Annabel: My Year in Edge

Upon approaching the end of the school year, Annabel elected to conclude her work as she began it:  with a blog post meditating upon her work and time in Edge.  Presented in its original wording, this piece speaks not only to Annabel's experience but also to the environment of Edge more generally.  Thank you, Annabel, for sharing your wise words.  You are braver than all of us.

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Annabel's conception of fractals, The Golden Ratio, and the Fibonacci Sequence, above.
Image shared with the permission of Annabel.

The definition of a pattern is a repeated, decorative design.  The first thing that you normally think of is paisleys, optical illusions, jagged lines, a lot of circles in circles that are in circles, etc.  I joined a program, and for a full year I looked at the idea of patterns beyond the obvious.  This is what I have learned.  I am going to electrocute you with knowledge.  This is my last and final Edge blog post for the year, and I want to make it special.  So I thought of a couple of things, which will tie everything together.  Everything here does connect. 

Conspiracies are big.  They can go from a well-known president being shot to who caused 9/11 (or who took down the World Trade Center).  Conspirators are people who look up information and go more in-depth with the knowledge they seek.  They find certain spots that seem to connect everything together and say, “This is it! Here is my point of view on the story.”  One of the conspiracies I want to debunk right now - because my peers and I have been told and asked about this many times - is this belief that Edge students do not do any work.  Edge kids do actual work.  We do more work than what is expected from typical classroom habits.

One of the many qualities of human nature is neophobia, or the fear of trying new things.  People think that children must be sat down in front of a teacher and learn everything only according to that hierarchy, not allowing the child to go and figure out the information for themselves.  This idea of a child being free can seem like the end of the world.  The apocalypse.  This must seem like doomsday to most teachers, parents, and traditionalists.  Well, we Edge students do sit and think.  But we don’t do just that.  We talk to our three advisors and tell them what we have learned.  In Edge we also collaborate with our peers.  If you don’t believe me by the end of what I wrote, then I have no clue what to say. It is all just your opinion.

We have passed down knowledge to the next generation in a similar formation to hunting and gathering.  I am still digging deeper into this idea, but the gist of it is that we as humans - if you believe in the idea of evolution - started to hunt and gather knowledge and pass it down to the next generation.  We kept on doing this until we settled down into farmland and started to invent things like domestication and duplicating crops.  After about 5,000 years or so, we sat down and created optional schools for children at a young age.  This went into the factory system, which was invented in the 1800s.  We started changing this idea in the 2000s and 2010s.  But...this idea is not stopping.

Annabel's calculations using the Fibonacci Sequence, above.
Image shared with the permission of Annabel.

Another thing, which I scratched the surface of, is fractals.  This is a pattern where you see something and it keeps on repeating the more and more you get into it.  Like, irrational numbers whose origins come from the Greeks.  Like the commonly used Pi or phi.  Wait! You never heard of Phi? (Gasps from the nonexistent crowd) Well, phi is 1.181639887498948 … this could go on forever because it is an irrational number.  But the main reason why it is important is because it is used in the idea of the golden spiral.  This is a spiral where the pattern starts at 0.  Then you add 0 to 1 (0+1=1), and add 1 to 1 (1+1=2), and add 1 to 2 (1+2=3), and 2 to 3, and then 3 to 5, and so on.  If you don’t get that pattern, here it is in simplified form:  add the number before to the answer that you got before.  To the left is an example of what I am talking about.  The pattern is 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc..  This is just one of the many examples I have found in my learning about fractals. 

Learning about certain topics is a big pattern too.  I am going to give an example. Say you want to become an English major.  “English” is a very broad topic.  You look at certain books, and you notice that you are very into science fiction.  In a manner of speaking, you just hit about ten birds with one stone.  Deadpool-style.  With two guns, while we’re at it.  But you are still stuck because this is still a big topic.  So you say you want to look at Apocalypses.  Good, you just killed 10 more birds.  But here is the problem: what do you want to write about apocalypses? Another 10 birds after research.  Editing part of the process? 10 birds. But then you ‘finish’ or summarize what you learned. That would be the end of a hundred of birds you just killed.  (By the way, no birds were harmed in the creating of this description).

