Dear Readers, This ageing adventure seems to leave me with less time to write. I think it may be that I am moving much slower, like the Tai Chi’ that I love to do. Upon reading past articles published in the local newspaper, realization came that you, my website readers, have not read the articles which still hold relevance, perhaps even more so.. However, I do rewrite and upgrade the articles with recent events and discoveries. I welcome and encourage your comments. It is my understanding that if you have subscribed to the Rainswriter blog, you will be notified when an article is published. Please stay with me, you have kept me going! Field Notes When I was first employed as a facilitator of gifted student’s learning, I was gung-ho with great ideas (so I thought) and ready to jump in with both feet. I had the “perfect” program. The entire summer before I started the job in the fall had been spent developing the program. My supervisor had another plan, and against my begrudging the time spent, it was a good one. Mr. Vandermark felt that I should visit a number of other schools that had successful gifted programs, ask questions and take field notes. It is amazing how much one can learn from observations, questions and just watching what other gifted programs entailed. Following the visits, with field notes galore, my “perfect” program changed drastically. Our gifted program became an exemplary one that, in itself, became a model for observation and replication for others. I am positive that that would not have happened without my supervisor’s insistence on time being spent observing notable gifted programs in other schools.The graduate classes I attended to learn more about gifted education was icing on the cake, but it was the field notes from which I pulled the profound insight for success. An awareness raising book, required reading for every Ball State University freshman, is now 13 chapters long from its previous ten chapters, having been updated (like I do with my writings) and is available on Amazon. It is Elizabeth Kolbert’s Field Notes from a Catastrophe. There you go, field notes again! One chapter is filled with information that Kolbert learned about Burlington, Vermont, and what it did to meet the changing challenges of today. Our actions have destroyed. Think about the Amazon rainforest and what we are losing. Not only oxygen but also species of plants that may have held medicinal healing properties not yet discovered. Not to mention the thousands of animals and insects killed in its path. If we can destroy, we can heal. It is past time to try to start healing our planet. Is it too late? Will climate chaos such as the hurricane, Dorian, continue to destroy large swaths of civilization? As the oceans rise, how will the remaining land accommodate people plus the land necessary to grow food? We have a moral obligation to show our fellow world-wide humans that consuming renewable energy is not impossible. It can transform the world. Maybe the place to start is by taking serious descriptive and informative field notes. Solar energy notes may be a good place to start. T. Boone Pickens has it right. “This is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of.” And, Thomas Berry writes, “The Great Work now...is to carry out the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner.” Don’t you think field notes will be a beneficial start in our renew Earth endeavor? [email protected] ©Ann Rains September, 2019 Postscript: As you can see, my friend who helps me publish is not available. I am inept at some of the finer features of posting an article, such as adding photos and videos. Please bear with me. I am learning. Blessings to all.
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