Worth the Weight

 When I taught high school, and had my own classroom, my lessons were filled with realia, experiments, and hands-on learning activities.  Over the years as a community college educator, hiking across campus, slipping in and out of buildings, teaching in different classrooms for every class, those experiences dwindled.  There's only so much one teacher can carry, and there are times I wish for a shopping cart.  For the longest time, the barista at a neighborhood coffee shop thought I was an airline attendant due to my rolling luggage (filled with books, papers, and other teaching miscellany).

This semester, however, I've tried to do a little more to make readings, themes, and lessons come alive.  A recent reading text around the theme of the environment was pretty dry.  Focused on water, the text broke down tap water regulations, and the rise of bottled water in the U.S.  At home, I had students view The Story of Bottled Water, which caught their attention more.  Then I trekked to my grocery store, bought up a variety of bottled water (not especially cheap!), covered them and numbered them.  The next day, I hauled in the grocery bags of bottled water, cups, and rating sheets.  Then I played waiter, while students did a blind taste test of the water.

The results were revealed:  No one liked Dasani.  A lot of people like Fiji.  Crystal Geyser got mixed reviews.  Tap water fared quite well despite the fact they all said they never drink it.  Suddenly, students referred to their text, discussed the implications of bottled water, and the reality of drinking safe tap water in San Francisco.  Nothing extra-creative here, no real bells and whistles.  No technology.  Just a little extra weight I had to haul to class to generate interest and make a reading come to life.

 Lesson Learned:  Despite the heavy load, it's worth it to go the extra mile and bring in what you can to make a reading come alive.