As promised, here are the notes on last time's class! As I said, we had four great presentations!
(And if you read on below, you'll understand why I sent out the extra links earlier this evening.)
Lydia's presentation was about Nelson Mandela. She gave us a short overview of Mandela's life, including his imprisonment,his time as South Africa's first post-apartheid president, and his Nobel Peace Prize. She told us about "Mandela: the Long Walk to Freedom," a 2013 movie starring Idris Elba, which portrays Mandela's 27 years in jail, and she shared this powerful quote: "It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Lydia then introduced a second movie about Mandela, the 2009 "Invictus," starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, which tells the story of how Mandela united South Africa through sport during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Here is the poem that the movie is named after; it is a poem that gave hope to Mandela during his time in prison.
"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley
Jacky shared his good news (congratulations, Jacky!) and then showed us a creative solution to an old problem ! One engineer looked at all the common problems which occur when using an umbrella, and then he designed a new kind of problem-free umbrella, the Kazbrella. Jacky pointed out how the designer of the Kazbrella first made lists of all the problems caused by the normal type of umbrella, and also made lists of all possible solutions, showing us a great example of creativity at work!
David shared his presentation about the Yilan Experience, and gave us a valuable chance to understand the history and thought behind Yilan County's unique landscape. David introduced Yilan's geography, and showed us how, over 20 years, top professionals have been working to avoid uncontrolled development and to design public places and events that are sustainable and highlight Yilan's local identity. One of David's examples was the Yilan County Hall, which looks more like a park or resort than a government center. I've walked there and I found it very beautiful; I was interested to learn the ideas behind the design of that place! And David's beautiful photos certainly wowed us all. It was great to be reminded of how special and beautiful our county is, and really interesting to find out about the thoughts and planning behind so many of Yilan's famous spots. I can't wait to learn more about this process from David!
Julia introduced us to Ron Clark's way of teaching; she mentioned that his students even sing and dance together.
Here's the clip that Julia wanted to show us; it's less than six minutes long, and I do recommend watching it! :
The Ron Clark Academy: Kids who enjoy going to school
Here you'll see kids singing and dancing out a grammar lesson, among other things, and you'll learn a little about the history of the school and the goals and vision of its founder. Ron Clark says that he thinks it all comes down to finding "passionate people who love to teach," and besides "setting kids on fire to learn," his dream is also educating teachers!
At the end of class last week, Joanne told us about a famous math teacher in Taiwan whose strategy is to give the students no answers, at least not before they've had a chance to work the answers out themselves... Joanne's story reminded me that "Questions are the new answers." Check out this short youtube clip! The clip provides a transcript as well!
Questions Are the New Answers, with Warren Berger
I am excited about our class tomorrow!
As mentioned in the earlier email, this Thursday, 6/4, we'll be discussing last week's article:
How creativity powers science
See you all very soon!
Sincerely, Abbie
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