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."

Ben & James: Snow-Making

Hey! It’s Ben and James.

We're here to tell you what's been happening with Ben's snow park project.  The project is mostly about terrain park design.  For those of you who don't know what that is, all ski mountains have jumps, rails (hand railings), and jibs (anything to jump on or tap) to ride.  Please read Ben's post (linked here) to learn more about the parks!

Now, we are trying to build a terrain park here at Kildonan, and we have a little problem this winter in New York.  There is an extreme lack of snow on campus.  So, an idea that we have been floating around since the beginning of the year is to build a snowmaker.  That process may seem easy, but it actually involves several gas-powered and electrical machines. 

A snowmaker forms snow by shooting pressurized water (made using a pressure washer) at a high velocity into the cold, dry air.  That process involves a temperature of at most 28 degrees Fahrenheit (but, if possible, preferably lower).  Then, a fan, positioned behind the snow gun shoots the newly formed snow even farther away, giving it a chance to absorb more water as it slowly falls to the ground.

So...what have we done so far? The gun itself has almost been constructed.  It’s based on several successful models that have been out on the market for years.  It uses three pressure nozzles for spreading the water in a misty state so that it can fall slowly to the ground, giving it plenty of time to freeze.  In addition, we were loaned a powerful air compressor to help break down the water into ever smaller molecules.

Here is where we need your help:  all we need is a powerful pressure washer capable of putting out 3 - 3.5 gpm (gallons per minute).  If you, or somebody you may know, is interested in helping us acquire a pressure washer or otherwise supporting our dream to bring skiing and snowboarding back to the Kildonan campus, we would love to hear from you.  Join us in bringing a long, successful, snowy season to our school by donating to our GoFundMe.

GoFundMe:  https://www.gofundme.com/let-it-snow

Thank you,

Ben & James

To reach Ben and James, please leave a comment below and the Edge Team will make the connection!

Note on photos:  Ben and James working diligently on their snowmaker.  All images taken and shared by Ben and James.

Ben & Ambrose: Collaborating on Jib Tubes

Ambrose preparing a jib tube (and surrounded by his finished pieces).
Photo taken by Ms. Charlap.

Below two Edge Makers - Ben and Ambrose - discuss their partnership in preparing features for Ben's project:  a terrain park.  Their words are a testament to their robust collaboration skills and effective work processes.

Ben:
Finding parts for the wind chime, I came across some really strong cardboard tubes.  My original plan was to use it as a tail tap even though it wasn't going to last long.  It wasn't going to last because the weather would get to it.  Talking with Ms. Charlap, she said we could have a student paint the tubes and then use the leftover NOVA Gel (from the pictures hanging on the side of the schoolhouse building) to cover the tubes.  That way they wouldn't weather.  We chose Ambrose, a fellow EDGE student, to paint the tubes.  By now, I had two long tubes, so I decided to cut them into five sections with a saw.  Then, I needed to seal the tops so that water couldn't get in and ruin it from the inside.  So, I took a plastic garbage bag, cut it to the size, then duct-taped it on.  Next, I took a piece of sheet metal and cut it a little bit bigger than the hole, drilled holes in the metal and tube, screwed it down, and hammered the metal so it was beveled along the edge.  Then, I gave it to Ambrose.

Ambrose:
As this was going on I would paint large sheets of rag paper with different designs, shapes, and images.  After the paintings were done, I covered them with NOVA Gel, a waterproof acrylic medium, and attached them to the cardboard tubes and finished them with two more layers of that substance.  I made five paintings.  The images are all different, but a lot of the paint colors are the same.  I only had a couple colors at hand, but I managed to figure out how to mix some of them to get the colors I was looking for.

Ben:
Now we just need to wait for the right weather to try them out!

Have a suggestion on materials for Ben and Ambrose? Want to know more about the project and/or these students' work? Drop us a comment in the section below!

Marcus, Tim, Winston: Collaborating on Japan

A map of Japan, pictured above.  Image taken from
 topics-on-japan.blogspot.com.

It all began with Marcus.  After spending a year examining game design, and in anticipation of a journey to Spain with a group of peers, he elected to study multiculturalism as his topic.  He declared a plan to examine Japan, Germany, Italy, Brazil, India, and China.  He chose Japan as his first area of focus, and very quickly he learned that he could direct all of his attention towards that one country.  Namely, he wished to learn why anime stems from the country.  He also desired to research Japan's role during World War I and World War II as well as the ideology guiding an emperor's perceived immortality ("Mandate of Heaven").  Feeling motiviated to answer these questions, he was off.

