My Attempt at Living a Life

Genius Hour - Working with Student to Do Stuff - Social Entrepreneurship as an Experiment

2023-03-29T18:09:00.009-07:00

Disclaimer: Here is my Genius Hour Project. I apologize that it just me writing about what I pursued over the last two weeks. I apologize again that I am not done. That is the great thing about good work, you never finish.

The students I have started working with will continue doing good things. We will finish this work and go on to do much more. We have plans to try for a TreesCanada grant in the fall, and who knows where we will go from there.

What Is My Passion?

That's the point of a Genius Hour - to work on something you are passionate about.

(What Is 20 Percent Time?, 2014)

"Imagine if someone told you to take a whole day, once a week, to set your regular work aside and explore something you’re really passionate about. Want to learn to speak Italian? Go ahead. Always wished you could improve your photography? Get on it. Just think classic cars are really cool? Off you go, then." (What Is 20 Percent Time?, 2014)

I have pursued a variety of passions in my life. That's the thing, I love life, I love my job, and I love everyone. It is a problem. I find it hard to focus on one thing, and I am dedicated to everything I do.

For that reason, I ran through a list of things that I had wanted to do... to dedicate myself to for the next two weeks. When I phrased it to myself that way - dedicating myself to something for two week - I realized that I already knew.

I wanted to step further down the path of student driven, project-based learning. I have been inspired by parts of Yong Zhao's discussion of new pedagogies and I wanted to try things out.

This video in particular has been both inspiring and troublesome for me.

I love the idea of students who are motivated by desire to learn. I love the idea of students creating things that better their communities. But I do not give much credence to his views on hyper-specialization - that we should only do the things we are good at, to become amazing at those things and leave behind anything we are not.

But the idea that students can be driven by a question or a problem to solve, the idea that students can explore solutions and use or develop their strengths - that is an idea worth pursuing.

That is my passion - engaging students in interesting pursuits.

So that is what I did. I started working with students who were interested in creating meaningful change in their communities. We would look for some "good stuff" that needed doing and then we would find ways to "do good stuff"

What Good Stuff?

I had money from LSF (Learning for a Sustainable Future), after attending a Climate Action Summit with 4 students. We had yet to do the "action" part of that summit. In fact, the class I taught had ended with first semester, and I had no students to work with.

This last week, I put a call out. I was looking for a group who would be interested in doing some hard work to make something happen.

I didn't know what we would make happen yet. As Dickens wrote in a Christmas Carol, "That must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate." (STAVE I. Marley’s Ghost. Page 1, 2018)

That is an important part of how a project like this has to begin. If I knew the plan, then it would not be student directed.

My plan had to be to have no real plan at all. My plan had to be this:

1. Put an announcement on the school's PA system:

2. Show up and mention the money from LSF.

3. See what they wanted to do.

Issues.

There were issues with this approach.

Not enough money: $500 isn't much money to get anything accomplished, so we would have to either raise more, or work within that limit.
The type of project: The project must focus on sustainability. So, I had to hope that students who heard my announcement would be driven to work on a project with this focus, and with this amount of money.

(Our Canada Project – Our Canada Project – Projet Notre Canada, n.d.)

Deadlines - doing projects in the winter is tough - some of the examples have focused on planting trees and gardens. But I received the money with lots of snow on the ground. So, starting in the spring seemed like the smart thing, except there is a deadline - May 24th, 2023.

We Met:

But there was another problem. Some students were not making it to meetings:

How Do We Proceed?

We met. We outlines some ideas: Planting trees, planting a water garden to deal with excess surface ground water, starting a composting program, and encouraging more active transportation at our school.

We didn't decide anything at the first meeting. The kids who were at the second meeting decided to pursue the idea of encouraging active transportation.

Tree planting can be expensive, and we noted that we might have more luck in the fall with Trees Canada- a non-profit who provides grants for greening school grounds, or planting fruit bearing trees.

(“Community Tree Grants,” n.d.)

Water gardens are too expensive on this short timeline. But we can encourage active transportation in a variety of ways. First, we need bike racks. Kennebecasis Valley High School only has one bike rack. The pictures below effectively demonstrate the issue with it.

This lonely bike rack is positioned at the side of the school, not near the entrance. It is in the mud, making it a messy business to approach it. Lastly, there are many bikers, but only one rack.

The picture above does not do justice to the number of students who actually lock their bicycles to this. I went out on the wrong day, but there are often eight or more bikes attached to the rack, and to each other.

The students in our club - named the "Do Good Stuff Club" (they chose the name) - decided that we could get some new bike racks.

Of course, my job in this whole thing is to try and push them further, to see what they can accomplish. I asked, "Will that give us the result we want?"

After some moments of silence, one girl responded with, "It might get more people to use the new bike racks if we put them in a better place."

From there, we continued in the same manner, "Should we buy them or make them?" I'd ask. And a student would chime in with, "We might be able to get more bike racks if we can have them made by welding students at the school." EUREKA! Now the club is working with another class! Oh frabjous day!

Another student suggests that we might need a social media campaign with prizes for students who take pictures or videos riding with friends to school and using the bike racks. To which I remind them that we need to phrase the post carefully - we don't want students taking pictures of themselves in traffic, and putting themselves in danger after all.

And Now... What?

The fact is that the students will not be done before I need to submit my Genius Hour Project for class.

My students meet once a week - many of them are already involved in other projects. Some students are involved in Tech Crew, Anti-Racism Club, Spring Musical, Philosophy Club (which I also run), along with a host of other obligations.

But we have a great start.

Students have chosen a path - encouraging active transportation (biking).
They have decided to work with the welding class, contacted the teacher and are waiting to hear back from him about designs.
They have started planning where to put the new bike racks. A place to the left of the main entrance. It is on pavement, not mud. It is more conveniently located.

They have started planning what they will say to their principal, to gain permission to move forward.

That last part is an important hitch. We will need to get permission from the school's administration, and the cooperation of the facilities manager to place the bike racks where we want them.

Conclusion

This is my Genius Hour project. Working with students who are interested in doing good things. I put out a call and offered an opportunity. That reflects a lot of what I like about this course and what I have learned though the readings and the process of working through the associated assignments.

Social entrepreneurship is about making positive changes in our communities. It's about creating solutions, not profits. Netukulimk is an amazing Mi'kmaq word for sustainability. These are the things that the students are learning by doing as Yong Zhao suggests: engaging in learning by doing things they are interested in - by doing things they are good at.

What would I do differently?

I know that the only thing I would do differently is to start earlier. I thought that starting later would give me more options when the ground thawed, but if I had started working with students earlier, then I would have had more time to develop more options.

Sources

STAVE I. Marley’s Ghost. Page 1. (2018, November 5). The Morgan Library & Museum. https://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/dickens/ChristmasCarol/4

What is 20 Percent Time? A Conversation with A.J. Juliani. (2014, October 16). Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/20-time-ajjuliani/

My Deep Learning Food Challenge

2023-02-28T18:09:00.006-08:00

THE START:

I’m a teacher and when I sit down to plan my year I always start with the curriculum and ask how I can engage students – through those outcomes - to do meaningful work, creating meaningful products, or to solve real problems.

If we want to engage our students and grow their understanding. We need to be rooted in the curriculum and have an understanding of why it matters to our students and to the world at large. That set of skills and that content need to be framed in a way that is engaging, and meaningful. It must exist outside the wall of the school.

We need to create connections with students, working and learning alongside them. (Fullan & Langworthy, n.d.) We need to have the skills, the deep roots to help them grow. This will help us to develop deep learning in our clases. To extend this metaphor, we need to have deep roots. Peter Wohllenben’s book, The Hidden Life of Trees gives us an understanding of how these deep roots make connections between trees. They share information and nutrients. Older trees provide aid to the younger trees. (Wohlleben, 2016)

We can learn a lot from nature in this sense. In the new pedagogies, we can develop deep learning alongside our students. Deep learning is about finding new knowledge, or discovering knowledge for ourselves. (Fullan & Langworthy, n.d.) As teachers, we need to be down in the mud with our kids, getting into the dirt of the learning process and engaging in meaningful, real-world activities.

In short: I need to be engaged in this process myself, in my own life. So, what action can I take to engage in deep learning, and also have a real-world impact? I spent some time thinking about this and I created a relatively comprehensive plan.

What I am going to do:

1. Assess my family’s food consumption habits:

a. Create a map of my food.

b. Discuss bananas

2. Make changes at the grocery store – using the Sobey’s “What is In Season?” guide.

a. Challenges – kid’s tastes.

3. Research local markets

a. talk to a local butcher

b. Challenges – inflation and food prices of local food.

4. Plan meals with local in mind.

a. Challenges – My perception is that there is limited variety from local, and that will mean that I have to purchase some food that is not local. Is that acceptable?

5. Give an example shopping list and a meal plan.

My Global Food Choices

Assessing my Food

It isn’t that difficult to see that I can be more sustainable in my consumption habits. The hard part is knowing what is ethically right to do. My tea comes from England, and is grown in Kenya (Ahmad Tea). They have many ethical practices, but the greenhouse gases generated to get the tea to me is a problem. Should I stop drinking tea? Or is there a more local option?

The Tea Solution? Check the Shop Local website. As it turns out, Millennia Tea is right in my back yard.

The Complication

We need to recognize that there is usually a local solution. But it comes with a literal cost. It is more expensive and buying more expensive products may be more sustainable for the environment, but it isn’t sustainable for me economically.

There is always a tradeoff, and this endeavor to personally engage in deep learning has brought me to a crossroads: What can I keep doing? What foods can I give up? What can I shift? And, what problematic purchases am I willing to accept?

I cannot remove all problematic products and continue to afford to live the way I do. From this realization, I need to take account of some of the other foods that my family consumes.

The Banana Problem

The first problem on my list: Bananas from Guatemala. They come from far away. That’s a problem. But is there an ethical banana I can buy? After a quick search through some blogs, I wound up on Global Citizen, and I have come to the conclusion that I should avoid buying them. They have a history of being ethically questionable. (Is There Such Thing As An Ethical Banana?, 2015) And finding a banana that is grown ethically in New Brunswick is all but impossible.

So, it looks like I will have to get my potassium and B vitamins from more potatoes. Good old New Brunswick potatoes and McCain french fries. It’s a good thing that the Atlantic provinces grow a lot of them.

And in the end, I won’t bore you with all my bad choices. Pouring through my cupboards and remarking at every bad decision would be like beating a dead metaphor. And trying to find an individual solution for each of the pantry problems is too cumbersome. So rather than try that, I am just going to plan a week’s worth of meals and see how close I can come to a local menu.

My Personal Solution

To help me with this, I found a tool provided by Sobeys. It is their “What’s in Season? Your Guide to Canadian Produce in the Atlantic Provinces” (What’s in Season?, n.d.) From their guide, I can easily identify the produce that I can use in my meal planning. The stuff will be in season, and grown in the Atlantic Provinces. I had never considered that creating meals that are sources as locally would be this easy. But there is one problem: Selection.

In winter – which is the season at the time of this writing – as far as fruit is concerned, I can access apples and cranberries. That’s it. Slim pickings. As for vegetables? In New Brunswick we can get Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, garlic, cultivated mushrooms, Onion (red & yellow), parsnips, potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, and turnips in season. That means Taco Tuesday will either have to be a thing of the past until early Fall - that’s when field tomatoes are available – or I will have to accept the fact that some of my meals will have foods from farther away.

I am learning that I won’t be able to be perfect, as I go along this journey of food discovery.

Either way, it looks like I will be roasting a lot of local chicken and stewing a lot of local beef and pork. In Quispamsis, we are lucky to have several local butchers. I have not used them very frequently for one important reason: price. The question is whether I can afford to buy meat locally, or will I have to compromise? It is a big question for a lot of people. And it brings me back to my earlier complication – will these choices be economically sustainable for me?

What can I actually afford to do? It is a question on a lot of people’s minds. So, what can you afford?

The answer is that we can afford to have a talk with our local butcher about our desire to eat as locally as possible. Butchers are willing to create meat boxes, or freezer packs. They are willing to help you shop in a way that works for you. That is one benefit of shopping with your local butcher – at least it is here in Quispamsis.

My answer to this problem was to stop buying meat at the supermarket and go instead to Kuinshoeve Meats. They have everything I need to buy local. Most of their meat comes from Sussex, New Brunswick, which is a forty-five minute drive from my house.

The Immediate Plan

I have to accept that I can’t immediately change every meal. My morning oatmeal and my lunch of chickpeas, cucumber, and tomatoes will have to stay the same, while I work to make an impact on our family dinners. That is something I can live with. Again, I have to remind myself that incremental change has the power to create lasting change. Dinners first, then lunches and breakfast. Then I can tackle the whole pantry one item at a time, while balancing affordability with locality.

And I'm going to use these cookbooks to help:

Here is my meal plan for dinners this week:

Monday:

Roast Chicken – Recipe from Save with Jamie, by Jamie Oliver (Oliver, 2016, p.78). Chicken from Kuinshoeve Meats.
Mashed New Brunswick Potatoes
Boiled Nova Scotia Carrots

(NOTE: The spices and lemon are not local)

Tuesday:

Chicken Lasagna – Recipe from Save with Jamie, by Jamie Oliver (Oliver, 2016, p.84)

Wednesday:

Beef and Ale Stew – Recipe from Jamie’s Food Revolution, by Jamie Oliver (Oliver, 2009, p.180), Beef from Kuinshove Meats. Ale from Foghorn Brewing Company, in Rothesay, New Brunswick. I chose Golden Grover English Pale Ale.

(NOTE: The celery was from an old bunch of celery I had been regrowing in a glass and the can of NO NAME brand diced tomatoes was bought at Superstore, but it is a product of Canada.)

Thursday and Friday:

Leftovers.

Reflection:

All in all, I didn’t do terribly. I also didn’t fully succeed. There are too many things that we are used to buying that come from too far away. I found Tim Tam biscuits come from Australia. That is too far for cookies to travel. As for spices, fruits, and veggies. I don’t know how to deal with a lack of tomatoes in the winter. I cook too many recipes with them.

The Brightside: The three meals we made were hearty. My wife and kids ate them and they lasted us all week. I can see making them again, but the problem is that I need to find a new set of meals for this coming week and I will undoubtedly have trouble finding ways to source everything locally in the middle of February in New Brunswick.

As an example of this, I can’t make my lunches as they are if I source them locally. There aren’t any locally grown cucumbers in any of the local markets. I have decided to continue to buy some vegetables out of season because I am trying to cut down the amount of meat I eat. For the last month, I have been eating two vegetarian meals a day. I started this after watching Before the Flood, 2016. In the film, Gidon Eshel, Ph.D, a research professor of environmental physics at Bard College states that one of the biggest changes we can make is cutting the amount of beef we consume. I’m proud to say that I’ve done that.

