Tree Removal

We removed a ponderosa pine from our back yard.

Several months ago, the tree closest to our back window began a slow transformation and turned more brown than all the others. Eventually it died and left behind a tangled mass of withered branches and dried needles.

The dead tree attracted the attention of passing salesmen hoping to reap the benefit of our misfortune. One stopped by unannounced and said, "Your tree is visible from the street. For a thousand dollars, I'll remove it." A thousand dollars? No, thank you! A few days later, another salesman knocked on my door. He quoted me $700 and quickly added that his family was desperate to find work. I would love to help, but even at a substantial discount, almost any amount was too much. This economy has affected us too.

The tree also attracted the attention of a pileated woodpecker with a beautiful red crest on its head. He generally appeared in the mornings and peeled the bark away from the trunk of the tree. In a few short days, the woodpecker managed to strip more than half the tree and leave a pile of discarded bark on the ground. Our family was somewhat entertained by the unusual appearance of this bird, until someone informed me that the woodpecker was eating beetles, the same beetles that killed our tree.

We found ourselves in the dilemma of needing to remove the dead tree but without much money to do so. I finally offered to pay a friend $100 a month for several months if he would cut it down. He refused the offer, but instead showed up to remove the tree at no cost.

My friend climbed the tree and removed the limbs one by one. Meanwhile, I stood on the ground a simply prayed that he wouldn't slip or fall.

After removing the branches, he cut the main trunk into sections. He connected a rope to each section and had me pull them to the ground, thereby directing the direction of their fall. Despite my anxieties, everything landed without a hitch.

Once the tree was on the ground, we found the first concrete signs of the infestation. The inner bark was riddled with the carved channels left by the beetles.

At the very end, we even found a few beetles that managed to escape the woodpecker. Hopefully we stopped the infection of the other trees in our neighborhood.

As a side note, my kids counted 102 rings of the tree stump. It's hard to think this living thing has stood on this place for 102 years.



Prayer Flags

My co-worker Carole is a creative genius. She often comes into work with some new, brilliant idea for an original art project. Most recently, she envisioned a series of flags, modeled after Tibetan prayer flags,  for a colleague who has taken ill. She enlisted dozens of co-workers to each create a flag with an individual, personalized message. Some of the flags contained simple messages of encouragement, while others returned with intricate drawings and designs.   

Carole's project has inspired the faculty, brought comfort to a friend, and raised the creativity quotient throughout the entire Institute for Extended Learning.

Elderberry Flutes

Last Thursday, a group of twelve students gathered at the Adult Education Center on Monroe to make elderberry flutes in a special workshop funded by the IEL Equity Committee. The elderberry project was part of an equity mini-grant that was intended to promote diversity awareness at the IEL by:  

1. Offering students a greater understanding of local tribal history and cultural practices.
2. Drawing a tangible connection between the cultural history of this region and the local ecosystem.
3. Demonstrating to students that math, science, and cultural awareness have inter-connected and real-world applications.
4. Providing students with a tangible end-product (the elderberry flute), thereby increasing the sense of connection to diverse cultures and practices.
5. Increasing diverse perspectives within the curriculum.
6. Improving the student climate at the IEL by creating a sense of cooperation and shared purpose.     

The mini-grant provided funding for Tim Corcoran, co-founder of Twin Eagles Wilderness School, to offer technical instruction for the flute making workshop. He gave the students detailed knowledge regarding the practical skills of the project, along with his personal support for the individual learning process. As students encountered challenges, Tim demontrated a natural ability to balance instruction with encouragement.

Two IEL instructors also participated in the workshop and added a variety of learning perspectives to the project. Carole Parks spoke to the students regarding the science of sound, while Barry Moses spoke about the history of flute making within the Salish speaking tribes of Eastern Washington.

The flute making project had a positive impact on academic achievement.

Several of our GED students got a practical, hands-on lesson regarding measurment and the division of fractions as they learned about the proper placement of the flute holes. They also practiced skills related to geometry as they learned to fashion the wood in the correct angle to produce sound.

In addition to learning about tribal cultures in Washington State, many students made a deeper connection to their own cultures.

