Oct. 17 Exit Slip -- Thank you letters, measurements, inquiry questions, and more...

We managed to get through a few big ideas during today's class. With our (likely) last outdoor class, we started by writing a math-esque thank-you letter to something in the garden. My thank you letter to grass became a bit more like a poem, but here it is: 

     Thank you grass 

     for your length and width 

     but do you feel depth?

     perhaps not in your being of grass

     but maybe in your movement

     in your rising and waning amplitude in a cool breeze 

     in your curved tableau on a calm day

     in the way you gather together at the root 

     your Cartesian origin 

     and burst forth into three-dimensional space 

     thank you grass for your length and width 

     I hope you can feel your depth

Then we explored embodied measurement. While the activity was to try measuring out seed beds, Manveen and I took more of a "choose your own adventure" approach. We began by testing some of the measurements from the table provided on random objects in the garden and then comparing them with the actual ruler measurement. We found that the embodied methods were fairly accurate and could be easily calibrated based on more data about our own bodies. For example, Manveen's hand length was closer to 6.5", whereas mine was approximately 7.25", which we compared to the table's provided length of 7.5". Next, we tested the hypothesis of wingspan equalling height. Here, my wingspan was smaller than my height and Manveen's wingspan was greater than her height. But on average, the hypothesis was true for our colleagues.

Lastly, we discussed our inquiry projects and Manveen and I had similar interests in Indigenous pedagogies. But I've thought of two possible ways to avoid extensive overlap. Firstly, I might consider looking into SOGI in the math classroom instead. But, another possibility would be to narrow my Indigeneity focus to slow pedagogies and how classes start (inspired by our slow and quiet starts to inquiry lessons). I'm excited to start my short practicum and have one of these focuses emerge as my inquiry question. 

Orchard Garden, October 17, 2024