I started eating oatmeal in the morning made with oat milk, the better of the milks according to a TED-Ed video titled “Which Type of Milk is Best for You?” (O'Sullivan & Cunningham, 2020).

Then I added a vegetarian chickpea and cucumber wrap that my son wanted to try – he’s been trying to cut down on his meat intake too.

All in all, I think I did well. I have learned about which foods are available in season at my local supermarket. I’ve branched out and found a new butcher to get local meats, mostly raised in Sussex, New Brunswick. And, I found frugal recipes in a new recipe book – Save with Jamie, so that I can use one dinner and cook from the leftovers again and again.

All of these things will help me to eat more locally, cut food waste, and reduce the overall amount of meat I eat each week. Those are all important steps that I would not have taken.

I’ve also learned that I have a long way to go in my purchasing habits if I am going to shrink my global food-consumption footprint. I just need to tackle this problem one item at a time. I’m going to fix my tea consumption next, but I’m not sure my coffee habit can handle it.

My original plan of action had a step six:

Use the almanac to plan a garden to offset some of those purchases.

a. Measure my garden space.

b. Plan my garden in a diagram.

I will make plans for that step in the spring. I even found a planting calendar for my area on this website – 2023 Planting Calendar – Old Farmer’s Almanac.

I’ll get there. It is all a matter of intention, process, and refinement.

References:

Appian Way Productions, RatPac Entertainment. (2016). Before the flood. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCKEFbBmadg&t=4787s.

Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. (n.d.). A Rich Seam How New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning.

Is There Such Thing As An Ethical Banana? (2015, July 27). Global Citizen. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/is-there-such-thing-as-an-ethical-banana/

Oliver, J. (2009). Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover how to cook simple, delicious, affordable meals. Hyperion.

Oliver, J. (2016). Save with Jamie. HarperCollins.

O'Sullivan, J. J., & Cunningham, G. E. (n.d.). Which type of milk is best for you? - jonathan J. o'sullivan & grace E. cunningham. TED. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://ed.ted.com/lessons/which-type-of-milk-is-best-for-you-jonathan-j-o-sullivan-grace-e-cunningham

What’s in Season? Your Guide to Canadian Produce in the Atlantic Provinces. (n.d.). Sobeys Inc. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.sobeys.com/en/articles/whats-season-guide-canadian-produce-east/

Wohlleben, Flannery, T. F., Simard, S., Billinghurst, J., & Simard, S. (Suzanne). (2016). The hidden life of trees : what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world (Billinghurst, Trans.; English edition.). David Suzuki Institute

Changing the way we assess can spark creative learning!

2023-02-09T07:28:00.001-08:00

Mr. Jones is on the left

In my teaching practice, I always look for ways that will engage students in meaningful work. Creating things that matter in the world is an important part of what I do. Yong Zhao discusses this meaningful work in his talk, "World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students" at the Debate on Education, and event organized by Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia) in 2013.

Zhao says that schools have been "sausage makers" in the past. Getting kids to do well on standardized tests, and trying to make them all into one thing, isn't working. And in that statement we can all find great truth. We know that our system is not working optimally.

Zhao says that we need to hyperspecialize. Testing a fish on how well it can climb a tree is wrong. And we can all agree with that statement too. But, there is a flaw in the logic. We aren't fish, and monkeys, and birds. We are humans. All of us. And we have more in common with each other than do fish and monkeys and birds.

In Zhao's statements, he argues in favor of concepts like multiple intelligences, which have been debunked as a thoery. Gardner... found it necessary to debunk [this theory] once again in the new millennium. Survey designers simply exposed yet another, very prevalent myth: Tailoring instruction to pupils' MI intelligence profiles promotes learning." (Rousseau, 2021) This is not the case.

It is with this in mind that I present a concept. We must teach content. We all need content knowledge for context in understanding the world we live in and how it functions, if we are to solve the problems we are faced with.

Zhao argues that we can use the internet to find content. We can look up any information we need, so why should we learn it? The answer is simple. We can't start on a problem, realize we know nothing about it, then spend hours researching, and start all over again at the beginning, trying to solve the problem.

We can use that method of resorting to the internet for information, when it comes to very specific bits of information, in a moment, to help us move forward, but even according to the most basic elements of deign-thinking and entrepreneurial mindset, we must have some basic grasp of the problem, the concepts surrounding it, and some general knowledge, if we are to ever begin to be successful.

We need to focus on Growth Mindset (Dweck, 2016), which holds the belief that anyone can learn and that it is a process of applied practice and focus. It stands in contrast to much of what Zhao says in his talk in 2013.

And from there we can begin to discuss innovations in assessment practices and how they can spur on innovation.

I learned a great deal from a colleague of mine, Isaac Jones - a Kennebecasis Valley High School teacher, and it is his new methods of marking and how they are used that I find most innovative. They can open the door for creative pursuits, and solve many problems teachers face every day.

Mr. Jones teaches English and has an interesting way of marking. It looks a lot like a New Brunswick Middle School report card. He only enters marks for outcomes in the curriculum. All work done in his class is explicitly related to the outcomes and he triangulates data using conversations, observations, and final products.

He has a paper gradebook where he records marks, on a scale of 1-5, based on this triangulation. For example: When he stops at a student's desk, while they are reading, writing, working on a product, etc., he asks them questions about their process. Through these moments of engagement, he learns more about their proficiency than by collecting an essay at the end. Essays are becoming almost meaningless as an end-product-assessment-tool. Looking at the final product without watching the process is not valuable, especially with the advent of OpenAI's Chatbot GPT.

Another interesting thing about this method is that it gives multiple data collection points along the process of creation. It can be applied easily in an course as well - Science, while looking at scientific method; or Art, while in the process of creation.

I'm starting to use this method in the Civics 10 pilot course in New Brunswick this year, where I move around the class and listen to conversations, make observations, and chat with students to see what they know and what conclusions they have draws about a variety of topics that will help them to become civically engaged citizens.

That is the aim: To use less time testing and quizzing and writing reports or presentations. To use more time, instead, on finding problems that are worth paying attention to, developing a base of knowledge to work from, and employing design-thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset so that students can engage in age-appropriate civic action projects.

To better understand what Mr. Jones was attempting to do, and to understand the benefits of his system, I interviewed him. I wanted to understand his motivation, the difficulties he had to overcome, and what benefits there were of his system in developing more creative, growth-mindset, entrepreneurial citizens.

What follows is that interivew:

Looking at grading practices, what motivated you to take the steps you have taken to realize the innovation/social entrepreneurial accomplishments you have attained? Why change?

o Data collection and assessment has had to change to adapt to accommodate the modern students as well as ever-changing technology. Assessment needs to be flexible, diversified, and accurate. Accuracy is increasingly difficult with advances in technology and the commonplace use of devices in school. Collecting evidence in a variety of ways has helped learners find more opportunities to reach individualized goals that can be accommodated to their strengths in the classroom.

· What barriers have you had to overcome (personally or professionally) and how did you do this?

o Professionally my assessment changes have been welcomed by the school leadership. Personally I have found my assessment practices have been changing the ways I teach and interact with the kids for the better. More time for conversations, conferencing, and re-assessment (with accuracy!) have all resulted in positive changes in my practice. I have had to be more organized with data collection, as well as more strict with how and when I permit students to provide evidence of learning.

· What recommendations do you have for fostering more creativity, innovation, or entrepreneurship in schools/society/organizations? How can we engage students to develop entrepreneurial mindset/design-thinking/creativity/thinking for innovation/social entrepreneurship?

o Teaching core skills in English is still relevant and valued in my classroom. Yet, I also provide plenty of opportunities for choice. Students cultivate their own learning experiences by the books they choose to read, the movies they watch, and the assignments they choose to tackle.

· Do you see your efforts contributing to social, economic, cultural, or environmental health and well-being? If so, how? What will this new structure for grading accomplish that might help contribute to any of those areas, or push students to more creative thinking / or any of the other things mentioned above?

o I think my current teaching and assessment practices allow students to relate what they are learning in the class to their own lives and interests. My hope is that each lesson and assignment feels to the students to be either a practical skill or a bit of useful information that will help them not just academically, but also professionally and socially.

What I gain from this conversation is that allowing students to have more time to work on practical skills will make them better able to adapt to this ever changing world. Using conversations and observations will make students more ready to collaborate, and using this assessment framework can be extended in my classes to allow for more engaged, active, project-based learning opportunities, rather than old-school methods of assessment.

The product is less important than the process, and that feels more in line with design-thinking, and iterative processes than other antiquated methods of teaching and assessing.

Sources:

Dweck. (2016). Mindset : the new psychology of success (Updated edition.). Ballantine Books.

Rousseau. (2021). “Neuromyths” and Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory: A Comment on Gardner,

2020. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 720706–720706. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720706

UOC - Open University of Catalonia (Director). (2013, January 7). Yong Zhao - World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGOInNGMovk

ACAPSJ is a Wonderful Source of Vigor

2022-12-04T15:46:00.005-08:00

Inspiration Through Social Media

I first encountered ACAP Saint John through Facebook. A friend of mine, who enjoys volunteer work, posted about the Marsh Creek Cleanup, in 2018. I saw it as an opportunity to get out of the how and make a meaningful impact. It was low-risk and high impact. I could get garbage out of an important waterway, and it took such a small time commitment.

Things like that clean-up make it easy for people to get involved and feel like they are having an impact and that is what drew me to the organization in 2018.

It's what draws me to them as a source of vigor again today.

Overview

According to the ACAP SJ website, they seek to create change by providing environmental solutions:

"Since 1992, ACAP Saint John has become known for partnering and working with the community to help provide solutions to existing and pending environmental problems." (ACAPSJ, 2022)

Programs

ACAP Saint John engages in a variety of projects

Saint John Harbour Cleanup - 2014
Water Testing - on-going
Marsh Creek and Shoreline Cleanups- on-going
Tree Planting - on-going
Rain Gardens - on-going
Erosion Prevention - future project in Redhead/Mispec Beach
Dryer Microplastic Collection - on-going

The Interview

I reached out ACAP Saint John because I'd recently taken students to The Ville in Fredericton. It was a part of a climate action summit, organized by Learning for a Sustainable Future. The students and I received a $500 climate action project grant, and we were deciding what to do with it.

For that reason, we reached out to ACAP for direction, and as a result I was inspired by their work all over again. What follows in an interview with their Climate Change Coordinator - Jamylynn MacDonald.

You have had an interesting education – paleoclimate reconstruction in Canadian permafrost, air quality and VOCS at oil refineries, and a masters of climate change from University of Waterloo. What drew you to ACAP?

Yeah, I do.

I actually moved out to Saint John in 2019 when I was doing my masters in climate change from the University of Waterloo.

I grew up in Ontario. And then I worked in the environmental field after my undergrad for a while, decided I wanted to learn a bit more, saw that program, which was relatively new at University of Waterloo. I joined that and ended up coming out here, which I really loved, so I stuck around and kept working here at ACAP.

As the Climate change coordinator, what does your average day look like?

It varies. There is quite a large component that we do in office.

There's a lot of project coordination that's involved in this job, emailing, resourcing, researching.

A lot of that, we tried to do in the winter so that when we have the nicer weather we can complete our field projects which include the monitoring of whatever projects we get that year.

We work off of the funding cycle where we apply for grants around this time of year. We've been doing a lot of that. And then when we find out what we get, we make the plan of how to do it, how we're going to get it all done.

So, right now it's a lot of office work.

It’s really different than in the summer when we're in the office for 5 minutes in the morning, out in the field for the rest of the day back just to check in and then home.

It's dynamic, which is a good thing because it can get stagnant to always have a repetitive workday.

I’m looking at Sustainability through my master’s program and I’ve volunteered with ACAP a little in the past, and I am wondering what ways you see ACAP tackling issues of sustainability in our region

ACAPSJ has been around for 30 years, always focusing on getting community members out, doing cleanups, but also getting hands on doing water quality monitoring. [We have focused on] teaching people how to use different test kits that they can use like a little kind of similar to what you would use to test the water in a pool but looking at the parameters that are important for ecosystem health.

So that was a big part of when ACAP first was founded in the early 90s. Then it transitioned away as the capacity of the organization to be able to do the water quality monitoring themselves.

[Now] we do a lot of cleanups. We do a lot of tree plantings. We've been doing a lot of climate change gardens and stormwater retention types of projects where we get people out and involved in those.

And then for our climate change work, we're just finishing up a project all about natural assets. [We are] looking at how nature in Saint John is a huge asset to the city and how they need to be more sustainable when thinking about development and how they can use these assets to really make a better space, but also to make it easier for them like.

Also, this year we're wrapping up our fish and harbor monitoring. We will be writing up a final report that covers all of the species we found this year.

We're finishing up a project on micro-plastics this year where we looked at how to remove microplastics from people's clothing by using a filter that goes on your laundry machine. We had citizen scientists participate where they took one of these filters, attached it and then they've been collecting their microplastic, so it prevents them from going out into the sewer.

What are some key challenges that you face in making change in this region?

I think funding is definitely one of them. But financial capacity is a barrier for so many things that it's hard to just say it's only here.

We're fortunate we have a lot of support from the city.

I think some of the challenges that we deal with are around water quality. That's one of the big focuses of ACAP, St. John.

We’ve worked really hard to improve water and water quality in the harbor. And since the harbor cleanup in 2014, it kind of just was like “OK, it's better now.”

One of the challenges that we're facing in that aspect is it's not really better now, but it's improved. But there's more to do.

I think it's just maybe that mindset [the community has that] there's no urgency with environmental issues unless it's, you know, as bad as it was back when the raw sewage was [pouring into the harbour].

I go out to these coastal sites and see the erosion and there's not a lot of urgency there to take action. But it is a topic that needs to be at the front of every conversation about development in protection and infrastructure management.

My personal challenge is that urgency, but I think we all struggle with that. We're trying to get people’s attention on these issues. But it's so hard sometimes because it's not right now. A lot of the time we're talking 50 years [when] sea level is going to be half a meter higher and that is not now, but that's coming very soon. Trying to press that urgency is one of the biggest challenges that we have.

Also, there are people who aren’t as passionate about environmental issues and sustainability, so that's a big [challenge] too.

We need to work with people whose priority isn't reducing their carbon footprint. A lot of people in this city are not looking at how they can minimize their energy usage. They're just trying to figure out how they're going to pay their bills. Those things go hand in hand.

