CAP Post Test Survey…

As the quarter comes to a close, I want to get some open and honest feedback from the 3rd Quarter 2006 CAP class to improve the CAP for future students. This information is anonymous and will not affect your grade, but it will be reviewed by the school, the Cottonwood Institute, and the information gathered from the survey will help us apply for grants to secure funding for this class to make it accessible to other high school students. Please click on the survey link below to take the CAP Post Test Survey. Click here to take survey.

Quote for March 21, 2006

“Bits and pieces. Bits and pieces. People. People important to you cross your life everyday, touch it with love and carelessness, and move on. There are people who leave you, and you breathe a sigh of relief and wonder why you ever came into contact with them. There are people who leave you, and you breathe a sigh of remorse and wonder why they had to go away and leave such a gaping hole. Children leave parents; friends leave friends. Acquaintances move on. People change. People grow apart. Enemies hate and move on. Friends love and move on. You think on the many people who have moved into your hazy memory. You look on those presents and wonder. I believe in God’s master plan in lives. He moves people in and out of each other’s lives and each leaves their mark on the other. You find you are made up of bits and pieces of all who ever touched your life, and you are more because of it.” – Unknown

Eighth Intelligence

If you are an educator, you have probably heard of Howard Gardner and his theory of Multiple Intelligence. The seven types of intelligence include: Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. By identifying the various types of intelligence, schools and educators can tailor their curriculum to develop all intelligences among youth. But what about our connection to the natural world? After all, humans have been evolving for approximately 2 million years and have been able to do so largely because of an intimate knowledge and connection with our natural environment.

Gardner later identified an Eighth Intelligence: Naturalist Intelligence, which describes an awareness of the natural world. The Cottonwood Institute develops educational programs and courses that are designed to develop the Eight Intelligence among high school students. According to Professor Leslie Owen Wilson, found in the book Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv (2005), youth with the Eighth Intelligence:

• Have keen sensory skills, including sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
• Readily use heightened sensory skills to notice and categorize things from the natural world.
• Like to be outside, or like outside activities like gardening, nature walks, or field trips geared toward observing nature or natural phenomena.
• Easily notice patterns from their surroundings – likes, differences, similarities, anomalies.
• Are interested in and care about animals or plants.
• Notice things in the environment others often miss.
• Create, keep, or have collections, scrapbooks, logs, or journals about natural objects – these may include written observations, drawings, pictures and photographs, or specimens.
• Are very interested, from an early age in television shows, videos, books, or objects from or about nature, science, or animals.
• Show heightened awareness of and concern for the environment and/or for endangered species.
• Easily learn characteristics, names, categorizations, and data about objects or species found in the natural world. (Louv, 2005, p. 72-73).

Question: What is your opinion of the Eighth Intelligence? Do you think this is a priority in K-12 public/private education? Why or why not?

Quote for March 20, 2006

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills thousands of ideas and splendid plans: that the moment on commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Rescue Scenarios

Quote for March 17, 2006

“Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” – Henry Miller

Quote for March 16, 2006

“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourself a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles.” – Helen Keller

CU Biodiesel Visits the Community Adventure Program

Quote for March 14, 2006

"When we create something, we always create it first in a thought form. If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting and envisioning pleasure, satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations, and events which conform to our positive expectations." – Shakti Gawain

Quote for March 13, 2006

“Creative people, be they baker or diplomat, teacher or welder, shape their lives with a profound sense of personal meaning. They are not manipulated by circumstances. They are responsible, free, and fulfilled. They love and enjoy their lives, their work, and they people around them. They are energized by their purpose. They continually discover new resources and possibilities. They feel great satisfaction and peace of mind flowing from the contributions they make in shaping a better life and world.” – George Land and Beth Jarman

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