But what is the point of me joining Edge?  Well, for one reason.  To learn about something which I would otherwise never have had the opportunity for.  I started out in a normal public school and stayed there for about 10 years.  Never really knowing how to read like others, like the teacher’s “factory” way, or to do anything that is considered “normal” (which was go into a classroom and stare at a page for a long time thinking ‘what is this?’).   I had some very bad times in that school district, but there was a new opportunity presented to me.  That was, transferring to a new school.  There I was slowly able to grow.  I felt something going on.  Like, there is a part of a pattern that we are all missing. For me, something very important was missing.  So, I joined Edge thinking that creative writing was my passion, my main pattern. Patterns, on the other hand, would be something I did for art.  Then I looked more into patterns. One day one of my advisors, Ms. Charlap, told me about this thing called Fractals.  I worked my butt off trying to figure them out.  I became a very complex, modern pattern master.  Even though I am still trying to learn it, I am picking it up slowly.

I also had an opportunity to help fix a pattern.  If you do not know, I am dyslexic.  So, I am trying to learn how to read. It is a slow and super hair-raising, tedious process, but I am making strides.  I was able to read a paper about my life story to convince senators to sign a form that would help the next generation.  This bill would make teachers know about dyslexia in school and is called the A9116.  I compared my learning and how I was trying to learn to using a scythe, a trowel, and a shovel. I need to find which tool let me dig effectively for my treasure of knowledge.  I really did hope for the best.  I then realized:  a couple months later, this was a part of a pattern that helped fix the world.

If you have not noticed, I have been italicizing certain words throughout this piece. These are the words that I have been italicizing:  conspiracy, qualities, knowledge, fractals, learning, opportunity and fix.  These all do connect into one big project.  Everything that I have written about is just the beginning to a big pattern that I am up against.  And I will still be up against it.  It is a never-ending fight to learn something new.  

There is one word to describe all of those words, and that is realization.  One of my greatest inspirations through my learning is Leonardo Da Vinci.  He is dyslexic just like me.  He founded this quote that helps connect this entire essay and my morals for my Edge project together: “Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else."

FINAL: Brad - The Antithesis of Senioritis

Leading up to graduation, many members of the Class of 2015 complained of senioritis.  Not Brad.  After rebounding from a period of procrastination in the late winter, he developed an inspiring work ethic.  He pushed towards year's end at full throttle, and at graduation he showed no sign of letting up.

Just what was Brad up to? On one hand, he continued the intensive process of crafting his fishing lures.  As his Edge and art teacher Sandy Charlap writes:

He researched the techniques and materials needed for making bucktail jigs for striper casting. He procured Heat and Drip Powder Paint and was pleased with the high gloss, one coat finish he was able to achieve on his jig heads. He was also working to perfect his technique for adding bucktail flairs to his jigs.

He used his hands and smaller tools in order to craft these pieces, but he also began to dramatically alter his process once he purchased a lathe.  He did not at first know how to use the machine, but he demonstrated initiative by setting up the device and teaching himself how to handle it.  He grew increasingly proficient on the machine, so much so that he began to drill longer vertical holes in order to craft larger lures.  Finally, he learned various techniques of lure construction from a specialist.  Every Friday for the last few weeks of the academic year, he left school early and traveled to a tackleshop on Long Island to apprentice with its owner.  By seeking out various working conditions, technologies, and mentors, Brad constructed an independent experience for himself that has allowed him to become a formidable specialist on the subject of lures.

On the other hand, Brad also fulfilled his vision for the end of the year by planning and executing a five-day fishing trip with a friend.  For more information on this subject, we refer you to Brad himself:

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"A few weekends ago I went fishing with my friend August as part of my IP project. We went fishing based on the moon and tide. Because I wrote a research paper on it, I used my paper as a guide on what days and times to fish.

"The only thing that I had to find out when I got home was where the fish were. One stop at the Rocky Point Fishing Stop put me on the right track. I went in with August and talked to Stan. He told me that there were monster blues at Smith’s Point under the Birge on the bay side. Later that night we geared up and headed out. We got to the beach at dark, and I felt ready to fish right away. I got one on the beach, but I lost 8 others by getting tangled up.

"The next day we went on a party boat out of Port Jeff for the opening day of the fluke season. It was terrible, plain and simple. I caught two small fish and one sea robin. In my opinion, it’s not looking good for the fluke season on the north shore for this year. Later that night we went to the beach and tried throwing plugs for a little while on the incoming tide. I was dead, though, so we gave it up after about an hour or two (the bugs were getting pretty bad, anyway).