Where do you go from here? What is the plan going forward?

We have an opportunity to apply for some funding that's federal, that's not focused on the Wolastoq river. We're going to be trying to hopefully get some money to do some work in a different part of the city over on the east side in through Redhead and out by Mispec Beach. [There are] a lot of streams and a lot of waterways through there. That's the kind of work that we are hoping to do.

I teach grade 9 students who are looking to use a $500 climate action project grant, what are some ways they could use $500 to make a meaningful impact? We’d considered trying to build a greenhouse or implement composting at the school. Even getting more bike racks to encourage active transportation. But $500 doesn’t go very far and some of these projects require long-term commitments, do you have any suggestions?

We do work with high schools [and] at the high school level is where we do need to target more of our energy, and I think maybe starting with the presentation of something we can do over the winter.

[Having that presentation, to get the ball rolling] would be a good way to get them familiar with ACAP a bit more and then we could look at even doing something next year.

[We could look at] getting them involved to do a tree planting, whether it's on the school property, if they want to do a type of like rain garden or like one of these gardens that's retaining storm water, getting them to do those kind of things is a really great way to get them out.

Next Steps

The conversations we had were great. Following this interview we connected about doing some work with my students, encouraging them to get involved in climate action, and finding a way to use our $500 in a meaningful way for our community.

I'm looking forward to following up with ACAPSJ and finding a way to show my students that we can make a difference to the world around us. We can take action to help our communities and fight climate change.

I'm feeling envigorated!

References

ACAP Saint John. (n.d.).What we do, Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.acapsj.org/what-we-do

Mulligan, M. (2017). Chapter 11. In An Introduction to Sustainability: Environmental, social and personal perspective (pp. 173-187).
Routledge.

Roorda, N. (2012). Chapter 2. In Fundamentals of Sustainable Development (pp. 37–77). essay, Routledge.

Reflective Journal - The Consuming Hope and Sadness of Consuming

2022-11-07T17:54:00.002-08:00

The Consuming Hope and Sadness of Consuming

I have kept a journal of my consumption habits for a week. The feeling I get is a mixture of hope and despair. At one point this week, I was sitting at my dining room table, with my head in my hands, wondering if it was possible to make all of the changes I would need to make, in order to live as sustainably as I wanted.

The amount of product knowledge I need to accumulate is staggering. It is helpful to know what I do not know. But it is also scary.

With that in mind, what follows is a week in my life as a consumer – the ads I see and how they influence me, the way I use water, how I travel, the products I use, how I spend money - everything I could account for.

A Note About Reading This Sustainability Reflective Journal

I will make general statements about daily habits and products I use here, to avoid repetition. That way I don’t have to write about brushing my teeth each day with the same toothpaste, or about travelling to work each day.

Hygiene, travel, and two of my meals - breakfast and lunch - are always the same. I like structure. It helps me to make incremental changes. Large, sweeping changes don’t tend to take. They are abandoned easily.

The habits I have, I intend to keep, and here they are:

Travel:

I drive 7.2 km round-trip to work in a Mitsubishi Mirage and I get about 6.0 L/100km. That translates to about 2 liters of gas a week. It isn’t much. And there isn’t much I can do about it right now. I take three bags to work each day – a computer bag, lunch bag, and gym bag. I don’t have a way to carry them, and I can’t afford to solve the problem yet. With winter approaching, a bicycle won’t help me, and I can’t walk that distance in the cold either.

My options to improve my travel related consumption are:

• Bike – not effective in the winter months.

• Buy a second EV – not possible in my current financial situation.

• Walk – 3.6 km is a long way in the winter.

• Carpool – I may start to look at this as an option. This may be something I can do.

Personal Hygiene:

Showering: I take 5-minute showers in warm water. I use products that have minimal packaging and are made from natural ingredients. I’ve worked hard to find products that are made in Canada and have environmental packaging. All these products are purchased locally, mostly from a refillery called Juniper.

I feel pretty good about what I am doing here. But I’m hoping that there might be someone who will raise a question about my habits or a bit of advice for me about how I could be purchasing more sustainably. I welcome the advice.

Grooming: I use Old Spice deodorant, Colgate Total Whole Mouth Health, Layrite Clay Cement for my hair, Prorasso shaving cream in a tube, Nivea aftershave balm, and I use a Parker safety razor. Most of these are not great for the environment. But there is another problem – availability.

It is hard to find good products with environmentally friendly packaging in New Brunswick. I want to switch to toothpaste tabs in a cardboard package but I can’t source any locally. The solution is to buy all my products from one company and have them shipped together, periodically, and to push for more sustainable options at our local shops. Even our local sustainable shops have a hard time sourcing products like toothpaste tabs.

I don’t throw out plastic razors anymore. I bought a safety razor twenty years ago. I replace the safety razorblades and recycle them when I am done.

When I look at my consumption habits here I see a series of small wins and losses. I need better toothpaste and hair products. I have found solutions for my shower and shaving routines though.

Breakfast and Lunch:

I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. Breakfast is oatmeal (Quaker) made with Chocolate Oat Milk, Cinnamon, Raisins, and Flax Seeds. Lunch is carrots, chicken breast, spinach, mustard in a tortilla, an apple, and a banana.

I use Quaker Oats every day. I know there have been issues around Quaker Oats, and their use of pesticides (Weir, 2015). Can I afford to switch to a different company? No. And neither can a many people. It is daunting to find alternatives that are both healthy, packaging conscious, sustainable, and affordable.

On top of that, I look at my banana every day and see that it comes from Honduras, and I find it hard to justify that I am eating food that travelled a greater distance than I have in my life. But what is the fix?

I have so many questions, and so few answers.

The Rest of My Consumption Behaviors

Monday:

Facebook – Northbound Adventure Pants – My thoughts ran like this:

Do I need better hiking pants? Wow, it would be good to have pans with 4-way stretch… What is 4-way stretch? They are waterproof. That’s awesome… {click through}

Oh my gosh, they are $119… NOPE…

Twenty minutes later I have a digital cart full of cheaper ones that are stretchy and waterproof on another websites. And 5 minutes after that - with pants, a new Boston Bruins hat, and a pair of hiking shoes in the digital shopping cart - I’ve decided that I didn’t really need those pants to begin with, so I close the browser window.

I do this far too often. I fill the cart and then think about the shipping and the environmental cost of the packaging, and I question whether I actually need the thing. “Do I need this? Do I actually want it, or was I enticed by a good ad?”

But that’s the thing. We have a lifestyle obsession where we are stuck in a feedback loop of hyper-consumption, looking for happiness in things. We think we can “consume [our] way to a better life.” (Mulligan, 2015, p.35)

On another note, I received a book today. It looked like what would happen if the Sears Wish Book and an award winning children’s book had a baby. It was from Amazon. Which is funny because I’ve been considering giving up my Amazon Prime membership, and today I found this little, charmingly designed book in our mailbox. It looks like a children’s book with its cute, illustrated cover. It suggests that the story it tells is of an anthropomorphic bear and fox, and their journey to find affordable presents for their mouse children.

Inside, it’s just images of toys, mixed with stickers. I’m sure someone thought, “That’ll get them. Give the kids stickers! Then they’ll spend more time looking at the book and asking for things.”

The hard part of it all is the economics. Practicing ethical consumption on a budget is a problem we all face. We want to buy nice gifts for our children for holidays and we can sometimes find them online and with free shipping. It is enticing to not have to worry about going out to get the things you need. The most ethical option is to by secondhand – because it is hard to meet the expectations of our children and the society in which we live, while buying toys that are ethical. But when we look at the concept of ethical consumption, it points to a flaw in our system: “ethical consumption refers to a values-based approach to purchase and consumption which puts the onus on the consumer to exercise his or her choice wisely.” (Mulligan, 2015, p. 42) Why is the onus on the consumer?

Because we are time poor; kept busy and exhausted by work and daily routines like cleaning and preparing meals, along with activities for our children – hockey and ju-jitsu, it is harder for us to make ethical consumer decisions. In our house, we feel the crunch of time and services like Amazon seem to make sense from a money and time saving perspective. But we know that they are not the right thing to do for the environment.

We are lengthening supply chains and cocooning (Mulligan, 2015, p.37) further into our homes. Once we return from work, we don’t want to leave.

The last thought I have for today is that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has me reevaluating my choices with Amazon – shopping, video, and music. I’m also reevaluating the ads I see in social media – why am I seeing these things and what can I do to tweak the algorithm, to disrupt the ads I see?

Daily Consumption Habits

Monday, October 24th:

Compulsive buying: I bought nothing today, but I wanted to buy some hiking pants, but I always ask myself: Do I need this? Do I want this?” before I buy it. I usually don’t need it, and I usually don’t buy it.

Water use: Dishwasher – 12 litres. Laundry - 1 load of cold water laundry on low-water use cycle – 8.4 litres. A note about water: The laundry and dishes need to be done. I could switch to washing dishes by hand, but I need my shower after a workout for hygiene reasons. I keep it short, and I don’t use hot water. For laundry, iur washing machine is efficient and we use it on a cold, low water setting, with a fragrance free detergent from our local refillery – Juniper.

Meals: Breakfasts: This drive me nuts because I’m contending with our established habits of my whole family and it is a balancing act, trying to create change in our household without upsetting the whole family. Cereal boxes are a struggle for me. The plastic bag inside the cardboard box, the shipping cost, and the ingredients. It's a hard fight to win in my house, but I’m trying to move everyone over to eggs and oatmeal every day. It’s a hard sell.

Lunch: There are some good points to celebrate here, but there is some room for growth. I cut out prepackaged lunch snacks this year for our boys’ lunches at school. No bear paws, no Quaker granola bars, no Welch’s fruit snacks. Just fresh food made at home, in reusable containers.

Supper: The cauliflower bites are frozen and prepackaged. These are easy and accessible for a family of two teachers who lack time, but they are not ideal. I’m looking for a solution to this that is also convenient. The broccoli is frozen and in a plastic bag too. I need to switch to fresh produce.

Tuesday, October 25th:

My wife came home with three bags of chips. For me this isn't good. It’s more plastic in my house and I don’t really want to be snacking on chips. The real point here is that I don’t make all of the choices in my house and if we aren’t all making the same choices, then we are only seeing a partial change. I can avoid plastic, chemicals, and make better choices, but if I’m the only one making those choices, then the effect is minimal.

We then find ourselves with few options. We could discuss it. But if understanding isn’t reached, then we are at an impasse, and I’m not going to argue with my wife about a bag of chips.

Compulsive buying: None. I debated buying a new hat, to wear to the hockey rink, but I convinced myself that I didn’t need it. Asking myself if it is a need or a want is an important part of how I try to save money.

Water use: No extraneous water use. No laundry or dishes. Just my 5-minute shower.

Meals: I have nothing to add about breakfast or lunch. They are always the same. But for dinner we had local grass-fed beef, local potatoes, and frozen broccoli. I feel like I’m making good choices here. The problem I’m experiencing as a consumer is that I am starting to feel like there is always a better choice. I could eat chicken instead of beef, but the chicken isn’t local. Is it actually a better choice? I am getting into decision paralysis and that is no way to live.

Wednesday, October 26th:

Compulsive buying: I was shocked today. My credit card was charged $700, and I was notified by email. I asked my wife what it was, and I didn’t know if I wanted it to be fraud or whether I wanted it to be an unannounced large purchase. I didn’t know which would cause more stress.

As it turns out she bought a bunch of new glasses frames online. I don't wear glasses, and I don't really understand the purpose of having multiple frames. I feel like we are victims of hyper-consumption here. We don't really need these things, but they are pretty. We have deep rooted habits and desires related to consumption. We feel we need glasses to match outfits.

The only thing I bought today was Halloween candy. We live in a new neighborhood and I’m anticipating a lot of children. I bought 150 treats.

Standing at the cash, with three carboard boxes, filled with individually wrapped, little chocolates, I wondered if there would ever be a better solution.

Water use: Dishwasher – 12 litres. Laundry - 1 load of cold water laundry on low-water use cycle – 8.4 litres.

Meals: Dinner – Pancakes (self-rising flour, eggs, white milk), local made sausage and bacon, and eggs.

Snack - Halloween candy – we have already started snacking on the tiny, treats. Aero chocolate bars, and Coffee crisp bars.

Dinner was good. The only thing that wasn’t local was the self-rising flour, and I haven’t found a good solution for that yet. As for snack. I love chocolate – particularly Aero bars. But I am being driven mad by Halloween. The waste is phenomenal, and I’m dreading next week.

Thursday, October 27th:

Nothing of note happened today, other than an impromptu dinner purchase:

Meals: Dinner - It was such a tiring day that I just went into the superstore and bought a precooked BBQ chicken and some potato wedges. I didn’t have the energy to cook tired and I just wanted food for my kids so I could get my youngest son to jujitsu practice and take my dog to the dog track. Looking at the plastic packaging half of it is recyclable which is something but not all of it As for the cardboard container that the potato wedges were in it'll compost at least.

Friday, October 28th:

Again, nothing to report, other than food, and drinks. It is Friday, after all, so I stopped at a local microbrewery – Long Bay Brewery.

Meals: Dinner - I bought dinner again today. I went to A&W And I purchased two plant-based, Beyond Meat burgers, and one kid’s cheeseburger. I haven’t managed to get my youngest son to switch to plant based meats. I’m hopeful that reducing our consumption of beef can be helpful. I watched the documentary Before the Flood (2016) years ago and in that film, Gidon Eshel Ph.D discussed that reducing our consumption of red meat could be very helpful. “In the U.S. 47% of land is used for food production, and of that, the lion’s share is just to grow feed for cattle (70%). The things that we actually eat… it’s a percent.” (Stevens, 2016) That is astronomical number in my mind, 70% of what is grown is just to feed cows, when that land could be used to feed people, who only get a percent.

Drinks – I’m so happy with the microbrewery scene in New Brunswick. It’s easy to take a growler to a brewery and get it filled with local beer and create zero consumer waste. At Long Bay Brewery, I also managed to buy a beer where some of the proceeds go to charity – Operation Feed Saint John Pilsner.

Saturday, October 29th:

Saturdays are tough for consumer driven activities. Our family wanted to drive into the city. We took our electric car and feel good about not spending money on gas. We go out for lunch and support local businesses instead of big chains, investing in experience. I got this idea of investing in experiences, rather than things from Niko Stoifberg’s Ted Talk – “Stop Buying Stuff” (Stoifberg,2021) instead of products as much as we can. We take a trip to our local refillery to get more soaps, laundry detergent, shampoo bars, and bamboo toothbrushes. And with each purchase I still feel guilt at the amount of fuel used to ship these good to us. None of these things are local, and there is no other option for sustainable, or zero-waste products. I’d like to relocalize my shopping, but in some ways I can’t.

