Hector Leon's Images and Rambling's |
Every Image Has A Story |
Just playing with lights and shadows!! I made these images in my living room and tried different lighting set ups...looks like I need to practice a little more to get the light just right ! anyway...I think it's ok for my first attempt at product lighting! What do you guys think?? If you like these images just press your little finger up against the small heart!! If not..well I'll get over it !!
Here are a few water droplet images I made recently. Water is truly a wonderful thing..it not only is essential for life, but also brings pleasure to the senses!
I am totally in awe of the glorious sunsets that greet us every morning here in the High Desert. As I readied myself for another week of work ..this 6th day of June ..I peeked out my kitchen window and saw this wondrous sunrise developing..Wow! I need to capture this before its brilliant colors fade..so I hurried out the door and into my car. Speeding down my dirt road here in Cache Creek I new that these special moments of natures wonder are fleeting, so I stopped and quickly retrieved my phone camera and captured the splendor of our Sun bathing the Desert floor with her brilliant glory! You see...here is where one can truly appreciate the Creation and the beauty, wonder and majesty of His handiwork.
So if your not a morning person..why not make a special effort to get up before the sun sunrises...and then just sit back..position yourself..be still ..and then allow yourself to be embraced by the Moment!! Oh ! and don't forget your camera so you can share it with others..uhm (late risers !!)
What is it about farm animals that causes so much excitement among little children (and some adult kids)...maybe it's because unlike your garden variety domesticated pets..farm animals are not something little children are accustomed to seeing on a daily bases. Well the kids at Mojave Elementary School received a special treat today...Flying -F- Ranch of Lucerne Valley loaded up a trailer full of farm critters and put them out to pasture here at Mojave Elementary. As the trailer positioned itself to be offloaded , the kids were anxiously awaiting to see what kind of animals were inside. They would not be disappointed !
Thanks to Mrs Buchanan, a teacher at Mojave Elementary School and her husband John, who runs the Ranch.. the kids were able to experience a little taste of the farm life.
Natalie and John Buchanan have been showing off their collection of farm animals for many years now, but this is the first time they have shared their critters with Mojave kids. Their Flying-F-Ranch which is located in Lucerne Valley has been host to bus loads of school children from local schools. Recently they were visited by a group of mentally challenged students from
Lucerne Valley Unified. Needless to say, all the kids that are exposed to this wholesome activity are rewarded with a deeper appreciation of our animal Kingdom.
Before moving to Lucerne Valley Natalie and John along with their two young daughters Beth and Charlotte made their home in Yerba Linda for over twenty years. Because of their love for animals and the proximity of their neighbors to those animals..they were forced to leave due to many local complaints, code enforcement issues and animal control harassment. They are very happy those issues no longer exist. They have been living in their new ranch for over three years now.
Natalie and John decided to bring the latest addition to their stalls.. Georgette their Jersey Calf who was born just two and a half months ago. Wow! what a beauty! ..but that's not all.. They also brought along their two Mini Ponies, Sweetie and Lightning . The brown pony is Sweetie and the white one is Lightning. The children also got a kick out of the two small Kids (goats).
Back at the Flying -F-Ranch are 13 horses 2 mini Burros, a Bull and a Cow, 3 Pot Bellied Pigs, 4 Emu's, 1 Turkey and lots of Chickens and some Geese. Wow! what a wonderful collection of farm Critters!
All the kids here at Mojave Elementary truly enjoyed this display of our four legged friends. We look forward to next year to see what other Critters Natalie and John decide to share with the children. Thanks Natalie and John for allowing the young ones to experience the wonder of it all !
A school superintendent in Michigan has written a public letter to the editor asking Governor Rick Snyder if his school can become a prison instead. The full text is below. What do you think?
Dear Governor Snyder,
In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look to to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth and preparing them to take on the issues that society has created.
One solution I believe we must do is take a look at our corrections system in Michigan. We rank nationally at the top in the number of people we incarcerate. We also spend the most money per prisoner annually than any other state in the union. Now, I like to be at the top of lists, but this is one ranking that I don’t believe Michigan wants to be on top of.
Consider the life of a Michigan prisoner. They get three square meals a day. Access to free health care. Internet. Cable television. Access to a library. A weight room. Computer lab. They can earn a degree. A roof over their heads. Clothing. Everything we just listed we DO NOT provide to our school children.
This is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison. The State of Michigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per prisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per student. I guess we need to treat our students like they are prisoners, with equal funding. Please give my students three meals a day. Please give my children access to free health care. Please provide my school district Internet access and computers. Please put books in my library. Please give my students a weight room so we can be big and strong. We provide all of these things to prisoners because they have constitutional rights. What about the rights of youth, our future?!
Please provide for my students in my school district the same way we provide for a prisoner. It’s the least we can do to prepare our students for the future...by giving our schools the resources necessary to keep our students OUT of prison.