"The next day we went back to Smith’s Point. I got there at about 11 or 12, and I fished until 5:30. The weather could not have been better, for there was not too much wind and a lot of cloud coverage. The only bad thing is that we missed the bite. For the rest of the day, it was pretty dead. I caught two other fish, but that was it.

"On Wednesday morning we got out at 5 and were out of the house by 6:15 in order to try and get in on the morning bite. We fished for an hour and a half. It was dead. There was nothing. That is when we saw people move to the other end of the beach. We went to check it out, and the fish were everywhere. On my first cast into the school, I caught a 12-pound blue fish. Shortly after I got him, August hooked his first blue fish from the surf.

"It was one of the best days of fishing I have ever had. I caught about 10 or 15 fish from 5 to 12 pounds. August had about 7 fish from 3 to 12 pounds each. In the end, we had to leave early because I had to catch a train back to school. Otherwise, we would have caught more fish. We left them biting."

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We are proud of Brad's progress and maturation this year! If you have thoughts to share on his work and/​or his description of the trip, please post in the comments section below.

Descriptions of images:  Brad holding his catch, top right.  Brad instructing his peers on how to fashion lures, middle left.  A view from the Great South Bay, bottom right.  Middle photo taken by the Edge /​ IP faculty.  Top and bottom photos taken by Brad during his fishing trip.

Brad: Business Update &​ Lure Construction

Brad was suffering a bit of a slump when the IP team met with him in mid-February.  He had already been accepted to several colleges, so he felt eager to leave Kildonan and embark upon the next stage of his educational career.  But he was - and is - not yet done.  The IP team and his tutor joined forces to ask, "What do you feel like you still need to accomplish while here? How do you want to leave?"

Since this conversation, Brad has refined his plan and his business proposal.  He desires to improve his academic research skills as he writes a book review on bass fishing and a paper examining the history of charter fishing.  Using the ecological and economic factors affecting the fishing industry, he also hopes to plan a three-day fishing trip during which he studies the striped bass more closely.  Finally, he wishes to learn more about surfcasting, and he hopes to solidify a T-shirt design as well as a logo for his company.

Brad is impressing the IP team with his initiative and multi-tasking.  He has ordered and already completed half of Striper Pursuit:  Surf Fishing Beyond the Basics, by John Skinner, a work that he will examine for his book review.  He has also approached academic writing with gusto, for he is steadily examining citations and footnoting with his tutor.  He will soon be subscribing to Surfcaster's Journal (@SurfcastersJRNL) in order to learn about the process from a distance.  In addition to drafting more logo and design possibilities, Brad has also decided that he would like to explore lure construction.  He would like to create his own plugs and sell them at local tackleshops.  He has begun this work by forming collaborative relationships with his peers and inquiring after Maintenance's lathe, but he has also been experimenting with colors and otherwise designing the plugs throughout spring break.

Moving forward, Brad has many promising projects to follow.  His challenge will be not so much finding something that inspires him but sticking to his resolve.  Indeed, he will need to sort through his exciting prospects and choose those he would like to achieve in the two months remaining this year.

What do you think of Brad's work? Do you have a question or recommendation? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  A smorgasbord of fishing lures.  Picture located at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.net.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over the photo above.

Brad: Environmental Advocacy Business

Brad: Beginning a Business

A passionate fisherman with an interest in the Montauk area, Brad is not unaware of the startling decline in the striped bass population.  After much research into the history of the charter fishing industry, he has determined that overfishing and various illegal fishing procedures have contributed to this trend.  He believes that the public needs to awake to the danger posed to this fish.  He sees himself as a future charter fisherman, as a guide who can startle the layperson into demanding reform.

But such a vision, Brad wisely reasons, is bound to the future and, perhaps, does not utilize all of his talents.  To this end, he has decided to combine his interests in economics and art to begin an advocacy business for the striped bass.  His plan is represented by the graphic above.  Currently, he is producing paintings and drawings of the fish in the hopes of selling these and using the money both as donations and in order to finance his burgeoning ventures.  He is also constructing a public awareness flyer that he will send to tackle shops and conservation agencies.  From there, he will begin to prototype logos for various merchandise (e.g., stickers, T-shirts) and promote his work through a website and Kickstarter profile.

Any advice for - or resources to share with - Brad? Please post in the comments section below.

Descriptions of images:  Brad's business plan, top middle.  A striped bass, pictured middle right.  Second photo found on commons.wikimedia.org.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over this image.)