My mind is also drawn to the fact that my available funds limit the types of products I can buy. The trip to Juniper is expensive. We bought groceries today from the Superstore and try our best to buy local produce, but our options are limited. If we buy from a local market at this time of year, the quality of produce seems to be low, and we would have to buy fresh each day, instead of making one stop and buying for the whole week. Buying fresh each day doesn’t work for our daily schedule. There just isn’t time. And looking through the pictures below, I see that someone snuck some Bear Paws into the cart. There are times when I feel like I am fighting a battle in my house for sustainability and it isn’t… for lack of a better word – sustainable. I can’t keep fighting against the plastic produce bags – we have reusable cloth ones, but the plastic ones turn up in our groceries.

That is enough about my frustrations.

We do buy our meat from a local butcher. And the bonus there is that the meat is also local. We limit our beef consumption to one pound of ground beef for tacos and buy chicken and pork for other meals. One thing I want to do is have a meatless Monday. We used to do this during COVID, but we have stopped recently. It is time to bring it back.

Consumerism and Advertising: A thing that caught my attention today was the Atlantic Lotto Corporation Scratch ‘N Win commercial. People were scratching tickets in bubbles. If ever there was a better metaphor for disconnection and cocooning, I have not seen it.

Sunday, October 30th:

We bought nothing today. We did 4 loads of laundry though at 33.6 litres of water in total. Kids’ clothes, parent clothes, and linens. Thought – we change our linens each week, is there any way we can stretch that? After some research, it seems that the general answer is that we are doing the right thing.

Reflection

There are a couple of things that I’ve reflected on after a week of journaling.

1. Carpooling is an option for me and I am trying it out with my colleagues in the coming week. It won’t work every day, because the scheduling demands of each of our daily lives, but it will be a small thing we can do. We don’t travel far – 3.6 kilometers to work. But it will have an impact.

2. Changing my grooming products - deodorant, toothpaste, and shaving soap. I found a natural deodorant in a cardboard tube, toothpaste tabs, and a great shaving soap, from a Canadian soap company – Old Soul Soap Company.

I spent the last week driving my family crazy about the choices we make, even though I know that this process was not supposed to be stressful, and it wasn’t supposed to devolve into negative thinking. The problem is that we are relying on ethical consumption as a means to solving larger problems.

People can make smart decisions and try to impact the market through ethical consumption. Influencing the market with our behaviors can work. But, at the end of all of this, I’m wondering why it is the consumer who has to create change. Why not governments, legislating change, or corporations adopting ethical production methods and packaging, by and large?

References:

Environmental Working Group, (2022) , “EWG Responds to General Mills and Quaker Oats: 'Legal Is Not the Same as Safe'.”, https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/ewg-responds-general-mills-and-quaker-oats-legal-not-same-safe.

Mattison, M. (2012). Emancipation from affluenza: Leading social change in the classroom. AURA. http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/116

Mulligan, M. (2018). Chapter 3. Consumption and Consumerism (pp. 33 - 49). essay, Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.

Norris, T. (2011). 1 - The Origins and Nature of Consumerism. In Consuming schools: Commercialism and the end of politics (pp. 11–38). essay, University of Toronto Press.

Stoifberg, Niko (2021). “Stop Buying Stuff .” Performance by | Niko Stoifberg , YouTube, TEDxBibliothekZug, 12 July 2021, https://youtu.be/QesWRLsWJA4. Accessed 7 Nov. 2022.

Stevens, Fisher, director. YouTube, Fox, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCKEFbBmadg. Accessed 7 Nov. 2022.

Connecting Ideas in Sustainability - Netukulimk , Land Ethic, and Biophilic Design

2022-10-01T19:19:00.002-07:00

Developing Understanding

What you will need to understand is that I'm living in a house with no trees, suffering from erosion, fighting with the builder, and reading about sustainability. Because of all of those things, I found Netukulimk, Land Ethic, and Biophilic Design to be a beautiful mix of ideas.

Here, Netukulimk is Our Definition of Sustainability

Trying to talk about sustainability with clarity can be difficult. There are a variety of definitions which can be interpreted in as many ways. One example is the way in which The Brundtland Report can be interpreted:

To avoid this ambiguity, we will look to the concept of Netukulimk, as explained by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall, and Kerry Prosper.

(Netukulimk | Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources, n.d.)

The video is short, but full of beautiful and clear explanations of the concept of Netukulimk. In it, Elder Albert Marshall explains that the concept of Netukulimk is the Mi’kmaq word for sustainability. He further explains that “you can take the gift that the creator has given you without compromising the ecological integrity of the area… You cannot compromise the future generations of their abilities not just to sustain themselves but also to be able to appreciate and to maintain that connection to that source of life which is our natural world.” (Netukulimk | Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources, n.d.) The concept is both ancient and novel to me. It feels like something we all know, and yet it is so elegant in the way it is phrased by Elder Albert Marshall, here.

Because the video was on YouTube, and because “way leads onto way,” as Robert Frost so elegantly wrote in “The Road Not Taken”, I did what anyone would – I searched “netukulimk” on YouTube. That search immediately presented me with the next step in understanding the connections I was seeing in my life, in my subdivision, urban planning, and in understanding sustainability. It presented me with Seeking Netukulimk, a documentary by Martha Stiegman.

(Martha Stiegman, 2014)

In Seeking Netukulimk, Kerry Prosper gives us a clear understanding of netukulimk. He states, “Netukulimk means that I cannot take too much of anything. I cannot take it all. I have to make sure that it will grow back, and that it will continue to grow back in the future.” (Martha Stiegman, 2014)

I was amazed to see that the man in this video was the very same who wrote an article for the course I am in. So, I immediately read “Returning to Netukulimk: Mi’kmaq cultural and spiritual connections with resource stewardship and self-governance.” (Prosper et al., 2011, 6) And the concept was brought into focus with this phrase: “avoid not having enough” (Prosper et al., 2011, 6) That central idea stuck with me and immediately made me think of how deeply it contrasts the mentality found in Costco. We can see it lampooned in the example of Monstromart, in The Simpsons season 5, episode 13, “Homer and Apu.”

(Groening et al., 1994)

Who in the world needs a gallon of mayonnaise at Costco?

Netukulimk means that we “have to consider what my children, grandchildren, and my great grandchildren will need.” (Martha Stiegman, 2014). And if we keep consuming things the way we are, and ignoring the idea of having just enough, then there won’t be anything for our great grandchildren.

Land Ethic adds to Netukulimk

I found this idea echoed Land Ethic as proposed by Aldo Leopold.

(Kopecky, 2015)

In Curriculum Studies Gone Wild: Bioregional Education and The Scholarship of Sustainability, Nathan Hensley gives a concise explanation of Leopold’s Land Ethic:

“Leopold provides a moral framework for judging whether human behavior meets the ‘hard test that must be met by all ecologically sustainable cultures.’… A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” (Hensley 2011, 124)

This implies a deep connection to Netukulimk – the concept of doing the right thing for the world and all life, to create sustainability for ecosystems and future generations alike.

He goes on to give a beautiful understanding of the world “as a whole”, that I wish contractors, architects and engineers would take into consideration when designing the urban and suburban landscapes in which we live. Leopold implies that we should, “regard the earth’s parts… as organs… of a whole, each part with a definite function… we should respect [the world] collectively not only as a useful servant but as a living being.” (Hensley 2011, 125)

That seems to be the key to all of this. Living, building, and gaining sustenance - all require an understanding that the world is a whole, and that we should respect it.

This understanding of preservation and connectedness led me to the concept of biophilia.

Biophilic Design Echoes the Past

“Biophilia is defined as the innate human instinct to connect with nature and other living beings. The term is derived from the Greek words for ‘life’ and ‘love or affection;’ making its literal translation ‘love of life.’ This concept is foundational to biophilic design, which utilizes natural materials, patterns, and phenomena to maintain a connection to nature within the built environment.” (Vidovich, 2020)

Biophilic Design is an extension of all these concepts, it “requires reinforcing and integrating design interventions that connect with the overall setting or space. The optimal functioning of all organisms depends on immersion within habitats where the various elements comprise a complementary, reinforcing, and interconnected whole.” (Kellert, 2022)

Most people think of interior design when they talk about biophilic design. But there seems to be more at play here. Thinking of the interconnected whole, and the functioning of all organisms. There are echoes of Netukulimk and Land Ethic here. It takes us back to, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” (Hensley 2011, 124) And to considering “what my children, grandchildren, and my great grandchildren will need.” (Martha Stiegman, 2014

Extending Netukulimk, Land Ethic, and Biophilic Design

What if we designed houses, subdivisions, urban areas with an understanding of the interconnectedness of the whole, and the functioning of all organisms? What if we used biophilia in our designs.

For example, the house I currently live in is built in a new subdivision where all the trees were cleared from the landscape. This ignored the ecosystems and the balance that nature requires. Erosion is rampant because of a lack of root structure. There is a constantly running stream that sits between the rows of houses, that is labelled as an irrigation ditch, rather than protected. The developers created a structure that ignored all aspects of nature and instead sought to place lawns and homes in a place that had been previously occupied by flora, fauna, and waterways.

What resulted was a displacement of species, and devastating erosion. Now people are constructing massive concrete retaining walls to secure their lands. But if we just held Netukulimk in our hearts then we would have tried to preserve much of the area. We would not have stripped all of the trees because we had a sense of Land Ethic. And we would have designed the structures we built on this land with biophilic design.

References

Callicott. (1989). In defense of the land ethic : essays in environmental philosophy. State University of New York Press.

Hensley. (2011). Curriculum studies gone wild: bioregional education and the scholarship of sustainability. Peter Lang.

Kellert, S. R. (2022, September 19). What is and is not biophilic design. Metropolis. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/what-is-and-is-not-biophilic-design/

Prosper, K., McMillan, L. J., Davis, A. A., & Moffitt, M. (2011). Returning to Netukulimk: Mi’kmaq cultural and spiritual connections with resource stewardship and self-governance. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2011.2.4.7

Mulligan. (2018). An introduction to sustainability : environmental, social and personal perspectives. Routledge.

Netukulimk | Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.uinr.ca/programs/netukulimk/

Stiegman, Martha (Director). (2014, March 19). Seeking Netukulimk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrk3ZI_2Dd0

Sumner. (2007). Sustainability and the civil commons : rural communities in the age of globalization. University of Toronto Press. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442684843

Vidovich, E. (2020, June 25). Bringing the outdoors in: The benefits of biophilia. NRDC Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.nrdc.org/experts/maria-mccain/bringing-outdoors-benefits-biophilia#:~:text=The%20term%20is%20derived%20from,nature%20within%20the%20built%20environment

06-30-2020 - Privacy Concerns for Teens - Self Study Entry 4

2022-06-30T08:45:00.006-07:00

Should we be more concerned for teens?

Our kids are constantly connected and they are searching for privacy. But not in the ways that I thought.

According to Danah Boyd's book It's Complicated (Boyd, 2014), "As teens encounter particular technologies, they make decisions based on what they’re trying to achieve." (Boyd, 2014, p.65) It is pointed out that teens are making decisions about how to post and trying to create a version of privacy that is different from past convention.

Our default settings are no longer set to private. "When participating in networked publics, many participants embrace a widespread public-by-default, private-through-effort mentality." (Boyd, 2014, p.62)

For teens, that means that the parts of their lives that they want kept secret will remain that way, unless they make mistakes. And mistakes do happen. Young people are sharing compromising images of themselves, and the intent would be for those to remain private - between them and the person to whom they sent the image. But there are larger issues of legality there. Young people in Canada can not sent those images legally.

This is what concerns parents:

Are my kids sending inappropriate images of themselves - thus engaging in distribution of child pronography?

Are my kids engaging in conversations with strangers online?

Are my kids getting bullied online?

What are my kids even watching and what is that doing to their minds?

My boys are 8 and 10 and the last three questions are ones I'm worried about.

I have parental controls on the XBox so they can't add anyone that I do not approve, they can't play games that I don't approve, and they can't access certain apps unless I install them.

In that way, I am trying to limit the danger of encountering bullies or strangers online. But do I really think it is a huge risk? Not really.

Are there people out there who would wish my children harm? Yes. Are they plentiful enough that I need to remain vigilant at all times, the way To Catch a Predator on NBC would have me believe? Are there really predators hiding in every chat and in every game, just waiting to pounce? No.

That doesn't mean they don't exist, and that you shouldn't have certain controls in place. But it also doesn't mean that a parent needs to by hyper vigilant. There is a lot that can be accomplished with a good conversation. Parents can do a lot by talking to their kids about the dangers of social media, online gaming, and the internet in general.

Talking to your child about sexting may not solve the problem, but it can at least help them understand the risks.

Talking to your child about online predators and the chat function in games like Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft can be a good starting point too. And they may never encounter a dangerous situation like the ones we have heard about on the news.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that my approach is one of relaxed caution. I want my children to have some privacy and some agency in their choices. For example: They decide who they watch on YouTube, but I remind them that they should feel comfortable watching it with me. There are also times when I check in on them and ask what they are watching and sit down beside them and listen in for a couple of minutes.

"Some teens see privacy as a right, but many more see privacy as a matter of trust. Thus, when their parents choose to snoop or lurk or read their online posts, these teens see it as a signal of distrust. Teens like Kat get upset when their parents never leave them alone when they’re online because they read this as a lack of confidence in their actions." (Boyd, 2014, p. 73)

It isn't much different from how we used to treat scary movies or TV shows in the past. Having an understanding of the media our children consume is important. But a balance can be struck.

If we teach our children, using good digital literacy tools like Be Internet Awesome, or Common Sense Education, then we can do a lot to help them to make good privacy decisions.

Our children, particularly our teens need to feel like they have agency in their digital identities. "Whether privacy is a “right” that children can or cannot have, or a privilege that teens must earn, adult surveillance shapes teens’ understanding of—and experience with—privacy." (Boyd, 2014, p. 74) And we as teachers and parents need to feel like we have a sense of input (not necessarily control). So, sitting together and building a plan for how much of our personal selves becomes public online is an important step.

Bryce Dallas Howard makes a compelling argument about what the current reality is:

Can there be a private/public balance?

"We are making life-altering decisions about our personal boundaries with no guidance and no precedent." - Bryce Dallas Howard.

That is important, and perhaps a celebrity is a good resource for understanding how to manage privacy in a digital age.

