; as a result, the air that initially formed the storm also acts as a temporary shield, preventing more air from entering the storm cloud formation and producing the "calm" before the storm...

And so it was that not too long ago I noticed not only a calm, but the sky ablaze in a magnificent red. The entire sky was lit in red orange hues. Immediately I thought, " Oh, the calm before the storm, soon we'll have a rainstorm." I remained outside and began to take photos of the sky. And much to my amazement the sky filled with cloud formations and collections of color arrangements I had never before seen, at least not in my own backyard.

The following day, I viewed a TED talk titled Camille Seaman: Photos from a storm chaser. And it was after I viewed this presentation that I realized the greater meaning of what I had seen on the night of the calm before the storm. Camille Seaman asserts:

" ' Everything is interconnected. As a Shinnecock Indian, I was raised to know this. We are a small fishing tribe situated on the southeastern tip of Long Island near the town of Southampton in New York. When I was a little girl, my grandfather took me to sit outside in the sun on a hot summer day. There were no clouds in the sky. And after a while I began to perspire. And he pointed up to the sky, and he said, "Look, do you see that? That's part of you up there. That's your water that helps to make the cloud that becomes the rain that feeds the plants that feeds the animals...' "

" '...What really excites me about these storms is their movement, the way they swirl and spin and undulate, with their lava lamp-like mammatus clouds. They become lovely monsters.
When I'm photographing them, I cannot help but remember my grandfather's lesson. As I stand under them, I see not just a cloud, but understand that what I have the privilege to witness is the same forces, the same process in a small-scale version that helped to create our galaxy, our solar system, our sun and even this very planet.' "

Here's her Ted Talk:

Here are a few of the images taken on the night of the calm before the storm:

Beyond the collection of hues and the profound understanding that all life is interconnected, one revelation remained, I waited and waited, but no storm [a few raindrops, but never a storm], instead a display of awe, one of nature's artistic magnificence for all to see.

Be well kids.

The Teach

PS. Anyone of these images could be the backdrop for a story, a setting, a painting, someone's adventure. Maybe even yours!

Friday, June 28, 2013

Dear Teach: 50 Seconds of Nature

Hi Boys and Girls,

Amongst oh so many summer activities most of you are sure to indulge in: swimming, camping, eating watermelon, attending barbecues, visiting with family and friends, playing computer games, going to the movies, and much, much more; do find some time to be outside for 50 seconds and to look around.

It does not matter where you are: the beach, the city, the suburbs, the mountains, etc. because you will be amazed at what you see. Here's what you need to do:

Locate an outdoor spot [it can be anywhere] Here's a few suggestions:

a sidewalk

a flowerpot

the edge of a parking lot

base of a tree

Then just stand quietly and observe.

What do you see?

Are there patterns?

Is there any movement?

Take a good look because you are about to witness a world with activity. Notice the grasshopper leaps effortlessly.

Here's a clip, but you need to look very closely to see nature's miracles:

©2013DearTeachJMW
Grasshopper, notice his false eyes sure to frighten his enemies. Did you see him jump! What a landing!
[Edited by Casey Waltz]

Look closely at his false eyes!

©2013DearTeachJMW
Deep in the center of the screen, motionless, a juvenile praying mantis [as seen from the top and
side views].

Closeup of Praying Mantis

He is stretched out between two flower buds.

Can you see him?

He is facing the left side of the screen.

Praying Mantis all grownup...one month to the day...

Busy bees move from catmint floweret to floweret in a bit of a frenzy!

A bit of information

See which parts of the daisy's cross-section
you can match up with this image.
Which common terms do you see?
What conclusion can you draw about
the parts of flowers?

Here are a few images to think about:

Notice the pattern. What does it resemble?

Notice the two insects, what are they?

Cross-section of a daisy

A blade of grass sets root within

two tree trunks.

What does this tell you about

nature?

Clover finds itself a home against a

concrete wall.

Some general things to do:
Find out about pollination, how exactly do bees and other insects retrieve the nectar, the current concerns over the diminishing bee population, just how do grasshoppers launch themselves, where do the praying mantis lay their young, how does a clover become a 4 leafed clover, what are the parts of grasses, what is it about their root systems that enable them to anchor themselves practically anywhere, where does moss come from, why does it tend to grow only in the southern exposure of host plants; make up your own question, and locate a satisfactory answer.

And so it is, our world is teeming with tiny creatures and plant life who go about their business without a care. They do not concern themselves with the ongoings around their environs, instead they delight in the simple joy of existence.

So, the next time you are outside, anywhere, stop and look! What do you see? Grab your smart phones, or Ipads and make a clip. You can create a digital portfolio of this summer's 50 Seconds of Nature's Sightings. All one needs is patience, and you will see creatures you never imagined existed beneath your very feet.

Soon the insignificant becomes the most significant for its simplicity and beauty.

Have fun kids!

The Teach

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Dear Teach: Poetry

Hi Boys and Girls,

Yes, even though April is the traditional month for celebrating poetry, you really can enjoy poetry just about anytime of year. In fact, right now in these last few days of June, just as school is about to end, there are myriads of familiar topics you may wish to write about; and, just to provide you with a few examples, consider some of these topics or create some of your own.

Gym Class

Running That Mile

Hands Raised

Homework, that Demon

Bubble Gum

My School Lunch

My Friends

A Good Joke

The Detention,... but it wasn't my fault!

The Pond

Sweating up a Storm

No More Teachers...

School's Out

And while these topics are mere suggestions, so too is the method you choose for writing poems. The use of figurative language: alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, metaphor, similes, repetition, repetition, and so on is one way to practice these devices. Arranging the lines in groups or stanzas is another way to visually shape the poem. If you do write a poem, feel free to let the poem rest awhile, then return to it with a fresh look. You will find some lines will benefit tweaking. Read it out loud or have someone read it to you. It is a good idea to close your eyes and see if you can visualize the poem, if not, you may want to add a few more descriptive words. Last, think about your poem's message, but do know once the poem is out of the poet's hands, it belongs to the reader.

But in the end, simply write from the heart, and have fun while you are doing it.

Here's a clip I made for you with a guest visitor. I hope you enjoy viewing it.

Poetry for Kids and a guest visitor

Kitty sound asleep on my desk!

Happy writing kids,

Be well,

The Teach