Annabel: One Last Blog Post

In Edge I was asked certain questions. I want to answer them and give my final blog post as a student in Edge.

Who were you when you came in?

When I came into Edge I was a quiet person. I did not like to speak about who I was and what happened to me in the past or the project I was working on.  I don’t think I really spoke when people were around me, but I had so much to say and was the strongest voice in the group.  Then after tours came by with families interested in Kildonan, it became easier to talk to people, but I still had no idea what I was suppose to say.  Slowly, I learned how to communicate better.  Soon I felt comfortable speaking about myself in front of crowds, even going as far as advocating for public schools to have better education in the New York State government and speaking to senators.  I felt braver by the end.

What did you learn?

I started out in Edge learning about science fiction.  I read “The Star” by HB Wells and learned more about the world of science fiction and actually wrote a couple of short stories.  Soon I was getting bored with the idea learning about science fiction, because was I burnt out from all knowledge I learned from working so hard.  Then Mrs. Charlap mentioned tessellations because of the drawings that I made in art class.  I had no idea what that was.  It was patterns so I looked at them a little.  Then the next day she said that she meant to say fractals, not tessellations.

My first couple of thoughts about that new word was, what is a fractal and how is it important to my life?  So I learned all that I could with and about fractals.  Here is a small list of basic fractals: rivers, equations from math, and some very basics of physics.  I felt like I was speaking a language that nobody else knew how to speak.  So I used the same pattern, fractals, to figure out my way of learning.

Then it came to leaving eleventh grade.  I was excited to leave and come back for the next year.  Over the summer I learned more about scrapbooking, which is a hobby in my family.  I said out loud to my mom, “I wish they had this as a job.”

My mother replied, “That is a job, and it is called Graphic Design.”

So I looked further into this field.  Graphic Design helps describe my way of learning.  So I took some FIT pre-college classes in the city during the fall and ended up loving it.  After that experience, I decided to apply to college for graphic design.  I got into all five art colleges I applied to, and I chose my number one college, Lesley University: College of Art and Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Do you feel like you will be successful in college?

Yes, I do feel I will succeed.  Most people don’t think you can be successful in college because people who don’t understand others with learning differences think we are lacking.  I know I won't be that way in college.  This is because I am hard working.  I know myself very well and I can tell what my limit is and what is not my limit.  I have learned problem solving and creativity in Edge, which were harder to learn before I joined the program.  I will use this work ethic to help me out with learning because I know myself as a unique, hardworking, zany, chaotic, and amiable person.  I feel as if I learned more with the addition of Edge than just regular classes.

What are you going to leave behind?

I ask myself this question a lot.  This is because I did a lot of work, but it is the process of my work that has left a powerful mark in this community.  I will leave behind a legacy of fractals, my brain and knowledge, and ideas for others. I helped show people that it is ok that you can be you.  I also helped teach Ambrose a new way how to write in a form called fractal writing.  I am not worried for the future.  I feel very confident.  I have learned from my failures, celebrated successes, and I am able to move forward.  There is a quote that I have found by  B. B. King, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”  Even though I did not use this as my senior quote, this means learning is beautiful, and no matter what, don’t let anyone take that away from you.

"Update on Koi Pond: Onward!," Reflections from Edge Students

It's spring, and the Edge community is gearing up to continue our koi pond project. (If you are only joining us now, click here to get up to speed.)  Interested to hear our plan? Read on for the voices of all ten of our Edge students!

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Ben:  
"Hello everyone! While Ian and James were in Florida, they made a partnership with Blackwater Creek Koi Farms, Inc. and managed to get many fish donated.  Not only that:  the staff gave us great advice on raising the fish from young to old and creating an environment to breed them.   

"My project is terrain park and mountain bike trail building/designing.  I'm in charge of shaping out the pond and making sure it's deep enough. We plan on breaking ground soon!"

