Monster Blog

Monster STEM: Reflection on Class

I always enjoy this class, I feel excited and confused and curious and impressed and lots of other emotions. However, I also always feel like I’m in a whirlwind with the tazmanian devil for 2 hours and then left standing, thinking what…just…happened?! I love the content. I appreciate the way we are all challenged to think higher, bigger, more technically, and outside the box. I do NOT like how much we attempt to pack in to such a short time period and feel like it could be richer if we had a little more time to think and process what we’re supposed to be grasping conceptually instead of being pushed so hard to move quickly and, sometimes, quite literally abandoning something for the sake of moving on to another topic that we’re supposed to cover.

As a teacher, I respond to my students; if they’re moving at a pace different from what I planned and they’re engaged and we’re working in a rich, collective mode…I adjust. I guess because this is one of my practices, I feel frustrated when I don’t get to learn in a similar environment. That being said, I want to be super clear that this is NOT a reflection of the professors in this class. I am fairly solidly convinced that this feeling of moving too fast at times has EVERYthing to do with my shortage of knowledge on the topics we’re covering. I am usually the one pacing (either mentally or literally around the room) because things are moving too slowly! Add in the medical challenges I’ve been managing and it is highly likely that I am the cause of my own frustration.

Monster Solution: What Do We Do with the Monster Lobe?

I am endlessly disappointed by the human need to fix and control everything. The lobe is a mass that is moving of its own accord. I’m going to take a big leap and make an assumption that it may have something to do with the massive alterations we’re making to a planet that’s doing its best to sustain us.

Let’s just for a moment imagine what solution we would seek if that Monster Lobe was in our sinus passage. What would you want others to do about it? If they blow it up, you lose your sense of smell, your nervous system will never be the same, and you will from that moment forward need monitoring and maintenance. Any other drastic alteration of the mass would have similar potential consequences to your face. I know it always changes my thinking when I make it personal.

I would propose that we determine a way to maintain a roadway/passage for OUR needs (transport on the Dalton Highway) that does not interfere with the lobe. We could dig and build a tunnel for the road to run underground. If that’s not feasible, how about building two alternate roadways? One ahead of the lobe to use while it’s sliding over the current roadway, one behind it to use while waiting for it to finish moving past, and then return to the original road path once it’s clear. Better yet, build a structure that would allow the mass to flow over top of the roadway that could later be deconstructed once the lobe is past. A non-permanent structure that would have a minimal and temporary impact on nature.

Whew…whoever gave me this soapbox…could you please take it back?!