Respectfully submitted,
Nathan Bootz, Superintendent, Ithaca Public Schools
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Flickr:Robert S. Donovan
Inspired by Sandy Speicher’s vision of the designed school day of the future, reader Shelly Blake-Plock shared his own predictions of that ideal day. How close are we to this? The post was written in December 2009, and Blake-Plock says he’s seeing some of these already beginning to come to fruition.
1. DESKS
The 21st century does not fit neatly into rows. Neither should your students. Allow the network-based concepts of flow, collaboration, and dynamism help you rearrange your room for authentic 21st century learning.
2. LANGUAGE LABS
Foreign language acquisition is only a smartphone away. Get rid of those clunky desktops and monitors and do something fun with that room.
3. COMPUTERS
Ok, so this is a trick answer. More precisely this one should read: ‘Our concept of what a computer is’. Because computing is going mobile and over the next decade we’re going to see the full fury of individualized computing via handhelds come to the fore. Can’t wait.
4. HOMEWORK
The 21st century is a 24/7 environment. And the next decade is going to see the traditional temporal boundaries between home and school disappear. And despite whatever Secretary Duncan might say, we don’t need kids to ‘go to school’ more; we need them to ‘learn’ more. And this will be done 24/7 and on the move (see #3).
5. THE ROLE OF STANDARDIZED TESTS IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
The AP Exam is on its last legs. The SAT isn’t far behind. Over the next ten years, we will see Digital Portfolios replace test scores as the #1 factor in college admissions.
6. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION AS A SIGN OF DISTINGUISHED TEACHER
The 21st century is customizable. In ten years, the teacher who hasn’t yet figured out how to use tech to personalize learning will be the teacher out of a job. Differentiation won’t make you ‘distinguished’; it’ll just be a natural part of your work.
7. FEAR OF WIKIPEDIA
Wikipedia is the greatest democratizing force in the world right now. If you are afraid of letting your students peruse it, it’s time you get over yourself.
8. PAPERBACKS
Books were nice. In ten years’ time, all reading will be via digital means. And yes, I know, you like the ‘feel’ of paper. Well, in ten years’ time you’ll hardly tell the difference as ‘paper’ itself becomes digitized.
9. ATTENDANCE OFFICES
Bio scans. ‘Nuff said.
10. LOCKERS
A coat-check, maybe.
11. I.T. DEPARTMENTS
Ok, so this is another trick answer. More subtly put: IT Departments as we currently know them. Cloud computing and a decade’s worth of increased wifi and satellite access will make some of the traditional roles of IT — software, security, and connectivity — a thing of the past. What will IT professionals do with all their free time? Innovate. Look to tech departments to instigate real change in the function of schools over the next twenty years.
12. CENTRALIZED INSTITUTIONS
School buildings are going to become ‘homebases’ of learning, not the institutions where all learning happens. Buildings will get smaller and greener, student and teacher schedules will change to allow less people on campus at any one time, and more teachers and students will be going out into their communities to engage in experiential learning.
13. ORGANIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES BY GRADE
Education over the next ten years will become more individualized, leaving the bulk of grade-based learning in the past. Students will form peer groups by interest and these interest groups will petition for specialized learning. The structure of K-12 will be fundamentally altered.
14. EDUCATION SCHOOLS THAT FAIL TO INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY
This is actually one that could occur over the next five years. Education Schools have to realize that if they are to remain relevant, they are going to have to demand that 21st century tech integration be modeled by the very professors who are supposed to be preparing our teachers.
15. PAID/OUTSOURCED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
No one knows your school as well as you. With the power of a PLN (professional learing networks) in their back pockets, teachers will rise up to replace peripatetic professional development gurus as the source of schoolwide professional development programs. This is already happening.
16. CURRENT CURRICULAR NORMS
There is no reason why every student needs to take however many credits in the same course of study as every other student. The root of curricular change will be the shift in middle schools to a role as foundational content providers and high schools as places for specialized learning.
17. PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE NIGHT
Ongoing parent-teacher relations in virtual reality will make parent-teacher conference nights seem quaint. Over the next ten years, parents and teachers will become closer than ever as a result of virtual communication opportunities. And parents will drive schools to become ever more tech integrated.
18. TYPICAL CAFETERIA FOOD
Nutrition information + handhelds + cost comparison = the end of $3.00 bowls of microwaved mac and cheese. At least, I so hope so.
19. OUTSOURCED GRAPHIC DESIGN AND WEB DESIGN
You need a website/brochure/promo/etc.? Well, for goodness sake just let your kids do it. By the end of the decade — in the best of schools — they will be.
20. HIGH SCHOOL ALGEBRA 1
Within the decade, it will either become the norm to teach this course in middle school or we’ll have finally woken up to the fact that there’s no reason to give algebra weight over statistics and I.T. in high school for non-math majors (and they will have all taken it in middle school anyway).
21. PAPER
In ten years’ time, schools will decrease their paper consumption by no less than 90%. And the printing industry and the copier industry and the paper industry itself will either adjust or perish.
My passion is photography. I love capturing a moment in time or the beauty and wonder of Creation. My goal is to share the images I capture and allow them to express the majesty of Nature and the uniqueness of humanity.