James and Ian:  
"While we were at the Blackwater Creek Koi Farms, the owner showed us the different types of filtration systems he had made.  He went into detail about how all of these systems work and how the fish can stay healthy.  He also showed us his koi farming facilities where they took the koi and sorted them by size, shape, breed, and color.

"As of right now, it's warm enough to do the digging.  We plan on doing that in the next two weeks using Kildonan's maintenance crew. (There is one last conflict, and that is the fact that there is a pre-existing drain pipe that will need to be moved over. We need to coordinate with the maintenance workers on that.)  Finally, we will be creating a parts list of everything we need AND we will install the pump when it's ready."

Ambrose:  
"My project is comics and graphic art.  I will be part of any of the art that might be incorporated into the Koi Pond.  The Edge group will try to find a bench for me to paint so we can add a bit more color to the project."

Farrell:  
"My contribution to the project is an animated short in the style of the opening to the TV show, 'King Of The Hill.'" 
 
Maddie:  
"My project is animal control and veterinary science.  I will be contributing to the koi pond project by doing labor work.  I have also done a lot of research into maintaining and caring for fish, so I will help lead the group to make sure we keep the fish healthy."
 
Annabel:  
"I contributed to the Koi pond project by creating the poster for the project at the Fall Ball.  I will also make an end of year presentation or maybe a magazine on this with pictures and some blurbs.  I also plan to make another poster/scrapbook."
 
Nelson:  
"I will help by removing the stumps and roots around the pond site.  Give me a shovel, a weekend, and maybe an axe.  I am also building a submersible drone that will help me film/record the pond and fish.  Finally, I will find stones and use a book on flora to select plants for the pond."

Chris:  
"We are going to dedicate a bench near the pond to a veteran of Vietnam (since the Vietnam War is my project).  I need to find a Kildonan vet OR dedicate the bench to all of those who served."

Santiago:  "This is Santiago.  Since I am studying business, James and I will ask about taking money from the amount we raised at the Fall Ball.  I will also help by ordering the parts (and figuring out the best way to do that)."

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Stay tuned for updates as we continue the work! As always, thank you for the support.  Feel free to leave a question! We will respond.

Annabel (& Ambrose): Lewis Carroll & Updates

"The Tumtum Tree," by Ambrose

We’re in the Edge room again. All the kids are at their typical spots for 4th period.  Maddie is on the couch, Ambrose, Nelson, and Annabel are at their individual desks, and Farrell, Ian, and Chris are at their respective individual bean bags.  Santiago is at the round table in the middle of the room.  Mrs. Charlap, Mr. Rivera, and Mr. Bisson are looking at what Ben and James are up to with the snow park project.  The Friend (from the last blog post) and Annabel come in.  Staring at her desk, The Friend sees “The Jabberwocky” and asks, “What does the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland symbolize?”

“In Lewis Carroll’s book, Through the Looking-Glass, the Cheshire Cat shows up in the fifth chapter called “The Pig and The Pepper.”  Alice finds the cat in the Dutchess’ house grinning from ear to ear.  Alice questions why it is doing that.  The author says that most cheshire cats grin in this world.  This means that there is more than one Cheshire Cat.  The famous Cheshire Cat that we know follows Alice and is famous.  It is the one that speaks to her in that same exact chapter.  The Cheshire Cat is just like regular cats in the world of Alice in Wonderland, but the most famous one guides her around.

“A cat is different from culture to culture, so you can’t really say that this cat (or any cat, for that matter) is good or bad.  In the Dictionary of Symbols, eight different societies have eight different beliefs on this creature.  In some cultures the cat is a sign of good luck, and it is a sin if you actually kill one.  To some, though, they have the common belief that if a black cat crosses in front of you, you have 7 years of bad luck.  So seeing if a cat is good or not depends upon the culture.”

“How does this relate to the Cheshire Cat in the story?”

“Well, a website says that is just a made up idea by Lewis Carroll.”

The Friend says, “Oh, that is cool.  I have a question:  while writing Alice in Wonderland, do you think Lewis Carroll was drunk or taking LSD?”

