Diogenes and Taro

Diogenes and Taro
-(Laugh and Wisdom Story for Educators)-

Diogenes, the philosopher ate taro for his dinner. Aristippos, a philosopher who lived rich and wealth by lick the King see this thing happened.

Aristippos said: "If you learn to serve the King, you will not have to eat such a shit like taro."

Diogenes answered: "If you have learned to eat taro, you will not have to lick the King."

Writer notes: the knowledge and consciousness should bring you more.

Story translated freely from "The Song of The Bird" by Anthony de Mello SJ

Five Wind Directions

Five Wind Directions
-(Nature Game, More ESD Activities, Facilitation Technique, Discussion, Communication, Enhancing Group Dynamics, Improve Listening and Observation, Analysis )-

This is a very interesting game we played about a year ago in ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) training in Bogor. This is a method that we can play again and again for many topics because its flexibility with issues.

Mr. M Saleh from JPL (Jaringan Pendidikan Lingkungan) / Indonesian Environment Education Network show us this game and we do a lot of discussion in this game regarding some hot issues.

This "Five Wind Direction" (sorry, I rename this game cos I don't know its real name) I think is one of the game that very effective to share information between participants.

There is no conclusion in this game since the goal of this game is to collect information and to brainstorm participants

Needs
About 15-50 participants (advance level)

First you must tell a story, and ask questions. Let say:
"In Bogor (where they lived), particularly in Pamoyanan village (where most of them have school), there is a plan about building a big factory complex. Many people feel happy cos they think it will open many opportunities for people who seek job, and the other thinks the opposite: it will pollute the river, destroy the small forest near the village and damage water reservement"

Ask participants
- Who agree (>75%) with factory complex build stand in north point
- Who disagree (<25%)>
- Who "kind of agree" (>50%) with factory complex build stand in west point
- Who "kind of disagree" (<50%)>

After first step ask someone who wants to give opinion about their stand. Facilitate other participants to give other opinion and let them exchange information and discussion.

Participants can move and stand in other direction after some opinions (let say, after every 5 opinions given, or every 3 minutes).
You will see that there is some change about their stand after some opinions being talked.

As facilitator you can give some new information while the discussion happened. Ask key questions to participants when they give opinion.

Don't worry... yes, maybe it can be a hot discussion between participants... keep be a good facilitator ^^ ! Don't forget to do some hand shake between participants after this game...

Ah yes, why I name this game: five wind direction, because sometimes there are participants who become extremely poled, or a participant who didn't choose any direction (always moving every time) - that's the fifth wind direction: extreme pole, or as a wanderer (joke ^^)

ESD Cryptology

ESD Cryptology
-(Nature Game, Math Game, More ESD Activities)-

We did a Treasure Hunting Game a couple days ago in Bogor Botanical Garden. This is what we do in first stop for the groups that compete each other: to solve secret information (related with environment-history issues) with mathematic equation.

In another modification, we also can relate topics such as social, biology, history, language to this game. It was fun and I bet that your kids will pay serious attention to mathematic

This is an example: we ask when the Bogor Botanical Garden officially recognized as Botanical Garden. The answer included the exact date-month-year; but for this case I present only mathematic equation to solve date only:

Needs
Paper and pen

In the paper there are some questions to be solved:

No	TASK :
1	Summarize all this number to the right, then you get A
	27	14	31	64	18
2	For B, multiply A with 312
3	B - 51678 = C
4	Reverse all C number from the right to the left, then you get D
5	Divide D with 15, then you get E
6	Asume that all the digit in D are independent from each other
	Summarize all this number to the right, then you get F
7	(F - 18) X 6 = G (final answer)

Correct Answer
A	246
B	76752
C	25074
D	47052
E	3,136.8
F	21
G	18

The final answer is 18 (date number from 18 May 1817).

We make 3 task to the groups because the group is large (10 kids) so everybody get busy. 1 task for date, 1 task for month, 1 task to guess year.

This game is good to get attention from kids about small issues but you must be prepared to expand the issues by do more activity.

We play this game as a part of Treasure Hunting activity, under the tree, but in the school maybe you can do this activity as a kind of homework, after the class finish, to relate it with another subject tomorrow.

Don't stick only with this writing. I know you can modify it to open discussion in language, biology, social issues.