One participant recently finished ESL and enrolled in the reading program. She was born in Vietnam, and as she worked on this project, she spoke about the parallels between Native American flutes and the bamboo flutes of her birthplace. Another participant is enrolled with a tribe in the eastern portion of North America. She spoke of deepening her connection to her ancestral roots and of wanting to teach her own children how to make elderberry flutes.

This student gave permission to post his picture online.

As he completed his flute, he made an inscription in the Tagalog language: "Memories to the future." 

This project increased cultural awareness and also created a greater sense of community at the IEL. Some expressions of community were small. For example, I saw one student smile for the first time since he enrolled several quarters ago. Others got to experience that magical moment when a dead stick of wood suddenly produced music.

As the workshop ended, one student said, "Thank you SO much for doing this. I have never done something like this, not even during grade school."

As a follow-up exercise, some of the students wrote essays regarding their experience at the workshop. One student wrote: "At the end of the project, I found myself wanting to create more native and cultural projects. It was a very good experience for me to see how other cultures worked through problems and overcame making a flute with a lot less supplies than I had. It amazes me..."

Sharing

Kate is one of my co-workers (on the left; Pamm is on the right). She arrived in my classroom the other night with several hand-made marionettes. It was certainly an unexpected thing, especially in a college setting, but she told a fascinating story about seeing these animals in a dream. She decided to honor her vision by creating these marionettes using wool and a felting process.

Her sharing inspired me for a couple reasons.

First, Kate honored her vision by making something tangible. I was always taught by my elders respect my dreams, especially if they tell me to make something or to perform a specific task. I can't say that I always follow their advice, so Kate gave me a welcome reminder of my cultural teachings. 

Second, it seems we rarely take the time to share with our co-workers in meaningful ways. So often, we maintain our professional face and forget the potential for real human connection. Kate shared her vision with us, and in the process, she created a greater sense of community in our workplace.  

Eagle Woman.

Another Photocopied Proposal

The man with the photocopied marriage proposals paid a disturbing visit to my workplace.

You may recall that my co-worker Jessica received a marriage proposal from a complete stranger while shopping several weeks ago. Early this evening, that same man was seen distributing a similar proposal 'flyer' in our parking lot - some were placed on car windshields, while others were given to female students as they entered the building. Some of the students complained of harassment and asked me to intervene. Others were simply frightened to go outside.

In response, I contacted our security guard and asked him to direct the man away from our campus. Come to find out, he had already been asked to leave several times before as a result of the same behavior.

When Jessica first received this letter, I felt somewhat sympathetic toward this man whom I perceived as socially misinformed and lonely. But as a repeated pattern of trespassing and harassment emerges, I feel something shifting within myself. Most importantly, I feel more protective of my students than ever before.

*

The photo above shows a letter that was received by one of our female students as she entered the building this evening. It's very similar to the one received by Jessica several weeks ago. As a bizarre side-note to this story, the man also gave her a package of strawberry shortcake glaze. Strange.

Once again, I removed the name and phone numbers before posting the image online.

A Birthday Celebration With Co-Workers

This Sunday is my 40th birthday, but the observances have already started. Yesterday evening, my co-workers threw a small birthday celebration in my honor, complete with turtle cheesecake, sparkling apple-pomegranate cider, and a gift.

Of course, they couldn't resist at least a little good-natured humor about 'getting old.' They gave me one of those gag cards that plays a pre-recorded message when opened. The recording has two comical-sounding, high pitch voices that laugh between themselves and say:

"Oh, you're not old. You're not that old. No, there's lots of things older than you. There's a ton of things: redwood trees, rocks, most of the planets - did you say Napoleon? Napoleon. Yeah, you're younger than Napoleon. Compared to him you're in an infant - a baby. We could go on and on and on, but let's just say: Happy birthday you young whippersnapper!"

The best part of our little celebration was that Ward came back to visit after battling a long illness. What a blessing to witness his recovery and to see his happy face!

The State of Education

Our dean at the IEL recently sent this video to all the faculty in our division. It certainly shows the institution of education in a new, though-provoking light.  This  video resonates deeply with me as an individual, and yet I'm at a loss for how to implement these ideas on an organizational level.

What do you think?

Bike to Work

My colleague from the IEL invited me to participate in "Bike to Work Week." I have to admit that I hesitated, but finally agreed. Normally, I drive to work in about 20 minutes; however, I rode my bike to work in about 55 minutes. We only biked two days this week, but I have to say that I feel just a little proud of myself.