1. No Coddling! - don't hide from what you are afraid of.

2. Confidence comes from character, not our looks! Hard work, particularly in service of others breeds confidence - A trait we need when we are exposed to public attention.

3. A private life makes a public life worth living - cultivating a private life is precious. It's value is inherent in what you withhold and for whom.

Howard discusses tiers of relationships. Degrees of proximity and intimacy. I love that idea. If we can adopt that idea in our discussions with our kids then they can understand the stratification of public posting and private life.

It is a balance that I think I have. I may be mistaken. But I think I have it.

Where do you sit on that spectrum of private life and public posting? Are you posting about squabbles with a significant other? Asking friends for support online? Or are you keeping private joys and sorrows away from the public eye?

Maybe the answer is to stop posting so much?

My teacher friends always ask me why I don't take pictures of interesting activities that go on in my class. The answer is simple: I was engaged in the activity. I was living it.

I feel the same way about my private life. I often don't have pictures of those fun moments. I was enjoying them.

Is that solution - stop posting so much - feasible for everyone? No!

But maybe we can start to think about what should be held back as an intimate moment, only shared with the people who were there, or only for those closest to us, and if we manage access to our digital selves, the way we manage access to our physical selves then we may be a bit more safe in the grand scheme of things.

What do you think?

06-29-2020 - Is All Screen Time Created Equal? - Self Study Entry 3

2022-06-29T09:48:00.003-07:00

Can you spend less than 2 hours on screens?

That is the guideline for children in Australia. (24-hour Movement Guidelines). And, it seems impossible for most of us today. I spend on average 3 hours a day on my phone, and that isn't including any other media. I watch TV for about 2 hours a night too. And sometimes I fit in an hour of video gaming with my friends too.

The Australian Government indicate that any more than 2 hours of screen time is detrimental to our physical and mental health.

I wrote that last sentence 4 hours into doing my course work for a masters course. But there may be some lee-way. I'm doing this blog entry for school.

(Image: Australian Government, Department of Health, 2022)

It's great that they don't include school work. You can be on screens for as long as you want, as long as it's for school. It seems like a strange thing to say, but it implies that not all screen time has the same effect, but it seems like I'm in the clear.

The idea that school work-related screen time is okay raises a question: Is all screen time created equal?

Is my two-hour Halo session on XBox the same as your two-hour deep-dive into Ted-talks? Is doom-scrolling all night the same as learning a language using Duo Lingo?

The answer, as it turns out, is complex. Video games may not be bad for you, according to the article, "When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being" (Halbrook et al., 2019)

Specifically, the inclusion of social activity can benefit prosocial behaviors and affect the relationship between violent video games and aggression that some studies have demonstrated. Moreover, the research on the relationship between violent video games and aggression depends greatly on individual and sociocontextual variables outside of game play. (Halbrook et al., 2019)

Screen time limits, then should be context specific. If we engage with others in meaningful ways, screens can enhance our lives. And perhaps that's why school work isn't included in Australia's 2 hour time limit.

If I'm using my phone or TV to do a meditation or exercise routine, then it is safe to say that the benefits outweigh the risks.

But there have been numerous studies linking social media use to negative effects on mental health. Researchers from the University of Bath indicated that a one week break from Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter, and Facebook can significantly reduce anxiety and depression.

"'Many of our participants reported noticing positive effects of getting away from social networks. These included improved mood and less anxiety. This suggests that even a small break can have an impact," commented Bath Health Department principal investigator Dr. Jeff Lambert." (Content Engine, L. L. C., 2022, Jun 01).

Knowing that, it might be better to revise the 2 hour screen limit guidelines to reflect the idea that certain types of activities are detrimental. It might even make sense to regulate those activities and apps.

The FCC is aiming to do just that:

TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, which is itself linked to the Chinese government. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

The CBC reported on a story today, June 29th, 2022 that said that the FCC was aiming to have Apple and Android remove Tik Tok from their app stores. That would mean that the American Communications regulator is taking an active stance on the app.

The stance they are taking is actually in regard to data security concerns. But having the app removed would still be a step in the right direction. While they are making no statement about the mental health impacts of social media apps, a government action again such a social media app is a step in the right direction.

So what should you do?

You can try to follow Australia's 2 hour guideline. It will be tough. Or you can listen to some of the current research which says that certain digital activities have more merit than others. Positive social interactions through gaming, learning a language through an app, accessing fitness and mental health resources through your cell phone - all of these are good uses of technology. And we have to remember that screen time is a lot like the food we eat.

It depends on what you are consuming.

06-26-2022 - We are Addicted New Animals in A New World We Don't Understand - Self Study Entry 2

2022-06-26T18:38:00.005-07:00

So, what can we do?

In my last post I was writing about the addictive nature of technology and how much of our lives are wasted in doom-scrolling and Snapchat streaks. We are new creatures, in a new environment...

McLuhan Can Teach Us Some Important Stuff

Remember Marshall McLuhan's laws of media? The blessing, the improvement to our life, it is also a curse. It creates a new society. "The "Laws of the Media" are observations on the operation and effects of human artifacts on man and society, since, Hass further notes, a human artifact "is not merely an implement for working upon something, but an extension of our body, effected by the artificial addition of organs;... to which, to a greater or lesser degree, we owe our civilization." (McLuhan, M., 2017)

Because the things we create are extensions of us, they alter us. They alter society. And because of that, when we created the internet, and smartphones, we created new versions of ourselves, and a new society.

The big problem is that we have not created the rules for this society yet, and we haven't figured out what we are yet. Cell phones are rewiring our brains. (CBC) In a very real way, we are changing ourselves and we do not know what the effects of this change will be.

Ribble Can Lead the Way

So what can we do? If we are new beings in a new world, creating our own rules, in a live experiment, like I said in my last post, what can we latch onto for support? Ribble may be the answer. According to Mike Ribble's Digital citizenship in schools : nine elements all students should know, there are several areas we need to address.

The 9 areas we need to address:

Access - We need to address the inequality present in access to technology. Not everyone has a cell phone, or access to the internet.

Digital Commerce - We need to create an understanding of safety, when buying and selling things online. We need better protections and a more regulated e-commerce market.

Digital Communication - Do we understand the means of communication and when each is appropriate? To me, this is linked intrinsically with etiquette. Electronic standards of conduct or procedure. Do users consider others when using digital technologies?

Digital Law - The laws are trying to catch up with the technology as it develops, and beyond that, people need to understand the laws as they exist. Right now, both parts of this equation are still evolving - the law, and our understanding of it.

Digital Rights and Responsibilities - Citizenship is an important part of this too. Protecting our rights and the rights of others. Treating others appropriately and understanding how to do that is an important missing piece. Right now, students are discreet recording others and sharing private information and conversations.

Digital Health and Wellness - We are still trying to understand how cell phones are changing us. We have a long way to go. But we know that anxiety and depression are on the rise, particularly in young women. (Mackson, Brochu, P. M., & Schneider, B. A., 2019)

Digital Security - We need to protect ourselves online and we are not doing that. We all skip the terms of use, and privacy rules. We accept all cookies, we make our profiles public and add all our information. We need to understand so much, and we haven't bothered.

In the End... Most Importantly

Digital Literacy - We are not literate in this technology. We are not literate in its effects on us. We are not literate in the new versions of ourselves that we have created. We need teachers to be literate in all of these things, so that we can educate others. We need users' manuals for the tech, for society, and for ourselves.

06-25-2022 - The Live Addiction Test - Self Study Entry 1

2022-06-25T18:30:00.002-07:00

The New Tech Experiments We Do

We never stop to ask if we should do a thing. As teachers, we experience this every day. New policies and procedures, programs, and mandates. But it is a larger problem than that. It's a human problem.

We experiment without a control group. We get a new technology and we just start using it.

We just do it. We just adopt new tech and think it's the best thing ever, and we don't stop to think of the consequences. Marshall McLuhan was writing and speaking about this phenomenon for years. He discussed the tetrad of new media and how it was a blessing and a curse.

New tech always makes life better, it always replaces and obsolesces something, and it calls back to an older tech. But the biggest part of this is what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is a curse.

Image: Columbia.edu

We never stopped to think about cars, factories, suburbs, pesticides, coal, or cellphones.

Let's stop and look at one long-ago example, to illustrate the point: Coal.

Coal fired steam engines powered the industrial revolution. Did we ask questions about the effects before we jumped down the coal mine shafts? No. What was the result? The Great Smog of London, killing around 12,000 people.

How did smog cause so much death? According to the UK's Met Office, "On each day during the foggy period, the following pollutants were emitted: 1,000 tonnes of smoke particles, 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 140 tonnes of hydrochloric acid and 14 tonnes of fluorine compounds. In addition, and perhaps most dangerously, 370 tonnes of sulphur dioxide were converted into 800 tonnes of sulphuric acid." (The Great Smog of 1952, n.d.)

Beyond that, we can see through climate data, that global temperatures began to rise around the time of mass coal adoption, which powered big industry. "Human activity has rapidly increased the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. According to the NSW government website: "Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, in about 1750, human activities such as burning fossil fuels, including coal and oil, have increased greenhouse gas concentrations in our atmosphere."

The point is obvious. We are experimenting on ourselves and the world and that has more specific implications for education.

What about Cell Phones?

We introduced cellphones into our lives without a second thought. They enhanced our lives, freeing us from the tether of the office phone, and making our work portable. It was a gift.

Then smartphones came on the scene and gave us little pocket computers, and we went along without questioning.

"What a great little gadget!" We said.

It gave us a camera, a media player, a way to email and search the web. How marvelous. And then came apps...

What we didn't realized is that we were giving ourselves a new addiction. We felt free, and didn't see the chain that was slowly closing around our wrists. In classes we see it everyday. Distracted students, choosing likes, tweets, snap streaks, and Instagram followers over an education. They play Clash, and Hayday, and any other new game that comes out; competing for trophies that are time sensitive, they need to bury themselves in their screens.

But it isn't just teens. Twenty-six percent of doctors are suffering from severe cell phone induced anxiety. (de-Sola et al., 2017). It is a much larger issue than we realize. It is considered by some researchers to be the addiction of the 21st century. (Shambare., 2012) And that fact becomes increasingly clear, the more we look at our habits.

Watch the CBC documentary, "Addicted to Your Phone?", (CBC) and it becomes all to clear. 158 million people are on Snapchat every day. That's just one app, and the extent of the addiction is scary. One person in the documentary says that she has exchanged pictures with the same person for six-hundred forty-three days in a row. She hasn't missed a day.

That's the key to this addiction. Apps are designed to make you check them, every day, many times a day. That's how they make money.

With this information at hand, I had to look at my own statistics. How addicted am I? How many hours am I tied to my phone?

As of 9:45pm, I am at 2hrs., 3 min. And most of my time is spent on Facebook. It's a bit hard to see that I've spent that much time, but I think I must still be below the average. The mother in the CBC documentary I mentioned above? She's on her phone about 3.78 hours. She will lose 8.8 years, if she keeps this habit. And her daughter? 30% of her day! That's 9.5 years of her life on her phone. Their son will lose 15 years of his life, because he spends about 9 hours a day.

The fix? Real life activities. Maybe that's why my number is a bit lower. I spend a lot of my time being active. But 2 hours is still too much.

I'll be adding some time limits to my phone. In my phone's settings, there is a section called, "Digital Wellbeing and parental controls". I plan to use it well. I also plan to get rid of the least used social media apps - the one listed in other - Instagram. I use it about 5 minutes a day. And I think that if I limit Facebook and Reddit, while deleting Instagram, then I might save an hour a day. That is definitely worth experimenting with. We are in this social media, technology experiment anyway. I might as well do some experimenting of my own.

Big Life

2011-10-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys. It's been a long time. And yeah, I'm pretending that I actually have people who read this. So what? There might be some, some day.

Today was amazing:

I'd had an amazing day of teaching. My students were great. At the end of classes I looked back on the day and there were some pretty amazing moments. One student was wandering the halls and found a place to stay in my room for a class, while I was on my prep. That student spent the hour writing. It was fantastic. She wanted to be in her English class, writing.

After school, Michelle and I decided to go to Saint John for groceries and tires. On our way there, we were driving across the harbour bridge, in construction and a downpour of rain when we heard a huge ka-thunk! The car jarred; we had hit a monster of a pot-hole. All we could do was sit and listen for wheel noise.

Then it appeared: a quiet, thump, thump, thump. And at that moment neither Michelle nor I got mad. We didn't get worried, upset, or frustrated. We just drove and hoped that we would make it to Costco. Stopping at the lights on Ashburn Lake Rd, we just had to hope that the tire wasn't going flat. When we turned in to the parking lot, I jumped out to see the tire and rim. It was the front driver's side wheel, and it was bent out on the bottom at least an inch and the tire was bulging at the side. We wouldn't be able to drive it home that way. But at least we were at a place that sold tires and rims. Maybe they'd have them in stock. Then we would have to gamble on whether or not they would have time to put them on.

I walked into Costco and I went directly to the tire sales department. Turning the corner, I saw a young woman at the desk. I approached and asked if I could get four tires. I thought I'd start with one problem and work to the next. If they didn't have the tires then I would try for a rim and see if they could just change the tire.

As it turns out they did have the tires. Four Michelin X-Ice. So about the rims? And no. There were no rims in stock. It was now a young woman and a man behind the desk at the tire department. I asked if they could help me. I explained my situation: tire busted... rim broken... stranded. And I asked if they would call some places to see if they could help me find a rim. The guy got on the phone immediately and called Canadian Tire, who promptly put them on hold and ignored him. So after calling four more places it was down to visiting CT. Canadian Tire was my only hope. The girl behind the desk was done her shift and said she could drive me down. How great is that? So I followed her out to the car and we took a trip down the hill to see if I could find some rims.

When we got there I told her thanks, but she said that she would wait for me to drive me up. I said there was no need but she still stayed. As it turns out, they had four rims. I was so glad that she stayed.

When we got back to Costco, I had four rims and I bought four tires. The best part was that they even had time to put on the tires. That young woman saved my day. I've always felt that I have the best-worst luck in the world. I ruined a tire and a rim, but it was while I was on the way to buy tires. I had help from amazing people and made it through without a problem. All it cost was money.

The same thing happened a year ago when I was getting a flat tire. It didn't go completely flat. What did happen was: I heard the tire hissing and saw that it was nearly flat. I made it to a gas station, where they plugged the tire. But it didn't work. It was still leaking. So we went to Coast Tire. There, they sold me tires and had an appointment open just at the end of the day. It all worked out and I wasn't stranded.

