Weblog #3

Weblog #3

  1. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nanook-of-the-north/
    1. This was a bit of a combo search as I was doing some research into documentaries and this one stood out for being one of the first of its kind to use footage to successfully combine documentary footage with the art of storytelling in cinema. It’s interesting how some of the critiques about the film were how some of the scenes were staged a bit. But that is the magic of cinema. A director is free to capture anything they need to fulfill the intention of the story. Although some of the footage is staged, I don’t think it misrepresents the life or skills of “Nanook”.
  1. http://www.forestschoolcanada.ca/wp-content/themes/wlf/images/FSC-Guide_web.pdf?date=july72014
    1. Next stop is one from the resources of the Forest and Nature School pdf. I was thinking about how the outdoor activities that we experienced at Gavin Lake Forest Education Centre were designed and set up. I was struck by how important this experience of going there must have been for my students. I can still vividly recall most of the trip, and I’m certain that my students have a better memory than I do. This pdf is a very clean resource book for people looking into for more information about outdoor school and the benefits that they provide for students. I was looking for the inclusion of the Gavin Lake Forest Society in the recommended programs at the back of the pdf. Not included.
  1. http://www.saplingsoutdoorprogram.ca
    1. This is one of the recommended outdoor programs that is running in my school district, West Vancouver. I am curious to check it out as our district, and my school, has one of the highest household incomes in the province. It looks like a typical preschool/daycare program where they spend a lot of time outside, but maybe more focused on learning about the outdoors and nature. Its hard to say, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information about what the kids do on a typical day.
  1. http://www.citylab.com/design/2013/09/what-our-kids-dont-learn-when-they-dont-play/6972/
    1. This is an article found on the Saplings webpage in their resources webpage. One of the points of the article is how youth spend a lot of time in structured environments, from schools to being shuttled to after school activities and the like, if they can afford them. I am happy to say that my kids don’t have a lot of activities after school and spend a lot of time outside with the kids in the neighbourhood, especially in the summer when the weather is nice. Working in West Vancouver I see a lot of students that look like they have been in structured activities or playing inside on their gaming devices.
  1. https://aeon.co/essays/children-today-are-suffering-a-severe-deficit-of-play
    1. This is an article similar to the one above about how playing outside is extremely important to that mental health and well-being of youth. I’m going to relate this back to my time in Anahim Lake. The students there generally spent a lot of time outdoors, weather permitting. Even in the frozen cold of the winter they still found time to good outside. However considering the limited amount of daylight hours in the winter a lot of the daylight was wasted spent inside at school. Students would arrive at sunrise and go home at sunset. Students were to go outside at recess and lunch every day but it was only for a few minutes at time due to the -20 C °. Most of the students would go out on the weekends and play outdoor hockey, ride snowmobiles, or hunt.

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