Wk 8 - Day 37

i was looking forward to today's lab. i named the lab "infected!" i'm starting a unit on viruses. i kept telling the students that i get to "kill" some of them today. most students laughed and a few looked frightened. i had to laugh at those students and tell them i'm just kidding...we're pretending.

i told the students that they all live in taipei, taiwan with me and were invited over to a party even though SARS had another outbreak. i had little canisters half filled with flour and a couple partily filled with baking soda. they had to write down the names of two students to "share a drink" with, but if someone else came up to them to share...they couldn't refuse. so, a student might have two names on their list, but end up with six. after they were done exchanging their "drinks", i went around with a squirt bottle of vinegar...if it fizzed, they died and if it didn't...they survived. there was ~75% death rate in the classes. the detective work started when the students needed to find the original carrier of the virus. mrs. s had used the overhead projector and wrote down the names of the dead and who was on their list. i thought it was kind of confusing. before i knew that she had done this technique...i did my own thing. i had one student stand up and read off the first name and if that person had died...they stood up too and read their list. this way, the students could visually see the transmission path of the virus.

i don't like lists, lecturing, or being lectured at which is why i'll do everything else before i have to lecture or give notes to the students. i like moving around and being able to touch/manipulate things or have something to look at besides words. i still know very well what it's like to sit in a seat all day and listen to a lecture. when i asked mrs. s what she preferred...the overhead projector or my technique...she liked mine...which gave me warm fuzzies. it was a great day.