Special example (for expert level): how to convert answer into alphabet
In alphabetical order asume that 23 is (d), G answer is (i)
(I reverse the alphabet from behind, so 1 = z, 26 = a)
Then translate this number into alphabet
4	26	7	22	9
ANSWER : WATER

Legendary Tazmanian Tiger

Legendary Tazmanian Tiger
-(Shocking Nature News)-

The Thylacine was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (because of its striped back), the Tasmanian Wolf, and colloquially the Tassie (or Tazzy) Tiger or simply the Tiger. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It was the last extant member of its genus, Thylacinus, although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene.

The Thylacine had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before European settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island state of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, sightings are still reported, though none proven.

In 1973, Gary and Liz Doyle shot ten seconds of 8mm film showing an unidentified animal running across a South Australia road. However, attempts to positively identify the creature as a thylacine have been impossible due to the poor quality of the film.In 1982 a researcher with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, Hans Naarding, observed what he believed to be a Thylacine for three minutes during the night at a site near Arthur River in northwestern Tasmania. The sighting led to an extensive year-long government-funded search.

In January 1995, a Parks and Wildlife officer reported observing a Thylacine in the Pyengana region of northeastern Tasmania in the early hours of the morning. Later searches revealed no trace of the animal.In 1997, it was reported that locals and missionaries near Mount Carstensz in Western New Guinea had sighted Thylacines. The locals had apparently known about them for many years but had not made an official report.

In February 2005 Klaus Emmerichs, a German tourist, claimed to have taken digital photographs of a Thylacine he saw near the Lake St Clair National Park, but the authenticity of the photographs has not been established.The photos were not published until April 2006, fourteen months after the sighting. The photographs, which showed only the back of the animal, were said by those who studied them to be inconclusive as evidence of the Thylacine's continued existence.

Picture and story from wikipedia.org

A Piece for Every day

A Piece for Every Day

-(Guiding Notes)-

I prefer to do it for 10 minutes every day, rather than one day every year.

YES! We must do routine activity to conduct environment education or sustainable development education for our kids. 10 minutes every day even better than 1 hours of lesson every week.

After all, with just 5 minutes for a simple game and another 5 minutes for discussion you can pack this simple activity, integrate it with your biology, math, physic, economy, social, language lesson, etc.

See? A piece for everyday is better!

Vegetables Lover Game

Vegetables Lover Game

-(More ESD Activities)-

Do you find difficulties to make your kids eat vegetables? Hehee - well, looks we have same problem all around the world - Here is some suggestion for you: home schooling teachers, environment facilitator, parents, or just for curious sister who want to help her brother...

And as usual, why don't we make this thing greener and environment related? Or to discuss social issues while do some shopping in the traditional market?

Needs

Kitchen, some other material (sugar, salt, etc) for cooking

First, share your information about vegetables: how important carrot, corn, cucumber, etc. Well, just try to make an interesting story about the veg (LOL). After this you can draw or write a poem for the veg they like in a paper (don't tell them that this is being a part of our plan).

Then, challenge them to make a delicious food from the veg they choose (draw, write before). They can add other material such as sugar, chocolate, salt, orange, egg, or even other veg and do some simple cook like fry or boil it, or add some ice and milk in it.

You may suggest food that is normal ^^ like omelet, or create a new fantasy food such as: banana burn rainbow carrot.

I skip the shopping thing. You also can do some shopping before and therefore your discussion will be richer (talk about price, occupation, etc).

You can use these questions after the food is ready:

- Is your food is good (hehehe)?

- Why do you think that food is different in every place / country (try to relate it with crop availability, climate, transportation, culture, appetite)?

- Why some people like one kind of food, while other hate it (try to relate it with species method to survival in this world - food choice differentiation)

- Is it good to keep food or vegetables biodiversity? (ask again: what do you think if we only provide carrot for each one of you?)

- You go on with other questions ... ^^

Picture taken from http://cooking-books.blogspot.com

Ingredients Detective

Ingredients Detective
-(More ESD Activities)-

This is an activity I suggest to teachers when you feel you also can conduct such a fun activity that would last a semester. We also can put some topic such as biodiversity, biology, economic, social, language, etc. As an extra we can encourage children to talk better for their self confidence.

