This week, on "Fossil Hunter"

Today was a teacher work day, so we could enter semester grades. Ken is awesome and organized, so we were 100% done yesterday. I questioned the point of coming to school at all today, besides getting my mid-term evaluation... but I'm glad I went. For a couple of hours, I explored Ken's fossil and amber collection... which is expansive, to say the least.















Boxes and boxes! I pulled out a dissecting scope and examined a group of ants and a dragonfly in amber and dino bones. Below is dino-bone cross-section. He has a few very good specimins, several polished. They look like this--very beautiful, and colorful!














This is coprolite: dinosaur poop. If you ever see a chuck of rock that looks like poop that's been fossilized, it probably isn't. It's probably a mud formation. Ken has many of both.











He also told me all the best places in Oregon to find stuff just lying around! Most of his collection he's gathered himself, on the weekend, just hiking around. So, from now on, my backpacking trips are now FOSSIL HUNTS!

The fossil hunt for next weekend is still on, by the way. Anyone else coming with us?

Backpacking anyone?

This picture was taken last year on the last camping trip I've taken. James and I went with Kelli + her date, Bryce, and Kadra to Trillium Lake. It was beautiful, and we took our little Toby. He was just a little baby then! He could fit in your jacket pocket or up your sleeve.

My spring break is the last week of March, and I'd love love love to go backpacking (just for one night). For convenience's sake, I'd leave March 31 and come back the next day (Saturday-Sunday) and I'm open to suggestions as to where to go. I'm thinking perhaps the Clackamas River Trail? Anyone ever been? I guess there's places to camp right on the beach, and we'd only hike in about a mile or so. Nice!

I'll drive. Oh, and I don't have a tent (I prefer open air) so if you need/want one, you're on your own. Other than that, I can supply most everything else. And if anyone wants some great warm-up hikes, my beautiful Marquam Nature trail is a convenient 1.5 blocks from my house, so we can warm-up together!

Anyone? Anyone?

Busy busy busy!

I just realized that not only have I not posted for a while, but I also hadn't been checking anyone else's blogs much either. School is totally wiping me out!

...but I must confess, I'm having a great time. Oh, so many differenced between middle school and high school! And student teaching is supposed to be a truly terrible experience! I mean, I'm really busy, and overwhelmed, yadda yadda, but the students make it worth while. I'm surprised I've become this attached to them, after only three weeks. And they make me laugh so hard! Every class period, every day--laugh laugh laugh! There's a saying among teachers, "Don't smile until Christmas." You've got to show them who's boss, and get them used to it, before you can show real personality. I can try doing that, but these kids are so hilarious that I physically would not be able to stop myself from laughing at some of the things they say.

And I'm so impressed with how smart and inquisitive they are! We'll be discussing meiosis, and question after question--all valid, all important--is asked from all the students. "I'm sorry, but we can't talk about genetics, or eugenics, or vegetative propagation, or neurobiology right now." Every day! They're so curious! They will be little genius biologists soon.

That's not so say they're all so smart. Really. But at least they're curious, which is what really matters.

And even learning how to address learning disabilities, like autism, has been less of a struggle than I thought. We have one delightful, mildly autistic girl that most other teachers didn't think could do much--but Blacksmith (my mentor teacher) proved them all wrong by holding her to the same standards but letting her have a little more time than others, and she has an A in the class. And it's a HARD class. But she can do it.

Some highlights:
Two other of my Concordia cohorts teach at Milwaukie--on the same hall, too, so we have some good support.
I have learned more in the last three weeks than I ever did in any other Biology class I've ever taken. Part of this is because I'm helping teach a Bio 2 class, and I've *gulp* never taken a Bio 2 class in my life. Lots of studying and faking confidence.
It's fun to make the students uncomfortable. We're starting a genetics unit, so of course, we have to talk about sex. I try to nonchalantly remind them that their parents did it, and I delight in their squeamish responses.
My work sample, we've decided, will be the Evolution unit. I'm up for a challenge.
Ken Blacksmith, my cooperating teacher, has given me enough material to teach an entire Biology 1 class, September through June. Including notes, materials, worksheets, and a daily breakdown. Woot!