Over the past week I've managed to get a lot accomplished, including meeting Julie for the first time and actually meet face to face to discuss my work at NGS.
Julie is a great boss to have - she is encouraging as well as gives me feedback on the documents I am creating for her and thinks I am a very efficient and hard worker which is really nice to hear as an intern.
I'm also trying to decide what to study in Gradschool and have changed my mind probably 10x in the past week on what I should do after I graduate this spring.
Should I become a teacher?
Would I want a planning masters?
Would 2 years in Teach for America be good for me?
Would I be happy as a planner?
Would I want just a edu masters?
My philosophy is that children shouldn't be taught to a test, would I be able to handle teaching that?
Teach for America would run during camp...can I handle not being at camp?
Is it silly not to apply to something because I could not teach at Tanglewood?
I am not entirely sure I want to be a planner.
I hate GRE's and what all standardized tests stand for...
Should I apply for jobs as an environmental ed teacher/alternative education?
Would I be able to get a master's in education and teach enviro. edu?
Oh look! There are programs that have environmental education as a degree!
Is it not required to have GRE's to apply to enviro ed programs...
Should I apply to Teach for America or just go on to get my degree?
Etc. etc. questions after question and scattered thoughts running through my head.
I think my brain has finally settled on teaching because nothing really makes me happier than watching and teaching children (thank you Tanglewood 4-H camp) and too many instances keep flashing in my face of:
A. you ended up at a teaching college and all of your friends are getting teaching degrees
B. you have always wanted to be a teacher
C. not only are you a camp counselor you teach enviro. ed. and already have some practice
D. there are 5 of you in the edu program at NGS but you're the only one that goes through lesson plans and is helping to create a curriculum for enviro ed
Those are just some of the things running through my head right now but the more I think about it the more I believe teaching is right for me and that environmental education would make me happy (and I really do not want a job that does not make me happy).
This week will consist of going through standards again and generalizing them so that we can apply them to lesson plans in combination with Ocean Literacy Standards.
I am overwhelmed.
By life. Not my internship.
My internship is wonderful and I am very thankful I have this opportunity.
I love this internship and it is helping me realize more and more where I want to go in life.
Am I repeating myself?
Why isn't there a portal that can take me to Farmington?
But that's what makes you stronger right? Figuring everything on your own and doing what feels right to you...
Again with the cliches.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
To-Do List
Last week ended pretty well - got to have another phone conference with Julie and created a list of what I need to accomplish in the near future:
Starting tomorrow (9/21) I am doing a research class and will get a certificate in research at NGS which will look good on a resume - getting ready to apply for grad school!!! I'm hoping to look at a few programs while here but that might be near impossible which seems crazy that I am applying to different places without visiting them first. I find it really strange that all I wanted to do was go to Farmington and only seriously applied to Farmington and now I feel like I have options as to where I want to go - I don't have to stay in New England - interesting feeling of freedom in my education.
Being able to move to a city and adjust (fairly well - I don't feel as though I'm going to go crazy here because I'm not in the woods 24/7) has also been a learning experience because again, I don't have to stay in one place - I can move around. Although, I must admit a little part of me feels empty not being able to experience a fall change over for the first time in my life (it was 90 degrees here yesterday and high 80's all last week!!!) but it is also really exciting being in a new place.
Saturday I went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum with a friend from work and spent well over 2.5 hrs in there just wandering. There was a really neat Oceans exhibit which mirrors what NGS is trying to accomplish. What I find most interesting is that there is a large pull towards 'saving' the ocean that started even before the Gulf Oil Spill fiasco and hopefully will continue to grow.
It is too bad sometimes that disasters have to happen before someone notices - even though NGS started "I am the Ocean" two years ago, I do not think it would have as great of an impact without a disaster.
- Compile "what students should know by the end of 4th grade" for english, math, social studies, and science - using 4th grade as a middle point for 3-5
- Separate and organize lessons from Ocean's document
- Filter through lessons (good, bad, could be used with modification)
- NOAA/Bridge website, Expeditions, Sarah W, Moodle list
- Create a Survey Monkey for Julie by 10/1 for NTLA teachers
- Survey should have yes, no, and a comments option when appropriate
Starting tomorrow (9/21) I am doing a research class and will get a certificate in research at NGS which will look good on a resume - getting ready to apply for grad school!!! I'm hoping to look at a few programs while here but that might be near impossible which seems crazy that I am applying to different places without visiting them first. I find it really strange that all I wanted to do was go to Farmington and only seriously applied to Farmington and now I feel like I have options as to where I want to go - I don't have to stay in New England - interesting feeling of freedom in my education.
