Tech[ker]n[a]logy

These pictures were taken at the Baldwin Farm in Richmond, KY. Our class went there for a one-day fieldtrip to a pumpkin patch. The farm owner Margorie showed us how to work this goofy looking thingamajig, which she claimed to get the kernals off corn. After she demonstrated once, our class had a HAY day (no pun intended), and several students volunteered to have a turn. In the photo below on the left, a student from our class is cranking the corn de-kernaling machine.

In the picture on the right, one can see a better and closer view of this de-kernaler contraption.
A corn cob is put in from the top and sits in a little slot, waiting. Then, a hand turns a handle on the side (see below) that makes the cob sink lower and lower, as it goes down the tube. As it does, the kernals rub against the many holes, and somehow or another, fall off the cob and out of those holes and into a metal trough underneath. Once the kernals have been removed, the bare cob (see right) falls into the pan underneath also.

From this experience, I learned that there is confidence to be gained in doing something correctly in front of a group of people. I think this entry connects to the Technology goal because I also learned that technology does not need to be modern in order to be efficient and helpful. Before that day, if I had seen that piece of equipment at a glance, I would have thought it was an old antique that was not good enough to satisfy the demands of the 21st century. I was very humbled when I saw this tool being put too good use. It made me realize that as a teacher, it is partly my job to address the attitude of our nation. As Gilbert Chesterton once said, "Education is simply the soul of society as it passes from one generation to another". I want to teach my students that a lot of the world (America in particular) is convinced that they are the center of the universe, even though they are far from it. I will explain to them how a lot of people in our nation want something, and they want it right now. And if they don't get it, they're not happy campers. It is sad but true that our society suffers from impatience and high-maintenance. After I inform them of this depressing news, I am going to try to do proactive things to prevent the next generation from repeating the vibes of the "Me" generation. While I may verbally describe to my students about "the soul of society" I think I will use more subtle ways to try and juxtapose their behavior with that of the world's. For example, I will try to emphasize the value of encyclopedias and books instead of google and wikipedia. Ultimately, I know I can't control what they will do outside of my class, or after my class, for research papers and what not, but I can at least maybe make a dent, and prove to them that things of the past are not useless-often times they are even better than the things of the present (or future). I hope to show that to them, and to instill a sense of appreciation for what came before.

This endeavor also taught me that everything has a purpose. With the corn example, the kernals are used to feed the goats, the cob is used to go in the fire, or for compost. Similarly, every single student in my class is valuable somehow. They all have roles and skills, and it is my job to observe them until I find that out and can affirm them for those gifts, as seemingly small and random as they may be.