Day 23 - Tues Oct 9:A well known raptor expert is rolling into town Thursday night and with him comes his magnificent birds of prey menagerie.
The flyer was enshrined on my bulletin board this morning. I also announced the event in each of my classes throughout the day.
I thought about offering it as an extra credit opportunity but not quite sure that would be ethical.
Well . . .
From a purely bird educator vantage point, virtually any incentive to get kids in proximity to birds could be ethical. However, in the somewhat authoritative role of teacher, offering extra credit for students to attend an event outside of school is not so ethical.
One reason is not all the kids would NOT have the same opportunity to get there. Many have extra-curricular commitments. Others do not have transportation available. Some simply have no interest.
The main reason for not offering extra credit for this special presentation, however, is that would be pushing my passion on them. Pushing people into things has a negative effect on their perception of the activity.
Show them the door. Give them the key. Even open the door for them. Providing access to something is wonderful. But once you push them through the door, it can really backfire! Be it temporary or everlasting, you surely risk souring their taste for birds.
I will remind them about the "show" in my best salesman mode on Thursday though.
Besides, yesterday's Calliope Hummingbird celebration can be revisited for extra credit on Friday's test. It was discussed in class so that's fair game!!
No comments:
Post a Comment