Being able to move to a city and adjust (fairly well - I don't feel as though I'm going to go crazy here because I'm not in the woods 24/7) has also been a learning experience because again, I don't have to stay in one place - I can move around. Although, I must admit a little part of me feels empty not being able to experience a fall change over for the first time in my life (it was 90 degrees here yesterday and high 80's all last week!!!) but it is also really exciting being in a new place.
Saturday I went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum with a friend from work and spent well over 2.5 hrs in there just wandering. There was a really neat Oceans exhibit which mirrors what NGS is trying to accomplish. What I find most interesting is that there is a large pull towards 'saving' the ocean that started even before the Gulf Oil Spill fiasco and hopefully will continue to grow.
It is too bad sometimes that disasters have to happen before someone notices - even though NGS started "I am the Ocean" two years ago, I do not think it would have as great of an impact without a disaster.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
First Week and Then Some
Got to National Geographic Society Tuesday 9/7/10 and have been here a week so far but have yet to start up blog due to breaking my laptop right before moving.
The First day -
All of us interns met "Under the Stars" which is the lobby on the M Street Building where the EDU interns are kept away in an office that we are still trying to decide on a name for - currently it is called the 'cave' but we don't really like that name. Apparently the formation of the "Stars" (lights in the ceiling) is the same as the night was when NGS was formed way back in 1888. Karen Gibbs met with us and we all went around saying we who are, where we are from, what major, etc. HR and paperwork followed but around 11:30 we were taken "Under the Stars" again and met with our supervisors.
My supervisor is Sarah Wilson who works on the Oceans Team but before I even really knew what was going on - in my mind I had no clue what I was doing other than 'education' when I first met her. We were given no for-warning of what our assignments would be but I quickly caught on when Sarah showed me my desk and said "Here, I pulled an Ocean Special Edition Magazine for you".
My assignment is to work on the Oceans Team - last summer (right as BP was at it's prime) the Oceans team held a NTLA (National Teachers Leadership Academy) for teachers grades 9-12 and gave them a new curriculum based on the ocean. They met for a few days to learn the material and how to teach an ocean based curriculum. NGS Oceans has a million dollar grant from Oracle that runs out this year and part of that grant is outreaching high school teachers and making it known that the Earth starts with the ocean and without conservation efforts climate change will become an even greater problem.
I am/will be working closely with Julie who is located out of Florida. Julie is our teacher support point person and works with this program called Moodle. My job is to help her organize and research anything she might need.
Last week and part of this week I have been researching teaching standards for English/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies for grades 3-5. Oceans is applying for another grant through Oracle so that we can hopefully have a conference for teachers next summer in both highschool and grades 3-5. There is still some money left on our current grant and our goal is to have standards and lesson plan ideas pulled so that we can hire the people to write the lessons for our unit. A major emphasis on the unit is to incorporate all of the subjects together with the underlying theme being Oceans (writing prompts about whales, social issues based on fishing, etc) so that teachers will be able to better fit the guidelines of what their schools mandate.
I have also been pulling lesson plans from different sources (EPA, NOAA, Smithsonian, etc) to see if we can use them or if it would be a concept worth teaching.
Today (9/15) was probably the coolest day so far - the new NGS magazine came to the office and I got to help open up the boxes and mail them off to the teachers in our 9-12 program. There were some extras so the interns get to keep them and read them before they even go to the stands which is just amazing! This issue is on the Oil Spill with some really neat maps and diagrams.
---
Some of the other neat perks of being at NGS is all of the different research classes we get to take - if we complete a week long course and take one extra course of our choosing (say environmental or GIS research) we get a certificate and can put on our resumes that we are certified in research by NGS. Whenever there is an explorer in town we also get the option of meeting him/her. Last week we met with Dr. Dollar who works in Madagascar with the Fosa and helps promote conservation at a grassroots level.
Tomorrow is an NGS/NPR lecture on the Oil Spill and I am really excited to go to that as well!
