A Most Impressive Day

There are two modes of knowledge: through argument and through experience. Argument brings conclusions and compels us to concede them, but it does not cause certainty nor remove doubts that the mind may rest in truth, unless this is provided by experience.
- Roger Bacon, 1268

I often consider how different school looks today as opposed to when I was in elementary school, or even my parents and grandparents. I remember a whole lot of sitting and listening, and desperately trying to retain the information. It's what we knew to do at the time, and yet experience and research has continued to mold educational practices into so much more of a hands-on, experiential approach.

DLES took this to new heights, literally, as it celebrated its annual Space Day. With the help of so many dedicated parents, our third grade hall was transformed from floor to ceiling to represent our solar system, offering every student, pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, multiple opportunities to journey through space as they travelled the black-light-glowing corridor on a daily basis. But what received "awesomes" or "wows" from the students, and utter amazement from visiting adults, was an extremely effective teaching experience as members of our faculty and third grade teachers designed an academically challenging and exciting unit for their students.

SPACE DAY, 2010

~ Integrating all subjects into the space unit, all objects in the solar system were covered, as well as the study of Earth's rotation and revolution, along with the history of space travel.

~ With every concept taught, our belief in God being the divine creator was reaffirmed.

~ Kicking off the final day with the Space Day Pledge, our Pledge of Allegience, and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, students participated in "stations" throughout the day. This year included a visitor from the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center providing a one-hour workshop for her listeners, a mission control station utilizing our wireless laptops, a rocket station demonstrating the science behind the 2-liter rocket design and ending in our third grade students' individual launches, as well as a visit to the Star Lab - a portable, and inflatable, indoor planetarium. We were also pleased to have a special guest from Vanderbilt University, a specialist in studying the effects of space on astronauts, who shared a powerpoint presentation of those astronauts in space.

~ The unit concluded with a visit to the Adventure Science Museum Planetarium.

What began years ago as a couple of afternoons of science experiments has turned into a multi-week event. DLES students are so fortunate to not only learn, but experience their learning first-hand. Looking forward to Space Day 2011!