Enter Tim.  He began the year interested in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and quantum computing.  After studying graphene as a sophomore and drones as a junior, he devised a dual topic that could help him answer questions that he has been considering for the past two years:

• What is the difference between a human and a machine? 
• How do "smart" machines (drones, A.I.) think and learn relative to humans? 
• If machines can streamline work and production, can they also manipulate physical reality at the atomic level? 

In order to pursue these inquiries, Tim began watching various science fiction movies such as Ex Machina and Transcendence.  He explored those films as springboards into more complex theories such as machine learning.  Noting that Japan played a role within the world of each movie, intrigued by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Moto's "uncanny valley" theory, and inspired by Haruki Murakami (@harukimurakami_)'s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World, Tim came to focus his attention on Japan.  The answers to his questions must lie with that country, he postulated, so he set off to learn the Japanese language.

Then came Winston.  Winston began the year by committing himself to the psychology of horror.  Fascinated by the mechanics of the genre, he labored to differentiate the terms "horror" and "terror."  After listening to 911 calls on YouTube and looking into the synopses of movies such as Tale of Two Sisters, however, Winston came to a realization:  he had progressed down a rabbit hole that no longer accorded to his interests.  A longtime fan and amateur critic of manga, he chose instead to devote himself to anime and Japanese culture.

He did not take long to recognize that Tim and Marcus were pursuing a similar interest.  And so the partnership was born.

A screenshot of a Japanese lesson for English speakers via duolingo.  Image
taken from www.japantimes.co.jp.

Tim and Marcus started to spend significant portions of their time together.  The former created flashcards of Japanese characters and their English definitions, and the latter listened to Japanese language CDs.  They shared their resources so that both could study the language through multiple modalities.  Over time, Tim began to research language acquisition programs such as duolingo as well as tutors that could benefit all three students.  He continued to create flashcards, but his administrative role left Marcus to find a new partner in Winston.  Marcus soon abandoned his CD in order to probe Winston's vast knowledge of Japanese honorifics.  Indeed, having acquired a substantial vocabulary through his reading, Winston frequently tutored Marcus in proper addresses.  In turn, because Marcus often disagreed with Winston's translations, the two conducted spirited debates in which they argued the meaning of certain words.  They then researched one another's arguments, hoping to catch one another in the act of a misinterpretation.

A dramatization of a hikikomori.  Image taken from www.dailymail.co.uk.

The three boys also conducted (and gradually pooled their resources from) independent explorations.  Marcus, for instance, shared preliminary insights gleaned from painting a flag bearing "The Rising Sun."  He also skimmed the surface of various cultural "artifacts," honing his attention toward The Rape of Nanking and the 100,000 trees planted at the Meiji Shrine. Winston, on the other hand, felt fascinated by the Japanese practice of adult adoptions.  During a particular morning with the Edge faculty, he spent close to an hour situating the disgrace experienced by biological sons relative to the cultural phenomenon of hikikomori (young Japanese men who spend months to years in social isolation within their bedrooms).  Marcus then turned his attention to Japanese pop music, thereby inspiring Winston to explore game shows and commercials that he in turn shared with Tim during a raucous few afternoons.

Truth be told, this partnership will not last forever.  Two of the students are already considering switching their topics away from Japan, so the three spend less and less time together these days.  However, partnerships ebb and flow within the world beyond high school.  By coming together briefly for a time, Marcus, Tim, and Winston experienced the joy, the stagnation, and the bittersweet loss that comes from collaborating successfully.  Indeed, partnerships need not last in order to prove meaningful.  By building a stockpile of resources all their own, the three students developed inquiries par excellence.  They generated understandings of Japanese culture that proved - and continue to prove - far more comprehensive than those that they could have created were they working alone.

- & -

As we wrote within our "Our New Name" post (June 1, 2015), we chose to abandon the name "Independent Project" in favor of Edge for a number of reasons.  One of our more significant motives concerned the nature of "independence" within the program:

As one student pointed out, the IPians do not work "independently."  Yes, they launch individual pursuits that take them in directions that are, in a sense, theirs and theirs alone.  That said, this student went on, the IPians are always collaborating with one another, always learning from and supporting each other as they move forward.  In this way, the community members are very much "dependent."

We in the program could not in good faith maintain our previous name because it would preserve a false philosophy.  It would send a message to those students involved that they must erect silos to keep themselves "independent."  Therefore, we switched names.

Perhaps responding to our decision, Marcus, Tim, and Winston students spent the beginning of this year methodically demolishing their silos.