Life has been like that. I have always come through whatever hardship I have faced easily. Not on my own though. Never on my own. I've always had help from amazing people. Those people make this world a better place and I am glad that I get to be here with them.

New with me

2011-07-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since my last post so I think I'll try and get people up to date with my current efforts to live a full life.

You know, I am happier now than I was a year ago. And at that time I was counting the days until my wedding. It seems as though life can't get better and yet somehow I know it will. I feel like I have become and incurable optimist. And to the point:
I was out in a canoe with my friends Brad and Phil. We had paddled to Lake Utopia, through the Magaguadavic River and Canal basically on my orders. I had persuaded the guys that it would be a good idea. Sure there was a strong wind blowing toward the lake and paddling back might be tough but at least we'd get to swim in the lake. The funny thing was that when we got there, the swells were white-capped on the lake because of the high winds and it was impossible to paddle. The canoe was reeling from the waves. One of the guys asked whose bright idea it was to come all the way out to the lake. The other said that it was because of my blind optimism. But of course, everything will be fine, it would be fine and it was. We turned around and had a great swim in the canal. Then someone wanted to get back in the boat and paddle, but it was my suggestion that we just swim and push the boat. "We won't get anywhere," was the consensus of the other two, but my reply was simple. "Sure we will. Watch!" And I pushed the canoe and swam after it. Brad said that it might be possible, just because I could 'Tony Horton' it up the river and use my optimism to push it. He was right. I did push it up river. For maybe 100 feet. Then w got in and paddled back.

I have to laugh because I knew we couldn't swim it all the way back, but I wanted to at least try pushing the canoe while swimming, just to see how far we could get. And we accomplished something. And the more I think about it. That is what this blog is all about. Accomplishing something. It doesn't have to be something huge. But as long as you are going out there and getting things done, then you are living fully. You are DOING. That is the important thing. Sometimes I'm afraid that if I sit at home on the couch then I am missing out. There is a whole world of things going on and if I sit at home I'm not a part of it. That kinda scares me. I worry that my friends are having fun without me. I worry that the world is doing great things while I sit on upholstered furniture and watch reruns. I would rather be rerunning the trail I found earlier. Don't get me wrong, I love TV and I am a movie fanatic. But with so much to do in life and so little time to do it. Why waste a moment?
With that thought, here are some thing I've done lately:

Went to New York for the 3rd time. Saw Dustin Diamond outside a comedy club, after talking about him on the trip down. How weird? When do 4 people ever mention Dustin Diamond while on a road trip? Stood at the top of Rockefeller Center and saw the Empire State Building and Central Park at the same time. That was the tallest building I've ever been in. I saw Daniel Radcliffe in person as he performed in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". I ran 11km in Central Park one day. Then the next day I ran 6km through Central Park during the biggest and most humbling thunder and lightning storm I've ever been in. I was in the middle of it. The rain sheeting down and flooding the street in minutes. I smiled, laughed and ran while the sky lit up around me and in front of me. My vision went perfectly white a couple of times from the brightness and closeness of the flashes. But what could I do? Stop? Go where? So I kept running and laughing as I experienced nature at it's most primal. I one of the greatest cities of the world, I was surrounded and engulfed by nature. It was one of the best moments of my life.

Before you read this next section... We are keeping this part of our life free of faccebook. So if you would like to comment, feel free on this blog page. We are going off facebook for this... So, sorry. My wife is pregnant. We are expecting our first child. I want to say publicly that I pray to God that our baby is born healthy. Boy or girl, it won't matter. Please... healthy. We have been lucky so far. We conceived on our second month of trying and it feels like a blessing. I know that it is. People can wait much longer, or suffer through the effort only to find themselves unable to conceive. So we are happy and feel the blessing that this is. Today we did our first browsing of baby furniture and I have to say that it made me truly happy to be looking at cribs. I just need to find a place for it in the house. Guest room? Man-cave? Which will be gone? Vote on it if you like.

I am preparing to run a half-marathon and it is going well. I feel like I will be well prepared. But with that said, I haven't really been following my training plan. I've just been keeping really active and doing what I think feels right. I hope my sister is up for the challenge. We are supposed to run together.

A chapter in my life has come to an end. I have seen the final Harry Potter movie and it was great. It wasn't as close to the book as I would have liked but it was enjoyable. That is all I will say about that. I first came to read the books when I met my wife. She introduced Harry and I and we have been fast friends ever since.

There is another chapter in my life that has resumed as well. The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin has seen the release of its latest volume. Book 5: A Dance with Dragons. I have waited 6 years for the book I think and I'm glad that's over. Phew.

I am reading more. The most in my life actually. I'm keeping track of each book I read this year on facebook, in my info. And it's surprising how quickly they mount up.

That is about it. If I think of more I'll let you know.

Boston, Stanley Cup and Vancouver Riots

2011-06-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Image by rob.masefield via Flickr

For this post I'm using Trebuchet font in honour of the war machine of times gone by. A trebuchet was much like a catapult only it used weight and inertia to move the giant objects it flung.

Enough of the History lesson, let's move on to the Stanley Cup finals. I'm a Boston Bruins fan and for me, seeing my team win was one of the best things that could happen this year. Mind you, it doesn't compare to getting married, or getting my first teaching job, scoring my first goal in hockey or many other personal accomplishment, but it is pretty nice.

Having said that, I am having a hard time understanding why people would riot in Vancouver after the Canucks lost. Trust me, I'm trying. The act of rioting is serious. People have done it over such large issues as race rights, illegitimate governments, fascist rule, suffrage and the list goes on. I'm not forgetting the history of rioting after sporting events - soccer and hockey seem to be the most common culprits there. But to me a riot just seems to be a serious action, caused by injustice.

The world must be treating the rioters in an absolutely deplorable way. The people must feel the loss of something great and the injustice must bear down upon them in such a way that the only reaction, the only way to find justice is to take it out on the establishment. Fight back against society, government and those who are at the heart of the cause.

Look how angelic I am, next to the fire in the street.

What I see in the pictures on the website of The National Post are of a spoiled population, a group of boys and girls (in their twenties and thirties) who need some discipline from a strict parent. Dads, it'll be Father's Day soon, go out and give these kids a spanking. I mean that in a tragically glib way of course. But it is true. Canada, if these are "Canucks" as their expensive replica hockey jerseys and shirts declare, then it is time that they be shown how to act like Canucks. Action needs to be taken. We have photos, faces and proof of their actions. We as a country need to crack down on these actions.

Hey buddy, get me next to this flaming car. It'll be my new Facebook pic.

All you have to do is look at the pictures. These kids are smiling. They are out enjoying a good ole riot. "Let's all laugh and destroy stuff cause it's fun." I mean hell, what are people thinking? Popped Collar and straight billed baseball cap with designer jeans and cool camera phone, this guy's just out to get a pic of his buddy mid-riot. When do we start thinking this is okay? When is it cool to be a part of this? I know that these people may not have lit the car, but the fact that we as Canadians are seen full of joy and capturing the event for posterity is ludicrous.
Back to the point... If these people were "rioting" and acting out against the injustice of the win captured by the Boston Bruins, then why are they so happy?

What is causing this young man's actions?

When I look at the pictures I can only feel disgust. A young man wearing Nikes, jeans, a Canucks jersey, and a nice backpack doesn't seem to fit the description of someone with the motivation to set a police car on fire. What is his message? What is he trying to say with his actions? "I am angry that my favorite sports team didn't win!" Is this a sane reaction? And now I'm writing in circles because I can only see spoiled little babies.

We have no major injustice to fight against in our country. Our government is not starving the majority of its population. We are creating child soldiers in our lands. There are no rebels fighting against the government to overthrow its tyranny. We riot because we didn't win... Do you hear the screaming child pounding its fists on the floor? I can show you that screaming, tantrum:

And just for fun, I can show you our version of the V-day picture in Time Square:

So, I just thought I would mention an article from the telegraph that I have listed below: "Vancouver Canucks fans riot after team's surprise loss to Boston Bruins." Apparently it's okay to riot if it was a surprise loss. But a surprise to whom? I thought Boston was going to win. The only question I'm left with is this: Would they riot if Vancouver won? My answer is: YES!!!

These people seem happy. They seem like they want to just have fun by causing destruction. The greatest irony is that if we are angry that the CANADIAN TEAM lost, then why are we damaging Canadian streets, shops and people? Why did we break into the Hudson Bay store?

Things to look forward to...

2011-05-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Writing a lullaby, enjoying the feeling of a smile, and breathing deeply .

Those are the things that I've done tonight. I've written about being wealthy, but not in a monetary sense. I truly feel that way tonight.

On May 17th, I was allowed the pleasure of knowing that my best friend had his first child. Not only that, but his little girl came as a present for his birthday. Seeing the pictures of him holding her I could only ask one question: "How does it feel?" He didn't even seem to think about it. He just signed, "It's the best feeling in the world man. I can't wait for you to experience it."

I honestly look forward to that moment. But when I sat down on my sofa tonight, watching Tron: Legacy, I didn't think it would end with me writing a lullaby for my as-of-yet not conceived child. But here is the thing: When I was married I wrote a song. It was a soft piece of music with which my wife could walk down the aisle. She liked the idea of me writing her music for her instead of one of the usual songs people use. It went well. My friend and band mate, Martin played the guitar on the day and I got to watch her meet me at the front of the church.

Months later, Michelle and I were sitting together and she told me that she thought the music would make a great lullaby for our first child; all I would have to do is write the lyrics. I grabbed my guitar and sang along with the tune and it just felt right. Mind you, I didn't have any words at the time but the idea was there.

Now back to Jason and his baby. I was sitting on the couch and thinking about the smile on his face. It seemed to me that his smile was one of only a few pure, happy, unspoiled moments we have in our lives. I could see it in his eyes and in the way he held his little girl. Even better was the fact that I could feel myself smiling too. There is nothing better than the feeling of a smile. Muscles tighten through cheeks and jaw, along the face to the eyes, through the forehead and you can feel it out in the tips of your ears. You feel a good smile all through your face. And it's so relaxing.

With this smile on my face I picked up my guitar and started playing "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show. After about three times through the song I fell into the rhythm of my wedding music. I don't know how; maybe it was pushed to the forefront by my happiness for Jason. The idea of the lullaby. I started playing again and this time I tried to sing and these are the words that came out:

When I tell you

that I love you

It’s okay to fall asleep

I’ll will love you in the morning

And when I tell you

You’re my sweetheart

The sun will shine through just for you

When you wake up in the morning

Oh my baby

Oh my dear

Close your eyes

Close your eyes and fall asleep

When I tell you

The stars are shining

They are shining out for you

So that you can sleep in peace

And when I hold you

In my arms

And I say a prayer for you

I pray the Lord your soul to keep

Oh my baby

Close your eyes

Have some sweet dreams

And wake up and smile for me

The words came naturally. I don't know if they are good. I don't really care. If I were to sing the song to my child, I'm sure he or she would fall asleep. Even better was the idea that I didn't want to keep the song for myself. I wanted to give it to Jason for his little girl. I've just recorded a scratch version of the song.

So with all of that I am breathing deeply. I am looking forward to being able to sing to my own child. It may be a year or two, who knows. But for now, I hope that I can give something to a father who had a moment of pure happiness.

Time for some Life Experience

2011-05-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedi

I am sitting in a professional development session for teachers at my school. Everyone has their computers and we are talking about virtual classrooms. The room is dark to accommodate the projector, which displays the webpage we are supposed to be on. I'm feeling like my students who are supposed to be following along but have been distracted from the main points of the class.

I've decided that now is the time to talk about experiences in life, and I've been looking back at my first blog and I realized that I left many questions unanswered. I wrote about wealth. I am not rich, and I don't have a lot of money, but I can say that I am wealthy.

I've come to another big realization. The Book of Awesome is worth reading. It reminds us of the small things that make life wonderful. It is the small things. I always want to be able to say that I am working towards achieving big goals (like running a marathon) but the little things make life worth while. Just take a look at some of the things on the list and I promise that you will smile: The Top 1000| 1000 Awesome Things.

My favourites so far have been: #967 Illegal naps, #982 Picking your nose, #973 Sleeping in new bed sheets.

I just want to say that, although I want to do great things and I want to accomplish all I can in life. I want children; I want to leave a legacy. It is truly and absolutely the small things that make me rich. Mowing my lawn? It's the fresh cut grass. Shaving? It's the splash of aftershave.
What is it for you?

For those of you in a workout rut!!!

2011-05-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been stagnant for over a month of working out. I've been doing random workouts, and trying to find a niche that works for me. I ran my 10k and it was fun. But I need something that will work for me.

So I've started Insanity: The Asylum Vol.1 Sports Performance by www.Beachbody.com
The verdict is still out, but I can tell you what I've experienced so far.

I've completed two workouts: 1) Speed & Agility, 2) Strength
For Speed & Agility: It was tough. I didn't have the equipment so I improvised, as any good athlete would. I needed a speed ladder and jump rope. I used duct tape and created the speed ladder, which worked quite well and I jumped in time with the video, so that I didn't need the rope. Obviously it was easier to jump without the rope but at least I was doing something.

The jump rope section was hard and complex. I think it will take me a few times to get the pattern down, but maybe that's what I need. I've had it with workouts that I do once or twice and have them memorized. The speed ladder portions worked my core in ways that I never had before and I've been through a lot of different fitness programs: Power 90, 10 Minute Trainer, P90X, P90X+, and Insanity. So I have to say that I felt weak. It was tough to complete each exercise in the time alloted - I felt out of shape and wanted to stop and catch my breath. But I pushed through. The bear crawl series of exercises is what really whipped my butt. And I have to say that this workout, on its own, would be a great one for developing fitness in athletes. It taxed my cardio, speed, agility, strength, core and wits. I had to get my body to do increasingly complex exercises. Really good!

For Strength: I did this with a friend and we both completed it. It was tough, no doubt! And we found that it did exactly what we felt we were missing when we did the Insanity program. It had cardio and strength, where Insanity was missing a more balanced approach and focused on doing mostly cardio. The weight work was good, dynamic and challenging and it kept me moving, while forcing me to push my cardiovascular limits. The weighted squat, jump, switch had my quads aching the next day.

Overall, these two workouts have proven to be what I might have needed to get me out of a workout rut.

My First Race

2011-05-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm assuming that for many people, the first race is a big thing. For me, there were many big moments and important things that I learned as a result of not being prepared. I'd like to share those, to help anyone looking to start running in races of any distance.

Head whirling and trying to figure out where the starting line was, we just kept walking. we were lost, late, and unprepared; and then salvation presented itself in the form of a voice over a loud speaker: "Last call for the 10k!" My sister and I looked around, and spotted the start line with a sigh of relief.

