Dog walking in the park at night: squelch in wet grass and the sound of men in the darkness playing a pick-up soccer match.
Ahead, the glorious rotunda; uplights levitating the corrugated iron and hardwood to hover abov
e the park.
And look, inside to see the intricate framework.
What would be the angle between the ‘spokes?’
By applying our knowledge about the total number of degrees in a circle, how can we calculate the individual angles by counting the spokes? Why have those shapes been used to support the roof. Is it about strength or asthetics?
Does the roof shape resemble an bandsman’s helmet from a time where a Sunday outing to the park provided an entertainment at the turn of the 20th Century, no TV or radio. Imagine the gatherings to farewell some of the young men whose names appear in the long lists of the war memorial beside the gates, where the Anzac wreath hangs, flowers browning while the years condemn not the memory of the stone enshrined sadness on either side.
How, why, and with what?
What are the patterns, relationships and emotive responses we feel to a rich and complex world around us.
In other words, if we can excite curiosity, the learning stimuli and resources are all around us. We can then use some of the great tools at our disposal to find out more, to link ideas and then to create evidence of new knowledge and understandings.
Sounds pretty good to me. Here’s a sketchbook view of the rotunda
2 Responses to “The learning is there in front of us.”
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June 30th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
[...] It is great to remind ourselves of the potential for learning to occur whenever and wherever, and to see the opportunities for learning. [...]
June 1st, 2010 at 8:27 am
[...] around: there are countless opportunities to learn and to find things to excite our curiosity. We, as teachers, will often find that we find the best [...]