entry 4
I have arrived at the end of the first week of classes (or units, as they are called). I have no pictures of my professors to share with you ;) ...but, will indulge you with some tidbits of my educational experience and thoughts thus far.
Before I do so, you may be curious about the similarities and differences between my experiences at UWM/UWW and Deakin. Although Deakin is a very small "uni", as they say, I don't think I could give you a tour without referencing a campus map yet. With about 150 students, Deakin is a modest university where it seems everybody knows everybody... and yes, I would speculate that, in time, everybody calls you friend. The staff are warm and there are fruit baskets on every corner... literally; stocked with apples, kiwis, and cuties, ripe for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Some elementary school lessons are the sparks to ignite the fire to move in a better direction.
I thought she was going to give us an overview, or maybe just read the first couple pages... "And now, The Lorax, by Dr. Suess"; I imagined she would have been content working weekends as a reader on WPR, or at the local library, with a young, horseshoe shaped audience. I was engaged to the last word. Truffula trees and corporate greed. What I didn't know was, The Lorax, written in the 1960s, didn't take as much ridicule as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I haven't yet read it, but along with a few other popular conservationist/environmentalist, is on my list... I remember watching black and white clips in, what I remember to be my Natural Resources class at UWM, of trucks spring DDT down beaches with a wake of children, bouncing behind. Have we come a long way since then? ...I see children, and adults alike, bouncing in and out of McDonalds (or "Mackers" as they say...) Chemicals don't require a red carpet.
Our labs and exam sessions are called "pracs". We played with goldfish in my Aquaculture and the Environment prac; getting our hands dirty weighing and measuring around 50 goldfish and recording water quality parameters from our individual tanks. (Technically, I have a pet goldfish... Wondering what to name him or her...) Water quality includes pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate contents, which would come from goldfish waste. This reminds me of the Mississippi River back home. Many times over I have learned how it has, unfortunately, become a deadly syringe, fed by agricultural runoff, to a pocket of life in the Gulf of Mexico, termed "the dead zone". Or should I capitalize that? I prefer not to, as it would give the condition permanence. If you have not been enlightened on the subject, here is a link:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/2013/06/130621-dead-zone-biggest-gulf-of-mexico-science-environment/
Before I do so, you may be curious about the similarities and differences between my experiences at UWM/UWW and Deakin. Although Deakin is a very small "uni", as they say, I don't think I could give you a tour without referencing a campus map yet. With about 150 students, Deakin is a modest university where it seems everybody knows everybody... and yes, I would speculate that, in time, everybody calls you friend. The staff are warm and there are fruit baskets on every corner... literally; stocked with apples, kiwis, and cuties, ripe for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Some elementary school lessons are the sparks to ignite the fire to move in a better direction.
I thought she was going to give us an overview, or maybe just read the first couple pages... "And now, The Lorax, by Dr. Suess"; I imagined she would have been content working weekends as a reader on WPR, or at the local library, with a young, horseshoe shaped audience. I was engaged to the last word. Truffula trees and corporate greed. What I didn't know was, The Lorax, written in the 1960s, didn't take as much ridicule as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I haven't yet read it, but along with a few other popular conservationist/environmentalist, is on my list... I remember watching black and white clips in, what I remember to be my Natural Resources class at UWM, of trucks spring DDT down beaches with a wake of children, bouncing behind. Have we come a long way since then? ...I see children, and adults alike, bouncing in and out of McDonalds (or "Mackers" as they say...) Chemicals don't require a red carpet.
Our labs and exam sessions are called "pracs". We played with goldfish in my Aquaculture and the Environment prac; getting our hands dirty weighing and measuring around 50 goldfish and recording water quality parameters from our individual tanks. (Technically, I have a pet goldfish... Wondering what to name him or her...) Water quality includes pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate contents, which would come from goldfish waste. This reminds me of the Mississippi River back home. Many times over I have learned how it has, unfortunately, become a deadly syringe, fed by agricultural runoff, to a pocket of life in the Gulf of Mexico, termed "the dead zone". Or should I capitalize that? I prefer not to, as it would give the condition permanence. If you have not been enlightened on the subject, here is a link:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/2013/06/130621-dead-zone-biggest-gulf-of-mexico-science-environment/
On a lighter note, I saw a beautiful rainbow today that straddled the river. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
I wish I wouldn't of waited so long to read your blog Jen! This is great and I enjoyed every word!! :).sounds like Australia has just been amazing so far!! I loved reading about your adventures and I really love that there are fruit baskets at school?! That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying it! Ya.. The fruit baskets are pretty schweet... Miss ya and love your name ;)
ReplyDelete150 students is pretty rare and makes for a great college experience. Carson was courageous in breaking new ground. Thanks for the very informative link. Dad.
ReplyDelete