I guess I should rewind. I woke up Saturday morning in my bed, well rested and ready to get into Fredericton for the race. With a 2pm pick-up for race kit, I wanted to be on-time. More than that, I wanted everything to be perfect. I ate oatmeal, with maple syrup, an English muffin and orange juice for breakfast and packed my bag: running shirt, shoes, shorts, compression shorts, insulated sleeves, iPod, charger, headphones, arm band, computer, socks and a change of clothes for after the run.

I don't want to make this a long post, so I'll keep it brief. I got the running kits for myself and my sister. We were running together and everything felt like it was going to go smoothly. I was headed to my friend's house, to play guitar with some friends, work on some songs and maybe play some games outside. What happened was as follows:
1) We had a water gun fight with his kids. It was fun and as it turns out, Nerf took over the Super Soaker brand and the water guns are cool.
2) We played Bocce Ball, which led to the infamous question: "Want a beer?"
3) Against my better judgement, and knowing that I had a race to run the next morning, I had a beer, and three more to follow.
4) Supper: We ate BBQ. After my carefully picked breakfast of oatmeal, maple syrup, and an English muffin with almond butter and raspberry preserves, and my strategic steak sub for lunch (red meat is good for me according to the blood-type diet), I threw the whole day's nutrition out the window with a meal of two hamburgers, two sausages, a hot dog and I threw some salad in there just to balance things out.

I was clearly off to a good start. I was covering all my bases of preparation for my run as I had read them in all of those Runner's World magazines I'd read. I'm sure they said that you should over-eat, consume alcohol, and stay up late before a run... which brings me to #5...
5) I stayed up until midnight when I needed to meet my sister at 6:30am for breakfast.

With all of my prep work from the morning and the previous months of running dashed in an evening, I awoke to my alarm at 6:10am. I'd given myself an extra ten minutes of sleep because I thought it might help. Yeah, right. Searching frantically for all of my racing gear, rummaging through my bag and trying not to wake my wife - sound asleep in the bed two feet away - I grabbed everything I had so prudently packed and went out the door.

I was 10 minutes late to meet my sister in the parking lot of the Sobey's on Regent street in Fredericton and then I drove us to eat. Since everything has gone well to this point - let me recap - I am slightly dehydrated from the beer, over-tired and late, why would I expect it to get better. I downed my Gatorade pre-game drink and then read that I was supposed to drink it 15 minutes before my workout... Oops, the run was 1:50 away... and we went to breakfast. Kate (my sister) chose Cora's, which to our surprise wasn't open yet. We had to wait until 7am. It wasn't all that bad though. We eventually sat down to eat and had far too much, which is great for a stomach about to run 10 kilometers. But the food was tasty and we still left with a nice doggy bag for after the race.

Then came the great idea to wake my wife up. Kate wanted pictures of us running and there was no one to hold the camera. So we called her and got her out of bed and into our car. She may not have been happy about it, but when the steam stopped rolling from her ears, we proceeded to the race.

The start time was 8:20. Being the wise and prepared person that I am, I cut it close. I have no idea when we made it back to the Sobey's that was situated 5 blocks from the starting line, but I knew it was close. Then, to further prove how much sense and presence of mind I had, I didn't look at the clock in the car, when I got out. So I had no idea what time it was, or how long we had to get to the starting line, let alone where the line actually was.

Before the race

Walking down the sidewalk to the square on Aberdeen st, between St. John st and Church st, we saw the event. Then we saw a large mass of people running, most of them in the bright blue shirts emblazoned with "Fredericton Marathon". My sister looked at me, "We're late." We both smiled and said, "Oh, well. We start when we start." Then we started walking in the direction of the great hub-bub. There were tents and metal fencing all over the place, indicating that there was some sense of order and formality in the chaos I saw before me, but all I could make out was that everyone knew where they were going, except me. I had no idea who had just started running and since I hadn't looked at a clock it may have been my group. There was another group lining up and if that was the 5k group then I had no idea when we would be able to start our run. Maybe we'd missed our chance. Maybe, we wouldn't get to run.

At least I had been spared the embarrassment of having to ask where I should pin my number. I was given many examples of possibilities just from looking at the people around. I took the most common example and pinned it across my stomach. Even worse than not knowing where to pin my number was the thought of being a full grown man, and not knowing where to put the little timing chip that I was given. I was searching around to see where other people were storing the little, round, button-like computer chip that was meant to track my time. I couldn't find a single example to follow and I was too afraid to ask - filled with manly bravado, and the fear of admitting that I was new and dumb to the ways of running, I was stumped. So, I stuck it in the little pocket on the inside of my shorts, hoping that somehow, the fabric wouldn't hinder it's function.

Figuring out where to put my number

I never thought that as a man approaching 30 years old, I'd have to worry about social anxiety. But there I was: nervous that I wouldn't fit in. I have to say that those fears were totally unfounded. No one cared where I pinned my number. People had them pinned to their legs or backs; their hats or bums. It was nothing to be concerned about. What did concern me was starting. Luckily, the loud speakers boomed to life and told us we had 3 minutes until the start of the 10k. And noticing that there was a large group of people in the road, my sister and I joined them.

We started our iPods. Mine, with its thoughtfully selected "running" playlist of songs with just the right bpm for setting a good pace. The right music can improve your pace. Just by having the right bpm in your song, it can help you create a good cadence. After telling Kate that I'd made a special playlist for running, her response was, "Jon!" said "Joooooooooon!" and then, "Why didn't you tell me to do that?" I should say that I have served as my sister's running coach in this endeavor. Clearly I could have done a better job. But at least she showed up, well trained and rested (she didn't have anything to drink and she did get a good night's rest.

When the count down started, my heart began to pump. There are only a few things like waiting for the starting horn of a race in my experience: Waiting to play the first song of your set list, in front of a packed room; waiting for the puck to drop on your first face-off, and waiting for the ride to start on your first roller-coaster. It was great. The horn sounded and we were off. We started at the back of the pack, but Kate and I developed a strategy: Find the hole and run through it. We were like military men, moving through a city block, pointing at openings and motioning for the other to move. All clear! Go, go go! We dodged through great masses of runners, gaining on the rest of the pack and smiling each moment.

We crossed the walking bridge and made our way out into along nice trails. I have to say that Fredericton is a beautiful city. It is worth visiting just for the trail systems. The run was beautiful. There were lots of trees and we ran along the river, with nearly overflowing banks. The water was so high and ran fast as strong. It swept up among the trees and hugged the trails. But the scenery wasn't the only great thing. There were people all along the trails cheering and smiling for everyone. At any moment, a person could look over and smile and a bell would be rung, or clapping would begin. There were yelled words of encouragement and if you looked closely, there were even hidden signs left under rocks along the path to help motivate certain runners. Those must have been left by friends or family of some runner in their first race as well. "You can do it, short legs," was written on a white sheet and left under a rock along the path. How lucky people are in this world who get to experience that kind of care and love, that someone would take the time to make the sign and place it on the trail brings me joy.

Making it to the finish-line

But as the race wore on, around the half-way point, Kate began to tire. She is a great little runner and I'm proud to say that we ran strong the whole way. But, we were no longer catching people the way we had been in the first third of the race. I was surprised that I was still full of life. I would sprint ahead to the water stations and get a drink while Kate would run a steady pace and catch up to me while I gulped down my drink. It was great. I think in the end I would have been able to keep going, and have finished a half-marathon, but when we crossed the finish line, I was never more proud. Kate and I had completed the run together. Stride for stride we'd conquered something as brother and sister. Next I think we will try a half-marathon and I feel ready. Kate, I hope you're up for it, because I'm looking forward to running with you again. The brother, sister team needs to take on another race.

Now, despite the fact that I didn't do a proper final preparation for the race, I finished strong and I think the only reason that was the case was that I was in good shape for a 10k. I had been training for a half. I also think that the Gatorade pre-game drink helped a lot in the end. I had lots of energy. But I will say that I have learned these few things:
1) Don't worry about stupid things like where to put your number. Just ask. People are generally nice and willing to help out new runners. There were so many smiling faces along the route cheering and so many people standing around helping, that there is no reason to be shy or worried of judgement. If I couldn't tell who the noobs were, then how can anyone tell if I happen to be new to running myself.
2) Get a good night's sleep. It didn't hurt me this time, but it will for a half-marathon. And after the race, when I got home, I crashed in bed for 2 solid hours. I was beat.

Kate and I after the race

3) Good nutrition is key. We had lots of fruit for breakfast. Don't eat a huge meal the night before either. On a long run, you might just be running to the bathroom.

Aside from that, I hope you enjoy your first race, and I hope you enjoyed my story.

To stretch or not to stretch?

2011-04-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

So here is the question: Does stretching matter before a run?

I've been having shin splints. It hasn't slowed me down. But not much does. When I want to run, I'm going and that's then end of that. Still, I want to be able to run without the pain and I think that if I start stretching, then I'll get rid of the pain. So I started researching. I've known how to stretch for years; by playing hockey, soccer and just keeping fit I've learned so many different warm-up and cool down techniques that I don't really think that I need help. But with the shin-splints, I'm open to suggestions of how to get rid of them.

I started to look at some websites and I found a few interesting things:

Shin splints and on-line contests

2011-04-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

"My attempt at living" has given me a lot of time to be introspective about what I learn through the weeks. This week, my mind has been on a trip that I am planning with students for March Break of 2012. It is set for us to go to Rome and Paris and I want to make sure that I get enough kids.

But our minds never stay in one place... or at least mine doesn't. So I've also been thinking about why I started this blogs, shin-splints and online contests.

So first things first. I started this blog to talk about how I am trying to live my life the best I can. I want to accomplish things. I want to leave this world a better place than when I found it. I want to make a contribution. And today I judged an Elementary School Drama Festival. Somehow, in the course of my career as a teacher I became the Theatre Arts guy. I teach Theatre Arts. I don't have special training for it. I just used theatre in my classroom as a teaching tool for years and someone gave me a shot at teaching Theatre. I enjoy it. And I enjoyed today. I received a hug from a young boy whom I complimented at the end of his play for being absolutely committed to bowing low while playing the character of a court squire. The boy was into his part and gave it his all on each bow, so I told him so and gave him an award for dedication to his part. For this small gesture of acknowledgment, he hugged me. This little boy hugged me and my heart broke... I think that is the best way to describe it. My heart opened up and I felt this little boy's joy. I knew that my day couldn't get better after that. So for me, that is what this blog is about. It is about trying to live a great life. If that means that I write about fitness goals, or what I learn about technology, or my own accomplishments then that is great. But I have to say that I think that attempting to live a great life is really about impacting others' lives.

While I'm writing about other people's lives - I have t write about my runs with my sister. We are training for a half-marathon together. For me, it means that I get to spend a lot of time with her and that is great. The story of our relationship is a long one, but I think it can be summed up in a few words from my parents:

When asked about how my sister was raised they say, "Your brother raised you. He would go into your bedroom and pull you out of the crib, dragging you across the top bar. Then he'd get you dress, make you breakfast and get you ready to go out the door to the babysitters."

For me, that has always been a point of pride. I don't remember it. I'm not sure it actually happened. But I think I recall bits. Anyway, I've always felt close to her. So running with her is great. It has, however, taught me that running at a slower pace can cause shin-splints. The thing is that my sister runs a bit slower than I do. So I keep her pace and because of that, my feel clomp on the ground and I have a hard time keeping a smooth stride. The extra impact is causing my muscle to pull away from my shin. It's a little disgusting to think about. But it is something that I'm dealing with. And to be honest, I'd rather have a small case of shin-splints than run by myself. It's nice to have that time to hear about her life.

Finally, my wife asked me to enroll in an online contest and so I did. It was for a trip to 3 different European cities. For me to win, I have to get more votes than all others. It is with KLM.
IF you are reading this, please take the time to vote for my story. It's on facebook, and it asks for permission as an application, but I'd still appreciate the vote: http://apps.facebook.com/klm_fb_app/?ref=bookmarks

Working with twitter to make me fitter (more fit)

2011-04-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

Here is what I've learned this week:
1) Twitter is a great fitness tool.
2) Fixing a roof in winter can cause some issues.

First off, I'd like to say that on my fitness journey, I'm in a lull; a rut if you will. I've run 3 times this week and had one weight workout. That may not seem so bad, but before I started training for a half-marathon I was doing a weight routine and a cardio workout four times a week. So for me to go from 8 wourkouts to 4. I'm not feeling all that accomplished. So why have I slowed?

I'm finding that while I'm running good distances: 4,5, or 8 miles, I'm not getting as much of a burn in the time that I run. I don't sweat as much. My joints also hurt more from a long run than say a Beachbody Insanity workout. I could do the "pure cardio" workout after a full chest and back weight routine and then still feel good to go the next day. Not only that, but I was getting sculpted.

With running. I feel too hurt and sore to run everyday and I am having a hard time incorporating long runs into my training program. I've used Runner's World's ultimate Half-marathon training program, and it is too much running and not enough basic fitness and muscle toning for me. I feel "loose in the cage". My abs are starting to disappear as I run more. It's really weird.

So what I think I'm going to do is combine Insanity workouts with long distance runs to keep my cardio up, and burn calories, while still increasing my ability to run long distances. I'm not sure it will work, but I think that if I do an Insanity workout on my "no run" days. Then I'll be able to keep strong and still get ready for race day.

As a link back to my previous statement: 1) Using Twitter for fitness. I've just started searching #fitness in Twitter and I've come up with some great people to follow: DrOz, Tony Horton, MarathonTrainHQ, DaveZinczenko are just a few .
There are lots of great ways to use twitter to find useful articles. Tony Horton regularly has recipes in his tweets that are healthy and tasty. DrOz is full of advice. I don't watch his show, but I will check his tweets. And I'm just new to this whole "Twitter thing". So I'm only going to learn more.

On a side note. My roof leaked today due to the fact that I had tried to repair it in the dead of winter, during a snow storm. I guess the tar didn't hold because I now have water dripping into my kitchen. I probably should have fixed it up once the sun came out. Oops. I'll get it tomorrow.
Additional RECIPE links found tonight on Twitter:
Grilled Steak Marinade: Muscle & Fitness, from a tweet by BibiOspina
Salsa Shrimp Dip: From Fitness.com, tweet by IzzyGFitness
Gluten-free Lactose-free Cornbread: From Fitness.com, tweeted by IzzyGFitness

I just wanted to stop in with a few quick links I found today. It's not much and I'm on my way to do my run tonight. So here they are:
http://www.muscleandfitnesstrainer.com/home/articles/training-like-stoppani
On Twitter: muscle_fitness
http://www.remanents.com/blog/

2011-04-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

There have been quite a few changes in life this week. I've been starting to run again, which is something I posted about in my last blog. But, you never can tell when you are going to "start something" and then you find that without realizing it, you've abruptly stopped. I've been learning about Twitter; how to use it mostly. But along with that, I've been revisiting some movies and tv shows that I've already seen. It's been an interesting week so far and it's not done yet.