Annabel says, “Historians don’t really know if he was or not.  There are some articles that say that he was, some say that he was not...and others say that he was.  So, we may never know.”

“Ok, then.  So...it has been about four months. Have you done any work with the symbol essay? What have you been doing?” asks The Friend.

“I took a little break from the essay, and I have been working hard to put in portfolios to five colleges.  I also got into two.”

“Which ones did you get into?”

“I would like to keep those classified until I pick which one I want to go to officially.”

“Ok.  Cool.  How was FIT? What does FIT even stand for? Florida Institute of Technology?”

“Oh, my FIT classes were great,” Annabel explains. “I am now done with them.  I wish I got more time, though.  They were a lot of fun.  I got some high school credits from them, too, so I am pretty happy.  I made a lot of art and learned a lot.  No, FIT does not mean Florida Institute of Technology; that is down south.  I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.”

“Is that where you live?”

“No, I live in the suburb outside of the city.  Where are you from, Anonymous?”

“I don’t know. I think I am from Algoe, NY.”

“Wait, is that a Paper Towns reference?”

“Yes, because it is fake like me.”

“Ok then...that’s...dark.  And...we went on a tendril.  Should we talk about the picture on the table?”

The Friend picks up the drawing and Annabel explains, “That drawing is a Tumtum Tree by Ambrose.  We both read 'The Jabberwocky,' by Lewis Carroll.  We were going into art, and we were wondering what a Vorpal Sword and a Tumtum Tree might look like in real life.  So Ambrose made the Tumtum Tree, and I made the Vorpal Sword.  I also looked at the meaning behind both.  My work is included in a PDF attached to this blog.”



“Isn’t that breaking the fourth wall...and unnecessary?”

“No, it is good to know.  Well...anyways...see you later.  I gotta get back to looking at this dictionary to help me finish writing my essay.”

Annabel then opens the 1168 page Dictionary of Symbols, and her mind starts to explode "through the words."

Annabel: I'm Back!

Friend walks up to a girl while she is studying on the couch.  The Friend puts a stapled pile of papers in front of her and asks, “Annabel, did you print this out?”

(The view at right is the cover page) Annabel studies the page for a bit.  She stares at her Friend and says, “Yes. Thank you.”

The Friend is about to leave, and then they ask another question, “What are you studying, or what is it about? I skimmed through and found a couple of edits and errors within your piece.  I did not understand one thing about what it said.”

“It's cool.  I am still editing the essay.  Currently it's in the planning stages.  The essay that I'm writing will be on symbolism.”

“Ok then.  Can you be more descriptive?”

Annabel takes a long sigh and then speaks, “I am writing an essay about symbols for the Edge blog.  You know that right?”

The Friend nods their head.  Annabel continues, “As you know I am a senior preparing for college.  So, since I am not the strongest with completing tasks, I thought of writing an essay, having no idea how long it will be and then posting it.  I will be reading two books for the essay in the meanwhile.”

The Friend says, “Oh is that what's on your lap?  The book, what is it called?”

Annabel says, “Yes, this book is The Man and His Symbols, by Carl Jung.  I have only read a little bit, but I really like it.  I don't have the other book I am reading with me, but it will be The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown.”

“Cool.  Is that what you mainly do on your laptop? Is it research?”

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?”

Annabel glares, annoyed and suspicious, at the Friend, “What's your name again?  It doesn't make sense that you're just standing here for...how long? 20 minutes?”

The Friend says, “One:  it is sad that you cannot recognize me, but I am keeping myself anonymous.  This is because my work will come later.  Anyway, besides researching, what else?”

“Besides school work for Kildonan, I listen to music, watch short videos on YouTube to regain my sanity, research for the essay, and play around on Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.  Sometimes I just get bored of all of that, and I write.”

“Oh, cool.  Want to talk about something else?”

“Sure.”

“Are you staying for once this weekend?”

“I'm sorry.  I'm not.”

The Friend crosses their arms and cocks their head, “Why not?”