Question that I must ask you before we agree/not to do this activity: if you are a kid, would you happily tell me about your favorite snack, and then show me the snack in front of the class; so some of your friend (and me) oh course can taste the snack you like? If you say yes, than we can go on with this activity... ^^

What is special for this activity is that everybody can do it: with small groups, personal, in front of class, etc.

Needs
Different kind of snacks, library or internet to find information

First, we can decide how to conduct this activity - is it for 1-2 hours, or for a semester (3-5 minutes each)? We also can do it personally or by group. For instance, we can choose a kid present this activity for 3-5 minutes after class is over and it may last for one semester.

Second step for homework: tell that everybody (or groups) must choose a snack they like. Then they must choose one or two ingredients that come from nature, for example: chocolate, sugar, salt, palm oil, orange, milk, strawberry, wheat, sugar, etc.

Then give time. Let them search information about these ingredients like:
- Which place (local) produced these things?
- Can you find local language for these ingredients?
- How much is this thing in local market?
- IS there any use of these ingredients for anything else?
- Etc...

You can start then, give chances to kids, to tell the class about their favorite snack: why the like it (is this because the taste, color, shape, size, packing?). And then we may encourage children to present the story about some nature ingredients in it.

Don't forget to share the snack with others (included me of course) after presentation. Ask other children about the snack - do they like it also?

Picture taken from http://www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com and http://open.salon.com

The Hottest Place on Earth

The Hottest Place on Earth
-(Shocking Nature News)-

The Afar Depression includes the Danakil Desert and the lowest point in Africa, Lake Asal (–155 meters or –500 ft). Dallol is also part of the Depression, one of the hottest places year-round anywhere on Earth.

The climate varies from around 25 °C (77 °F) during the rainy season (September–March) to 48 °C (118 °F) during the dry season (March–September). Only the Awash River flows into the depression, where it ends in a chain of lakes that increase in salinity.

Temperatures reached up to an all-time high of 64.4°C (148.0°F) in the 1930's. The area is one of the hottest places on earth, comparable with the Dasht-e Lut desert in Iran.

Article from wikipedia.org
Picture taken from http://farm5.static.flickr.com

Taste from the Market

Taste from the Market
-(More ESD Activities)-

Are you still worried after read some of our games / experiments explanation? Well, don't worry - there are also some simple methods that we can practice - even without jumping and running...

This is an activity we can run in our school. It also involves sport, business, economic and social values.

I believe that environmental education (EE) is being a part of education for sustainable development (ESD), that's the reason that I always relate everything in these modules with social, economic, environment and humanity values.

STEP 1, GO TO TRADITIONAL MARKET:
- Divide children into small groups of 4-5 kids. Mention the job they have to do: as buyer, as treasurer (who responsible for the money), as picker, as writer (who responsible with the note).
- You can choose right time to go to the market. I think you can use time from sport, art, economic or biology lesson (well, from my opinion we will do / talk about it so why don't we go ^^ ? ).
- Make a list for things they want to buy (fruits / vegetables / spices, etc). Count and predict how much they will spend (2-3 USD) and then give the money to the treasurer. They will do bargain to get better price (and therefore they will learn about social values and economic at once).
- Tell them, they can choose to cooperate and buy with other groups, so they can get cheaper prize (and learn about team work).

STEP 2, DISCUSSION:
- Cut fruits into small pieces and give it for all children. For vegetables (carrot, cucumber, potato) you may cook it first. For spices (cinnamon, ginger, pepper, clove, chili) you can use sense of smell to identify items.
- Ask them about the taste, prize (which one is cheaper and why?)
- How a merchant determine the item prize? (mention transportation, loading effectiveness, tax, seed - fertilizer prize, etc).
- Discuss about exotic / local / endemic species (if they buy it). What is the difference between this species with others?

Tips:
- For smaller children you must limit the things they buy. 1 or 2 items are enough and you need more facilitator / teachers to accompany.
- Seek for exotic / local / endemic items. You can discuss more about biodiversity in your specific place.
- There are differences between buying items in local and hypermarket. Try to encourage children to shop in local market. Discuss the benefit, to give them deeper understanding about the social, economic and humanity value they brought when they spend their money for the local community.

Picture taken from http://indonesia-tomorrow.com

Happy New Year 2010

MERRY X-MAS 2009 and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010
May the joy, the spirit and the music being played every day... ^_^

Picture : children play near the paddy field in Cimande, Bogor (RMI)