Corkscrew

I absolutely loved our trip to Corkscrew!  It was beautiful, fascinating, a great escape, and right in our back yard - I could not believe something so unique was in Naples!  It was crazy not only to find that there were multiple ecosystems that made up the sanctuary, but that we were able to stand in the middle of three and see them all distinctly; I honestly do not know if I have ever knowingly experienced that.  The pond cypress, wet prairie, pine flatland, and bald cypress forest (if my memory is serving me correctly) were beautiful scenes that did not make me question once why they were preserved.  It was shocking and quite eerie hearing that the sanctuary was the savior of the last remaining cypress forest in the world.  It made me wonder if and why we, as a human species, really needed all that space to have to eliminate nearly every cypress forest in the world!  It was amazing to see the habitat of just the area of Naples; I cannot imagine what all of the other various cypress forests looked like... and unfortunately I never really can.
Civic engagement ties in directly with the Corkscrew site due to the simple fact that a group of people are all involved in the upkeep, preservation, and belief of the cherished cypress forest.  In addition, the sanctuary involves the community by allowing them to observe and also cherish the preserved forest, as well.  What they do is pretty much a basic definition of civic engagement.  Civic engagement also has to do with the interaction between the government and the community in order to solve a problem; I am sure that the Corkscrew Sanctuary has had plenty involvement with the (local) government in order to be able to preserve the forest, however, I am unable to recall exactly what happened or what steps were taken in their quest (or continuing preservation) of the last remaining cypress forest that is the Corkscrew Sanctuary.     

My Campus Walk

Our class walk through the multiple ecosystems of FGCU was, in my opinion, an extremely enlightening and enjoyable one.  Aside from the interesting facts and history that surrounds our campus, the walk really made everything that was presented to us come to life and give us the ability to really surround and experience our natural campus.  I think it was a wonderful and much needed experience.  It is not enough that the nature walks are there for us, because not all of our students would take advantage of it.  I liked the fact that through this course, we are required to not only learn but experience our campus.  Even if some of the students never walk the nature trails ever again, at least they gained more knowledge about our school history and (hopefully, on some level) became more connected with the campus.
In my opinion, FGCU is (or is at least trying its best) to fulfill its mission of "eco-empowerment."  Universities (and FGCU is no exception) are run (and seen to businessmen) more like businesses, and in regards to a business I feel that FGCU is not doing too bad of a job at trying to become somewhat 'sustainable' and 'eco-friendly.'  I feel that FGCU is doing the best they can and the best they know how, in regards to a business trying to fulfill an environmental mission/promise/obligation.  Even though I feel that a lot of  the reason our mission came about because of all of the controversy and protest around its construction, the school is trying its best to please its community of people and nature in being sustainable and 'green.'  Our tour guide, Tyler, mentioned that everything is a trade-off, and in the case of FGCU it is a perfect example.  My being an Orientation Leader and Orientation Team Leader as a representative of the university for two years has allowed me to feel extremely passionate about this school, good and bad.  I am always in defense of the university and trying to see situations from the perspective of the school, especially since I was trained to as a representative and as just a naturally positive and spirited person by nature.  I feel that the building and mission of FGCU may not have necessarily been out of good will, but I feel that its mission is good, nonetheless.  I see it as a positive movement, regardless, and that as long as we are trying our best to uphold that movement that the university is setting out what it was meant to do - and in my opinion, it is doing the best it knows how to.

The Dewey Readings

Even though Dewey’s first passage was difficult to get through, as it is not exactly the kind of text I am used to, it helped grease the wheels in helping me to understand his complex writing and revolutionary ideas in the following two articles.  As an aspiring teacher myself, it was an extremely interesting experience for me to read the works of one of the most influential people in the area of educational philosophy.  What I really admired and liked about Dewey’s articles were that he was very adamant for replacing traditional education with progressive education.  He essentially wanted to replace the type of teaching where educators would recite information out of textbooks (usually from the past) to students and expect them to memorize it with a new type of teaching that centered around learning “of, by, and for experience.”  Dewey argued his point without bashing the ways of traditional education, supporting progressive education with viable examples, and revealing that it would not be easier but more beneficial to incorporate progressive education into schools.  He expressed that the traditional education methods produced a stagnant type of education that did not inspire students to learn nor assist them in being able to think critically or transmit their learning properly into their present and future.  But progressive education, he argued, could use actual student experience to take what students were learning in textbooks and mold it into a more effective learning experience.  Dewey believed that progressive education could be more appreciated, by students and teachers alike, and used more effectively in transmitting what is learned into a student’s present and future.