Spoon out the joy of winning the lottery. Blend in how it feels to be recognized for work well done. Add the excitement of seeing your favorite band and stir. The mixture of all these emotions barely approximates the sheer exuberance of learning I was selected to participate in PolarTREC this year. An achievement so much desired was finally becoming real. The opportunity to be part of a research team in the Arctic was taking shape. After this initial exhilaration somewhat subsided, I centered my thoughts and began to ponder the responsibilities that this opportunity entails. I reread the PolarTREC literature to parse out the program and researcher expectations of the teacher. The combination of the excitement for having been chosen and the duty to fulfill PolarTREC's requirements were foremost in my mind as I set out for Alaska.
This is the view from the IARC Conference Room, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
En route to Alaska for the PolarTREC orientation, I sat transfixed by the airplane window in awe of those majestic sentinels of a tectonic past. What was going on inside my mind was more akin to the fluid currents breaking against the coast. How can I best prepare to be an integral and relevant part of the research team? How can the words and images I share in my journals best convey what it means to scientifically investigate a natural phenomenon in the Arctic? What meaning will this experience have for my students and community? These were the questions I had percolating through my mind as I studied the orientation outline.
This is the view from the IARC Conference Room, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Questions still swirl and some spiral off into eddies of other questions. However, I do not feel completely adrift when thinking about the "what-ifs". If anything, Day One of orientation has assured me that our mentors, PolarTREC staff and fellow teachers are there to throw that metaphoric "life jacket".
Comments
Add new comment