I've been thinking a lot about the difference between Responding and Reacting. There is an important distinction between the two. You are either in control of the situation or the situation is in control of you.
When we are faced with a challenging situation, do we react or do we respond? It can take a lot of practice to opt for the latter. Students have not practiced this skill much, so it's important for adults model this skill for them, in and out of the classroom. Allowing yourself to pause and take a breath gives your mind the time to respond.
Pause - Breathe - Respond.
I hadn't yet cleaned out my worm bin, and I needed to take a break from my painting project, so I took a couple hours to work with the worms. Amy Donovan and the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District got my classroom set up with the worms, the bin, and the information to keep and raise red wigglers. The Red Worms were funded by the MassDEP's free K-12 environmental educational program The Green Team. This project is part of a MassDEP School Recycling Assistance grant. Each Greenfield School can receive a free worm bin as the "hands-on" portion of the school district-wide compost program that is being funded by the 3-year grant.
My worms have been doing their job, turning kitchen scraps into usable compost. I cleaned out three popcorn buckets full of vermicompost!
Here is some more information about vermiculture from The Worm Ladies, where my orginal pound of worms came from.
As I was going I did my best to save any small worms and egg casings I found. I hope they're happy with a new bin full of bedding and scraps.
So, I guess I lied about not posting much. I just came across this great interactive about Systems Thinking. Click Here
"The Habits of a Systems Thinker describe ways of thinking about how systems work and how actions taken can impact results seen over time. They encompass a spectrum of thinking strategies that foster problem-solving and encourage questioning. Though “habit” is defined as a usual way of doing things, the Habits of a Systems Thinker do not suggest that systems thinkers are limited by routine ways of thinking. Rather, the Habits encourage flexible thinking and appreciation of new, emerging insights and multiple perspectives." watersfoundation.org
What habits do you have? What habits are important in science?
