Punctuating Plastic Pollution

The banquet for the Balfour scholars at the Balfour Pre College Academy was so incredible. I was really excited to see what all of the other classes had worked on and what the students had produced in those classes (cultural identity and GALACTIC). Having facilitated last summer, I knew that I would be impressed by what the students worked on, but just as last  year, I was surprised and blown away by the creativity and powerful words that the students shared in this evening. Here are some pictures of the posters that the Poverty Near and Far group made:

Our final class went by so quickly. I was so in awe of all that the students had been working on. I found myself just quietly walking around the room, observing the students' posters and listening in on their conversations about the weekly topics. Our topic as an umbrella was "poverty near and far" where we explored how it is systemic and how it affects marginalized populations locally and globally. But that umbrella covers a wider range of subtopics- how it affects beyond just people. It even affects our environment! The students used their words and their creativity and poured all of their energy into posters that were used in a mock "march" for poverty. Seeing them practice their presentation, I felt very humbled to be in the same room as these scholars!

Today, the students took what they had been learning about in the first few days of GALACTIC and applied this to a poster-making project. Our students will be walking into the Balfour banquet dinner during their time to present by making a simulated peaceful protest march. While I already had high expectations for what the students would produce, I was still blown away by the insight, creativity, and ideas that these students possess. We asked for students to act as though they were going to a march for poverty. What they were to produce is some kind of poster/sign that would convey a message (in their voice) and illicit a response from an audience. And...did they ever do that. Students used pictures, drawings, cutouts, and more to portray strong visuals. They also used their words to construct phrases and slogans to speak for their cause. One student in particular wrote a message- in spoken word- that would share his message. He is brilliant with words. I am looking forward to see

Education Hello, I'm Rachel Melnick, and I am a teacher of 5th and 6th grade language arts in Bloomington, Indiana. I had the wonderful opportunity and pleasure of attending Indiana University where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Prior to attending the university, I knew that I wanted to pursue and undergraduate degree, but at the time I had an entirely different path set up in my mind. Beginning coursework in a different content area, it hit me like a ton of bricks one day that my strengths, interests, and passions were in working with children. From that point forward I transitioned my educational plan and started the track in education. Since graduating, I have been teaching for seven years now. Recently bitten by inspiration, I have decided to return to Indiana University where I will be taking courses in a graduate program at the School of Education in the Literacy, Culture, and Language department. I did not pursue a Master's degree im

The Problem with Planning around Plastic  Here I was at a convention this last week, getting excited about authors and getting kids excited about authors and reading. The problem with plastic is my lack of planning to be prepared for how much plastic I come across when outside of my home. Recycling is great, but eliminating the use of plastic altogether is even better.  It was not even 8:00 and within the breakfast time frame, I had already used plastic cutlery, a paper plate, a plastic cup for water, a disposable coffee cup and plastic lid. So much waste in so little time. Lunch did not get any better. I didn't carry my cups with me to the panels, so I used again, more cups, lids, plastic silverware, and a paper plate. I have all of these ideas about how to avoid these things, but I do not put them into action very well. I've come to the conclusion that in order to make an impact, I need to make being prepared a routine, and then it isn't so hard to remember after a

Snapshot Education Hello, I'm Rachel Melnick, and I am a teacher of 5th and 6th grade language arts in Bloomington, Indiana. I had the wonderful opportunity and pleasure of attending Indiana University where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Prior to attending the university, I knew that I wanted to pursue and undergraduate degree, but at the time I had an entirely different path set up in my mind. Beginning coursework in a different content area, it hit me like a ton of bricks one day that my strengths, interests, and passions were in working with children. From that point forward I transitioned my educational plan and started the track in education. Since graduating, I have been teaching for seven years now. Recently bitten by inspiration, I have decided to return to Indiana University where I will be taking courses in a graduate program at the School of Education in the Literacy, Culture, and Language department. I did not pursue a Master's