NYSOEA Conference Reflections

First off, let me say how wonderful it is to be wanted. I am really excited to be a contributor to the PMOEC Blog and, oh, do I have some things to blog about. But today, I will limit my comments to this past weekend's New York State Outdoor Education Association annual meeting. This year we descended upon the Holiday Inn in Fishkill, New York. I was joined by Brian, our Assistant Director and Julia (aka Thriller), our Marketing Director. We were excited to meet the representative from the Northern region, Gary "Griz" Caudle, who replaced our very own Jack Swan on the board of NYSOEA. We also were pumped to check out the low ropes course at The Sharpe Reservation, borrowing some ideas to create new stations and repair old ones at our own low ropes course. Overall, we all were able to learn some new things at the conference that will help us make our classes better and better classes are always our goal. Next time I feel the need to post on the blog, I promise to include pictures, but for now, you will have to imagine the beauty of conference rooms inside a hotel.

Old Classes Made New Again

Our curriculum is constantly evolving as new people come to work at the Outdoor Education Center and bring new ideas with them. For many classes, this evolution is a gradual process--a new activity might be added one season, then someone thinks up a new way to explain something the next. Everyone once in a while, however, a class might undergo a significant overhaul.

Last winter we began the process of revising our curriculum. For most of our classes, this meant rewriting the existing description to match the way that we've been teaching the class recently. There were a few classes, though, that we don't teach very often here (since the classes that we teach depends on what classes our clients request), and many of these rarely-taught classes seemed like they needed some serious work.

One of the classes that got serious attention was our Revolutionary War simulation, formerly known as "Time Quest." (These days we're calling it "Rev War Sim," though the name is still under debate.) This class asks students to think about how the war might have affected some of the people involved, and for the students to come to their own conclusions about which side they might support in the war.

To begin the class, the students review what they already know about the Revolution. They then are asked what they would like to know. These questions are then recorded for the groups to take with them to the main portion of the activity: meeting and talking with various people involved in the war. These people represent a range of view points of view. In the photo below you can see some of the people that they meet. From left to right: A British soldier, a patriot woman, a Loyalist woman who is a camp follower for the British army, another British soldier (who has suffered an eye injury), and a revolutionary soldier. (During the activity, we don't all sit together...we were just enjoying the campfire while we waited for the students to arrive.) The students also have a chance to meet a member of the Mohawk tribe.

These characters all have diverse back-stories and beliefs about the revolution. One of our goals is to show the students the full range of experiences that people in the colonies had during the war.

We hope that seeing this range of perspectives will help the kids to make their own decisions about the war. At the end of the evening, we ask the kids to stand on a "value line," from die-hard patriots to completely loyal subjects of the king, with every shade of grey in between. The kids then get the chance to explain to their classmates why they chose to stand where they did. We have taught the "new" Time Quest a few times since it was unveiled last spring, and every time we have been very impressed with the careful thought the kids have given to forming their opinions.

Time Quest is not the only class that has been rejuvenated; Orienteering was also completely reworked last spring. Climate Change and Nature Crafts are on the docket to be worked on this fall...stay tuned for further updates on those two!

Are You Allergic to Goldenrod? (This is a Trick Question)

Fall may bring crisp, cool weather and beautiful colors in the trees, but it also brings fall allergies! Many of us (me included) suffer from runny noses, sneezing, and watery eyes as the seasons change, and we look around for something to blame. For many people, their eyes are drawn to goldenrod.

When I was growing up, one of the cardinal rules in my house was that we shouldn't pick goldenrod and bring it inside, because it would set off my father's allergies. As I grew up and started developing seasonal allergies, I also assumed that goldenrod was to blame...imagine my surprise when I learned that this beautiful flower is falsely accused!

It's easy to understand why so many people blame goldenrod for their suffering. Whenever they sneeze, they can look around and, most likely, see the showy golden flowers somewhere nearby. But in actuality, the very showiness of the goldenrod's flowers should be our clue that it is not to blame for our allergies.

In general, plants with showy flowers are showy for a reason: to attract their insect pollinators. Since these plants rely on insects to carry their pollen from plant to plant, the pollen is generally too heavy to be carried by the wind. Therefore, the pollen from these flowering plants is rarely to blame for your sneezing!

The true culprit is generally growing somewhere close to the goldenrod, but is much less likely to be noticed: ragweed. As you can see from the photo below, ragweed is a fairly nondescript plant. Unless you know what you're looking for, it's easy to miss.

This year seems to be a particularly good year for ragweed--it's growing in every corner, and I've seen some truly mammoth plants. So if you are a fellow allergy sufferer, get ready for an intense allergy season!

First Aid Training

Yesterday the Pok-O Staff finished up our first aid certifications. We all are certified by the American Red Cross in "Responding to Emergencies" and "CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer." It's good to have this training, but spending hours on end in the class tends to make us all a little loopy. Luckily, we were able to direct this loopiness to good use in our practical exam, when we bandaged Adam up for almost anything we could. In the photo below, he is treated for: A possible skull fracture, a neck injury (kind of...this isn't actually how we would treat a neck injury), a broken forearm, and a cut on his other arm. Only the fact that it was time for dinner prevented us from splinting a leg or putting him on the backboard!

First Aid Training was the last part of our staff training. Today the kids arrive! Two hours and counting left!