I've had to make a decision about what I want out of fitness. Do I want to have muscle? Or do I want to have cardio? Some people say that you can have a balance, but I'm finding that hard to believe. When I made the switch from P90X to Insanity, I didn't notice it but I lost a lot of muscle mass. I had been doing over 300 push-ups, but after a month of the Insanity program, I'd lost it. So from there came the realization that I'd actually gotten into the best cardio shape of my life, and from there I decided that I would make a push to accomplish one of my longest held goals: Run a marathon.

Now I know that I won't be able to run one right away. That would be stupid. But I can work toward it, which is something that I've been trying to do for three years. Wow, I can't believe I'm saying that. I've always tried to show my students that they can reach for the stars and set big goals for themselves. But I've had this one for a long time. Why haven't I started? I guess it's because it is the hardest thing I've ever tried to do. So I am going to start with a half-marathon. This summer I am running one. Maybe I'll even be able to run a full one by the end of the summer, but that seems like a bit of a lofty idea.

As for Twitter, I'd always made fun of it and I'm feeling like a bit of a hypocrite. Thinking back to what one of my education profs once said: "It's important to stay on top of what your kids are interested it. You need to stay current." And one day, while making fun of Twitter, I realized that I was being foolish. I wasn't keeping current. I said something unimaginative like: "If it's called twitter, then what do you call the people who use it?" Well, the answer is: "A twit." But I'm now proud to say that I am officially a twit. So is my wife.

I've been trying to start following as many people that interest me as possible. And what has happened is that I have way too many tweets; so much so that I can't possibly follow them all. Not only that but I have people following me that I've never met. I'm assuming that they are watching what I do for some purpose... BIG BROTHER? Or for marketing purposes. I've had a few women start following me, but they appear to be mostly interested in promoting sex sites. What is it with the internet and sex? There is no need to track me down and see if I want to join a site. I'm sure they are quite easy to find, should the urge strike. But mostly, I've found Twitter to be educational. I've learned that Edward Norton is doing a lot of charity work and that is cool. I've also learned that maple syrup is good for you. These are good things to know.

As for looking at movies I've seen before, I guess sometimes it's nice to go back and see things from a different perspective. You can always gain knowledge from seeing something again, and there are new connections to be made with other texts (written and visual) that you hadn't known before. So I bought Harry Potter and the Half Blood on Blu-ray. Watching the special features and the movie again, I've been able to enjoy a movie that I was disappointed with, when I saw it in theatres. It really is entertaining and well put together. I also bought the first season of LOST. I want to watch it again to see if it is as good as I originally thought. The character named John Locke is a direct reference to a political philosopher from the 17th century and I want to see why they gave him that name. I couldn't make the connection before, as Locke believed that people naturally knew right from wrong and the only purpose for law was to preserve our natural liberty. How that relates to LOST, I must know. If anyone has insight, I'd love to hear it.

Anyway, that's it for me for now. I need to do some marking, and continue to watch The Half-blood Prince. I hope you reach for the stars. I'm going to try to keep running. OHHH. I've finished reading another book. That makes 8 this year.
J Standring

The Changes We Make to Get Better

2011-04-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

There are so many things that have happened in my life since my last post. I've been married for over half a year, and have put on another successful play. I've seen more movies; most of which were terrible. But I have developed a fondness for a few new things and am re-devoting myself to some others:
1) Running: I have reset my fitness goals and plan to run my first half-marathon in 8 weeks. It's now April 2nd and I'll let you know how it works out. I did 8.5 miles today and it felt good.

How to get Motivated for a Half Marathon? (myfirst5k.wordpress.com)

2) Reading: I am keeping track of the books I've read on Facebook this year. Emptying my otherwise useless collection of information about the books I've read in my life and filling area of my "info" section may just prove to be useful. I've read 5 books so far this year and I am half-way through 2 more - I am Number 4 and Nocturnes.
3)Snowshoeing: My wife and I began snowshoeing together and we found a winter sport that she can handle. She's a city girl and I'm definitely a country boy. I enjoy the woods and I worried that there would be nothing that we could share. Luckily, as we walked out into some fresh powdery snow and felt the sun on our faces, I know that it would be okay. We followed deer trails, and walked to the edge of a clearing, to look out over the world below us. We saw the lake below us and in the distance, Lake Utopia. It's such a beautiful place. Afterward, when we'd made it back home, she immediately blogged about it: Carpe Diem is the name of her blog.
4) Musicianship: Years ago I'd tried to be a musician. It kind of worked. What I mean is that I played music and people listened, but I didn't make any money. My friends and I had played together for years and recorded a CD. We felt like real musicians, but we'd only played two shows and none of them payed.
So really what did we accomplish? Recording a CD that no one listened to, and getting no money for our work. That was about it, and despite people telling us to continue... We gave up.
Well, now is the time to get back on track and after 5 years of not working toward a goal, we are going to see if we can actually make a few dollars doing what we love: playing loud rock music.
Some people say that rock is dying. Some say it's dead already. But since that is what we have, whether dead, dying or not, we are going to keep going with it... Beating a dead horse.

Sometimes that's okay though. Sometimes you just have to keep going because if you don't, then you will be giving up what you love. Even worse, you will be giving up on a dream. We need our dreams.
I dream of running a marathon and I'm going to start on that path. I dream of playing live music for people and I hope that we can make this thing work.
Our live are short. Go out and see the world. Follow deer paths to beautiful forest clearings and make yourself a better person. I know that I'll always be trying.

Getting Married

2010-08-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

The bachelor party was a hit. I just want to write something quick about it before I start on the wedding.

We went to Treego in Mactaquac NB(click the link to see some treego activities), and I have to say that it was an amazing way to spend a morning. We overcame obstacles - swinging logs in trees, high-wire tight ropes, and zip-lines - and I don't think I could have had more fun.

Golf was great. It was one of those times when every shot seems to go right. And, I'm a duff golfer. Or at least that's what I like to call myself. I get a lot of bogies and double bogies and every few holes I really suck. But it was one of those days where I was hitting almost everything straight and long. I had so many chances at par, that I felt good about myself. And that is the amazing thing about golf; you don't have to be good to enjoy yourself.

After that it was dark and we started a fire to cook our steaks. My cousin's husband had come along to the golf and dinner and I have to say that I'm thankful he did. He's quite a woodsman and he had the fire going before long and as we sat on the porch of our camp, he cooked the steaks. I don't think I can describe the warmth of the fire or the beauty of the night. But it was a perfect one. After Treego and golf, we were all tired, so we didn't get up to any mischief; which was a good thing because when we walked down to the beach for a midnight swim, we were promptly told, "You boys would be safest back at your campsite. You wouldn't want to get mixed up in any nasty business down here." Apparently, he didn't realized that we were 4 teachers and 1 minister who wanted to get cooled off after a hot day. We certainly weren't getting into any "nasty business" and we weren't looking for trouble. Needless to say, we couldn't talk him into letting us swim; even with him there to watch us. But other than that it was a great night.

Now on to the wedding. I've been thinking about the value of the day - what it's worth - and the value of the days to follow. This is what I have to say:
I've been told that if a person is too happy about the wedding day, then it may be a sign that they just want the day and not the marriage. And that idea has stuck with me. The reason? I'm extremely happy about the day. But considering that I've just left myself open to the question: Are you more excited about the day than the marriage? I'll answer it this way; YES! I am more excited about the wedding day than the marriage. Here is why:
I know that I love my fiance. I will spend the rest of my life loving her whether or not we have a wedding day. So the question remains as to the purpose of the wedding. For me it's a celebration of the fact that I will be with her. I already know I will and that idea has excited me long before I had proposed; long before the wedding was planned. So if I already know that I will be with her, then that can't possibly the reason for my excitement now. It's a certainty for me. I'm excited about the day because it is going to be the most fun I've had with all of the people I love. It is going to be a celebration of something I already know to be true. My wedding day will be a great day. Not because of the marriage - that's a formality of something I already know - but because of the gather of people to celebrate what I know.

On a side-note. While looking at stuff about Mactaquac park I found a completely unrelated article that I thought would be interesting. Check it out if you want.

Bachelor Parties

2010-08-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon

I'm getting married. I'm 28... soon to be 29... not that it matters. I find that age just sort of blurs after a while. I may as well say I'm 30 as 25... Though there is a definite difference between 30 and 20, I don't feel that there is much difference after you get to the point at which I find myself.
So as I was saying... Married. Or at least getting there. So I'm faced with the inevitable bachelor party and I've had to give it a lot of thought. What do I really want for my party? I'm a movie fanatic, so I've obviously seen "The Hangover" and I know that I don't have enough money to do anything remotely like that. Travel is out of the question.
I also know that I don't want to go too crazy. I'm feeling like I'm past the age where strip clubs are appealing and I'm not sure that I want to be so drunk that I wake up feeling like I've swallowed a trash can.
So what does that leave for me as a bachelor, looking for a party?

Bachelor parties are supposed to involve friends. You can have a huge crowd, or a small group of close friends. So what do I want? And that is where I stalled for a long time.

Here is what I've decided: I am having a small group of friends... Though I am inviting anyone I see. So that shows that I am still slightly undecided about a small or large group. But I am having my party on a Wednesday, so that limits the number of people who can come.
We are going to go camping, which should allow us to have a good time, but not get into a lot of trouble and spend money at casinos, etc. There will be no flash-forward to us waking up with a tiger in the bathroom of our Las Vegas villa.
We will be swimming and that should be a lot of fun. There will also be a round of golf, which seems to be a bachelor party staple.

Being Wealthy Without Money.

2010-07-27T04:10:00.000-07:00

By all means this is not a comprehensive guide for succcess. And in no way do I think that I have all the answers. I only hope to address how a person can attain wealth without changing career, or really anything.
So... Looking back at what I just wrote it sounds like a big statement. You can be rich without changing anything. That is really a lie and I guess I should qualify that statement: I'm not a millionaire. I'm not even a little bit wealthy. But does that matter to me? Nope, not one bit. I have everything I need in my life and I never lack anything I need....
Wait... I take back the statement I made before. Maybe I am wealthy. Despite being in debt, I'm still living a good life where I never go hungry. I mean, I don't have everything I could ever want. But I have everything I need. Maybe we just need to adjust our definition of wealthy. I mean, do you need a jet and your own private island to be wealthy? Or is it enough to just always have everything you need? I've listened to people sitting in their homes, on reclining sectional sofas say things like: "I'm not wealthy but I'm comfortable in life."
My question is this: When do we become wealthy?
Is it when we have a certain amount of money in the bank?
Is it when we have the right brands of clothing on our walk-in closets?
Do you need to be able to afford a certain car or house?

I think, now that I've begun writing this, that I am wealthy. I have all I need to live a healthy, happy life. I never go hungry. I'm always clothed, and there is always heat in my house. I have television, I watch movies, I have a computer. These are the luxuries and this is the life. I am a lucky man.
Even more so, in less than three weeks I will be a husband to a wife who loves me, living in a beautiful place with trees, birds and the fresh ocean air.
I teach children everyday and I get to live the life I had wanted when I was a child.
Am I rich? Yes. Am I thankful? Absolutely. It only take one little change to be wealthy. Just looking at my situation differently. It's not about what I have or don't have. It's about what I am happy with. And, I'm happy with everything in my life as it is.
My job. Truly.
My daily life. Check.
My happiness. 100%.

So, looking back at all I have written. I don't think that I have covered half of the things that make me happy in my life and I don't think I have time to write them all here. I will just say that I feel truly blessed in this life. I'm no millionaire, but I have everything. And I'll talk more about what that "EVERYTHING" is later.

My Attempt at Living a Life

Genius Hour - Working with Student to Do Stuff - Social Entrepreneurship as an Experiment

What Is My Passion?

What Good Stuff?

Issues.

We Met:

How Do We Proceed?

And Now... What?

Conclusion

Sources

My Deep Learning Food Challenge

THE START:

My Global Food Choices

Assessing my Food

The Complication

The Banana Problem

My Personal Solution

The Immediate Plan

Here is my meal plan for dinners this week:

Reflection:

References:

Changing the way we assess can spark creative learning!

What follows is that interivew:

Sources:

ACAPSJ is a Wonderful Source of Vigor

Inspiration Through Social Media

Overview

"Since 1992, ACAP Saint John has become known for partnering and working with the community to help provide solutions to existing and pending environmental problems." (ACAPSJ, 2022)

Programs

The Interview

Next Steps

I'm feeling envigorated!

References

Reflective Journal - The Consuming Hope and Sadness of Consuming

The Consuming Hope and Sadness of Consuming

A Note About Reading This Sustainability Reflective Journal

Travel:

Personal Hygiene:

Breakfast and Lunch:

The Rest of My Consumption Behaviors

Monday:

Daily Consumption Habits

Monday, October 24th:

Tuesday, October 25th:

Wednesday, October 26th:

Thursday, October 27th:

Friday, October 28th:

Saturday, October 29th:

Sunday, October 30th:

Reflection

References:

Connecting Ideas in Sustainability - Netukulimk , Land Ethic, and Biophilic Design

Developing Understanding

Here, Netukulimk is Our Definition of Sustainability

Land Ethic adds to Netukulimk

Biophilic Design Echoes the Past

Extending Netukulimk, Land Ethic, and Biophilic Design

References

06-30-2020 - Privacy Concerns for Teens - Self Study Entry 4

Should we be more concerned for teens?

Can there be a private/public balance?

Maybe the answer is to stop posting so much?

06-29-2020 - Is All Screen Time Created Equal? - Self Study Entry 3

Can you spend less than 2 hours on screens?

So what should you do?

06-26-2022 - We are Addicted New Animals in A New World We Don't Understand - Self Study Entry 2

So, what can we do?

McLuhan Can Teach Us Some Important Stuff

Ribble Can Lead the Way

The 9 areas we need to address:

In the End... Most Importantly

06-25-2022 - The Live Addiction Test - Self Study Entry 1

The New Tech Experiments We Do

What about Cell Phones?

Big Life

New with me

Boston, Stanley Cup and Vancouver Riots

Related articles

Things to look forward to...

Time for some Life Experience