“I thought I told you.  I have a class on the weekend in the city at FIT?”

“Oh, right.  I forgot.  Sorry about that.  What classes are you taking again?”

“It's fine.  I'm taking two classes in the city.  My first one is an introduction to Adobe Illustrator.  The second one is a styling class.”

“OK."

A voice comes from the peanut gallery and says, “Hey, Annabel we need to go to our next class.”

Annabel starts to pack up her stuff in her nice black backpack.  She says, “See ya next time, Friend-whose-name-I've-forgotten.  I need to go to my Social Problems class.  You can ask me more about it at dinner.”

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.

- & -

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."

Annabel: Our Reflections on an "Edge Maker"

Annabel at work on her drawing.

The dust has now settled; we are into the second week.  Our learners have been abuzz in establishing their own learning spaces, cementing new friendships and collaborative networks, and acquiring necessary equipment and materials.   With richly diverse interests ranging across art and happiness, architecture, psychology, film trailer production, memory, recycling, Japanese, artificial intelligence (AI), horror, genetics and science fiction, nanoscience, international music/Maracatu, automotive engineering, criminal justice and baking, American military, and forensic science, our students will engage many learning opportunities over the coming year.  Having met with every one of them, the Edge Team could not feel more excited, more honored, to share the next months with our sixteen "Edge Makers."

Let us begin, then, by focusing on one of these.  Enter Annabel, a student who in some ways embodies the reason why Kildonan conceived the program in the first place.

During a recent interview, Annabel described her past experiences of learning in traditional classroom settings as "terrifying."  Classes themselves were not the problem, she said, and Kildonan's teachers and students in particular offered regular support.  No, avoiding a blanket statement, Annabel insisted that classes did not work for her specifically.  While in a classroom, she went on to explain, she felt as if she were sinking into her chair and not collecting information.  She wanted something different.  She wanted something that could help her learn.

Rewind one year and enter the Personal Project.  As the culmination of 10th grade (as well as the capping project of the MYP curriculum), Kildonan students engage in a yearlong pursuit of their choosing for about three hours per week.  Annabel launched an intensive examination into the tropes of Nickelodeon's Avatar:  The Last Airbender.  While enmeshed in studying the natural elements and the show's narrative influences, she concluded that this was the kind of learning environment in which she needed to stay.  Pushing this thought further, she concluded that Edge, if it were anything like the Personal Project, would constitute the majority of her studies in the coming year.

Annabel's drawing:  pen, ink, tape, paper
Drawing fragments moving toward a cohesive image.  In progress...

Fast-forward to the present.  Across all three meetings we have had with her last week, Annabel speaks passionately about the work that lies ahead for her.  Now selectively engaged in educational settings other than the classroom, she discloses that she feels safe to learn for the first time.  No longer in possession of the same guidance provided by teachers, she feels unfettered and ready to innovate.  With conviction in her voice, she articulates her desire to solve problems for herself.  She speaks about the present - the next two years - as a crucial period during which she will test and develop the skills to respond to life's problems independently.  Indeed, she has begun this necessary work already by creating a notebook system to help her organize her thoughts and her work, a learning space according to those conditions that will best support her explorations, and artwork that is perhaps reflective of her evolution as a thinker and young woman.  In all, she evinces intense motivation as well as the follow-through to act upon her interests; her curiosity proves vast, and she possesses the capacity to formulate complex, meaningful questions.

Though her year's work will ultimately be concerned with her proclaimed interests (utopias, dystopias, chaos, apocalypses, post-apocalypses, DNA, RNA, bases, and genetics), the real work - not unlike the "project" that each student will undertake, actually - will be herself.  Our role as the Edge Team, then, is to help her on this journey, to acknowledge her voice and create the conditions in which she will succeed (or "tilt the landscape," per Gever Tulley (@gever)).

Annabel is only one of our sixteen "Edge Makers."  Sixteen students with stories of their own, intellectual passions waiting to bear fruit, and dreams to enact.  What a rigorous, moving year it will be...