In my best efforts to connect with students, I am learning a lot more about cars than I ever planned to.
Why?
Because, as I try to get under the cognitive hoods of my students, I find that a couple of them are really driven by their interest in cars (puns intended). So, in my efforts to make curriculum meaningful, with those students, we’ve been reading and writing about cars.
We don’t just read about the big-engine, tripped-out vehicles that they’re drawn to. I try to intersect science, social justice, and the environment with their interest in cars. One of my students is currently answering a letter about a dilemma… should the writer of the letter buy a car that will harm the environment, or are there other options?
My students are learning about alternative fuel options and also weighing the impact of the Nano’s release at just $2500 in India will have on the environment, wrestling with questions about whether people in other countries should be able to use have the same access to cars that we do in the US.
One of the articles a Pakistani student and I read mentioned how the Nano is a nice alternative to motor scooters where whole families ride atop them at once. “I’ve seen that, too,” he said calmly. Huh. Seems completely possible since his country is a neighbor to India, after all.
And my students are teaching me about the catalytic converter, horsepower, and we sometimes look at images of their favorite cars where I get full descriptions as to why those cars are so cool. And I have to admit that those cars are fascinating to look at… and I marvel at how much these students know about these machines.
If only there were more good car-oriented books for students. Any ideas?
Entries (RSS)
February 14th, 2008 at 8:11 am
With popular media circulating the world, it might be an interesting perspective to see how everyday citizens in different countries view tv shows such as ‘Pimp My Ride’. For example, this show airs out of a Dubai tv station across the Middle East, offering an insight and perspective for people in that region to examine a certain social-cultural-economic milieu in the US whose priorities focus on the status and pride that owning a car can bring. Perhaps getting in touch with media that airs the show in different regions of the world to see if they are in touch with their viewers to understand their views on such programming and issues might be a way of tapping into the collective interest in cars that crosses cultural boundaries (i.e. http://www.mbc.net/portal/site/mbc)
February 15th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Thanks for the idea–it’s a starting point for a great conversation… “What did you learn about cars from watching TV in your home country?” for students old enough to remember.