There is also the 'basement' which is an area that is a free for all of old magazine issues, books, travel guides, etc. as well as a free maps section in the library and a couple of us in EDU raided the section and now have a fully decorated office.
It's really neat working with all geography kids - I finally feel like I'm with 'my people' as silly as that may sound - I've never really known anyone else that has the same academic interests and goals that I have that work on a competitive and driven level. I am one of two from a state school which is an interesting dynamic to compare with the private schools but I definitely think I have one of the better relationships with my professors in terms of projects I have been able to work on at UMF. I'm also the only one (there are 11 of us) that doesn't come from a legacy of other NGS interns which is a neat feeling knowing that I've been able to put UMF on the 'map'...so to speak.
The First day -
All of us interns met "Under the Stars" which is the lobby on the M Street Building where the EDU interns are kept away in an office that we are still trying to decide on a name for - currently it is called the 'cave' but we don't really like that name. Apparently the formation of the "Stars" (lights in the ceiling) is the same as the night was when NGS was formed way back in 1888. Karen Gibbs met with us and we all went around saying we who are, where we are from, what major, etc. HR and paperwork followed but around 11:30 we were taken "Under the Stars" again and met with our supervisors.
My supervisor is Sarah Wilson who works on the Oceans Team but before I even really knew what was going on - in my mind I had no clue what I was doing other than 'education' when I first met her. We were given no for-warning of what our assignments would be but I quickly caught on when Sarah showed me my desk and said "Here, I pulled an Ocean Special Edition Magazine for you".
My assignment is to work on the Oceans Team - last summer (right as BP was at it's prime) the Oceans team held a NTLA (National Teachers Leadership Academy) for teachers grades 9-12 and gave them a new curriculum based on the ocean. They met for a few days to learn the material and how to teach an ocean based curriculum. NGS Oceans has a million dollar grant from Oracle that runs out this year and part of that grant is outreaching high school teachers and making it known that the Earth starts with the ocean and without conservation efforts climate change will become an even greater problem.
I am/will be working closely with Julie who is located out of Florida. Julie is our teacher support point person and works with this program called Moodle. My job is to help her organize and research anything she might need.
Last week and part of this week I have been researching teaching standards for English/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies for grades 3-5. Oceans is applying for another grant through Oracle so that we can hopefully have a conference for teachers next summer in both highschool and grades 3-5. There is still some money left on our current grant and our goal is to have standards and lesson plan ideas pulled so that we can hire the people to write the lessons for our unit. A major emphasis on the unit is to incorporate all of the subjects together with the underlying theme being Oceans (writing prompts about whales, social issues based on fishing, etc) so that teachers will be able to better fit the guidelines of what their schools mandate.
I have also been pulling lesson plans from different sources (EPA, NOAA, Smithsonian, etc) to see if we can use them or if it would be a concept worth teaching.
Today (9/15) was probably the coolest day so far - the new NGS magazine came to the office and I got to help open up the boxes and mail them off to the teachers in our 9-12 program. There were some extras so the interns get to keep them and read them before they even go to the stands which is just amazing! This issue is on the Oil Spill with some really neat maps and diagrams.
---
Some of the other neat perks of being at NGS is all of the different research classes we get to take - if we complete a week long course and take one extra course of our choosing (say environmental or GIS research) we get a certificate and can put on our resumes that we are certified in research by NGS. Whenever there is an explorer in town we also get the option of meeting him/her. Last week we met with Dr. Dollar who works in Madagascar with the Fosa and helps promote conservation at a grassroots level.
Tomorrow is an NGS/NPR lecture on the Oil Spill and I am really excited to go to that as well!
There is also the 'basement' which is an area that is a free for all of old magazine issues, books, travel guides, etc. as well as a free maps section in the library and a couple of us in EDU raided the section and now have a fully decorated office.
It's really neat working with all geography kids - I finally feel like I'm with 'my people' as silly as that may sound - I've never really known anyone else that has the same academic interests and goals that I have that work on a competitive and driven level. I am one of two from a state school which is an interesting dynamic to compare with the private schools but I definitely think I have one of the better relationships with my professors in terms of projects I have been able to work on at UMF. I'm also the only one (there are 11 of us) that doesn't come from a legacy of other NGS interns which is a neat feeling knowing that I've been able to put UMF on the 'map'...so to speak.
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