Live Oak Changemaker Lesson with Fieldtrip

Lecture in progress

School was different when I was in the 2nd grade. We didn't have an Alemany Farm to visit for one thing, and we certainly didn't have our own School Learning Garden and afterschool program that involved cooking and sharing food we grew at school. Clearly the teachers, parents, and as I learned, the students at Live Oak, are motivated and capable! The end result is what seems to be a great learning environment full of happy people. I had a great time meeting Carla, Nick and Booka (thanks for sending the photos!) and all of their 2nd graders for a classroom 'Change Maker' lecture followed by a field trip to PSG and PRG.

Free exploration time

First up was the lecture. All those years getting a PhD have finally paid off,  I now feel slightly capable of putting together a power point presentation for 2nd graders! Ok I'm kidding around, but really, I think that it is a big honor for Annie and I to be asked to give a teaching lecture for kids, and I was really glad that I could take time off work to go. Following the 'Change Maker' lesson guidelines from the teachers, I basically framed our organization along these lines:

Hmm, that's not an example of Dadaism

What do you want to do?
Why do you want to do this, and how does it affect others?
How do you make it so you get to do what you want?

The kids seemed pretty engaged during the lecture and I was surprised at how excited they all were when they saw the photo of my dog Bentley on one of the slides (note to self: include photo of Bentley in next presentation at work...)

After the lecture we went to the gardens, and started off with some free exploration of the garden, followed by a Q&A, and then a walk through of both gardens. Unfortunately someone had dumped a TV set at PRG, but it did make for a good teaching moment as we talked about what it means and takes to create a safe and beautiful place. It was a great afternoon, and it was a privilege to be able to share the garden.