Winter Party

Teacher, Nurse, and Mom-to-All Carole with her daughter...

The Winter Party at the IEL evening class was a big success. We combined our efforts with the ESL and doubled the value.

Of course, I must take this opportunity to honor my coworkers. All of them make my job a million times better through their hard work, dedication to our students, and good humor. They're always willing to provide comic relief when needed. They are the best bunch of people to work with, seriously.


Pamm... AKA Fraulein.


Ward...


Susan, our faithful administrative assistant and goatherd.... :)

The Yard

Standing at the beginning of our restoration project...


Sage from our yard...

Over the years, our back yard has fallen into a state of disrepair, perhaps as a result of dogs, kids, busy schedules, and just a little laziness. Our front yard is still green at least, but the back yard has never been a high priority on my list of things to do.

Recently, I developed a new interest in the back yard through a rather strange turn of events. Oddly, my interest began with an aversion to trampolines.

My son has begged me for years to buy a tampoline, but I steadfastly resisted his attempts to pursuade me. "They're dangerous," I always said, "I've known too many people who have broken their bones or suffered serious injury as a result of the trampoline." My arguments never impressed him much. The begging always continued until I finally invoked the parental end-all known as "We can't have a trampoline because I say so." That always worked.

That is, until yesterday. Somehow the topic of conversation took a nauseating turn back to the subject of trampolines. Dakota resumed his begging, but after years of valiant resistance, I finally reached a compromise. "Okay," I blurted, "If you help me restore our back yard to perfection, I will buy you a trampoline." He agreed without hesitation.

With no small amount of satisfaction, Dakota took out his pencil and paper and began to plan our new yard. Of course, things will be different this time. I told him we are going to attempt something more environmentally friendly than what we had before.

Years ago, I had purchased several indigenous plants for our back yard, including sage and wild rose. While many of our decorative plants have died, the native plants continue to thrive. This is because indigenous plants are better adapted to our local ecosystem and require less maintenance. They demand less water and make less of an impact on our local water supply.

Our new yard will still have a grassy area in the center, but it will be considerably smaller than before. We will expand the areas of indigenous plants along the edges of the yard. We will plant more roses, sage, Oregon grape, service berry, and others. I can hardly wait to see the end result.

A large and expensive project lies ahead, but it doesn't matter. Working together, we will create a new yard step by step. As an added measure of accountability, I will report on our progress from time to time on this blog. Of course, Dakota will never let me forget, because we did make a deal, after all. His drawing already includes the location of his trampoline to be.

Influence

Vicki Broden with dolls from Otavalo, Ecuador.

A person never knows the extent of his or her influence.

Just yesterday I made an interesting connection as a result of this blog. A woman by the name of Vicki Broden works for Adult Basic Education in Colville and knows several of my previous co-workers. She happened to notice my blog one day while these same friends were reviewing online pictures of my trip to Ecuador. Vicki is originally from Quito, so naturally she took an interest in seeing photographs from her home.

She recognized all of the places we visited. In particular, she enjoyed the pictures from Avenida Amazonas in downtown Quito. As a little girl, she lived in the same neighborhood with her family.

Vicki was also moved by my account of the men with long hair in the LDS Church in Otavalo, so much that she brought two dolls to our faculty meeting as a gift for me. The dolls provide an accurate representation of the typical indigenous clothing of the Otavalo region. She especially wanted me to have the doll representing the Indian man with long hair.

I don't think I've ever received such a beautiful gift from someone who had been a complete stranger to me only moments before. Her gift moved and inspired me.

Mama Beans

The Institute for Extended Learning convened its annual fall conference in preparation for the coming academic year, and invited Stephy Nobles-Beans, affectionately known as "Mama Beans," as the keynote speaker. She addresses the IEL almost every year at our graduation ceremony, and inspires the audience with her passionate oratory skills. Her voice resonates with the fiery tenor of a southern-style preacher, but without the brimstone. She radiates positive energy and love.

This year she said something quite memorable. Speaking of her love for students, she said, "Every student has a sacred story." Her words remain with me, and no doubt change the way I see my own students as the new school year begins. I would like to be more liker her.

Her website can be seen below:

http://mamabeans.com/base