Melting Icebergs?

  If the global apocalypse is right around the corner, hopefully we won't see it coming.
                                                                                                                      
 In the 1980's we were fearful of perishing in nuclear destruction. In the 90's our              attention on destruction was focused on the impact of an asteroid, then there was 9/11    and the anthrax scares. According to Discover magazine, the latest worry is plague. Powell has an interesting view on global destruction; "We are fascinated by speculation about the end of the world , I think, because it paradoxically makes us feel safe. Global destruction  is so grand, so overdramatic, that is doesn't feel connected to our lives the way more       immediate worries like cancer or Alzheimer's are."   
                                                                                                                            Since Dr.Wieslav Maslowski denied the prediction, popularized by Al Gore, that the, "entire polar ice cap would be completely ice free in the next five to seven years", there hasn't been much media talk about it. I have read a few articles about the possibility of their demise but none seem to point to a cataclysmic event.


Reports claim that the earth's temperature has risen half a degree Celsius over the last 100 years and that minimal rise has had an effect on our planet; our seas have risen 6 to 8 inches over the last 100 years, according to the EPA. Furthermore, this warming, "may cause icebergs to melt but this would not make the oceans rise."


If the process, of the melting, continues at a slow rate, I beleive nature will make accommodations to the changes and 'fix' the necessary problems as they present themselves. It is difficult for me to envision a flash flood from the melting icebergs however, their demise would have significant repercussions for wildlife and change the landscape into an irreversible state perhaps forever.

Reflection Lesson Plan

With this being my first year teaching first grade, I was somewhat anxious to see how a science class would be tolerated by my students. I am happy to report that my class responded better that I thought they would.

At the beginning of the lesson, when I was talking to them about some of the tools scientist use, they seemed uninterested. When I further mentioned that they would become scientists, and would be using a scientific tool, they all perked up.

The tool they were going to use was a magnifying glass. To keep them from bursting out of their seats, I handed out the lenses and turned the class loose. There were the safety rules and expected behavior rules but they were so ingrossed in discovering how the magnifying glass worked I had no issue of safety or behavior to deal with.

A handful of my students held the lenses up to their eye and boisterously proclaimed, "hey, this thing is broken"!  I had all I could do to contain my laughter as i showed them the proper way to use the lens.

Retrospectively, I should have instructed them on the proper use of the lens prior to turning them out to discover the world of magnification but it worked out fine as it did.
I also will adjust the time allowed for discovery as they were most engrossed with this activity.

I am still committed to teaching my young students the value of observation and the other simple techniques of discovery. Sometime later on I will introduce the wonders of technology
in such a way that it serves to enhance their primal findings.

-JP