Martha McCormick, Author at Next Step Adventure

Plan Ahead

Martha McCormick on November 6, 2015

Have you ever seen a hydrophone? Neither had I until I visited the Scripps Research Institute to learn about ocean studies. That’s the thing I’m holding in the picture at the top of this post. The researcher who gave us our tour studies whale audiology. If you’re looking for something to do, he needs help analyzing data from hours and hours of audio. Or something like that.

We toured Scripps the first morning we were in San Diego for the NAAEE (North American Association for Environmental Education) annual conference in San Diego in October 2015. Frankly, I was impressed! I didn’t think I’d ever heard of the organization and the conference looked really good.

I realized that I’ve used their materials for a long time. Most recently, NAAEE’s Excellence in Environmental Education provided guideposts for developing Teachers-Going-Green.com.

The focus of the conference was on diversity and inclusion in environmental education–subjects near and dear to my heart. So much to learn and think about. The workshop sessions were well attended, planful and informative. The NAAEE leadership is enthusiastic and positive. The last keynote, a panel of young leaders under 21 years old; their take on environmental stewardship was inspiring.

Shelly Johnson, Education Coordinator at Next Step Adventure, and I attended a variety of sessions. We were particularly interested in a monitoring project called CIMBY (Calumet Is My Back Yard) that the Field Museum in Chicago is doing with high schools in the Calumet region of south Chicago. Ideas percolated from the sessions and from visits with other educators from California, New Mexico and Michigan, to name a few.

Along with the beautiful campus at Scripps we visited the Birch Aquarium; I’ve always been a sucker for tide pools. We kayaked a fairly choppy Pacific Ocean off the La Jolla beach and caves. We got to visit the world class San Diego Zoo, and on our first afternoon we soaked in the California vibe in Balboa Park.

Balboa Park Conservatory

We came home looking forward to the 2016 conference. And guess what? It’s in Madison, Wisconsin, relatively close-to-home!! It would be a great thing to send a strong and long Iowa delegation there next October 18-22nd. What do you think? Sound like a good idea? Let’s get going!

Clear Boundaries. No Limits

Martha McCormick on February 17, 2015

Art is unique in requiring that hands and mind be in the same place. Distraction and anxiety are at the forefront of challenges for Des Moines Art Center Outreach students. Art class provides opportunities for quiet, focus and mindfulness.

Keep Fighting Poverty

Martha McCormick on January 20, 2015

As I reenter the US after two weeks in India, one of the first things to strike me is the comfort, the plenty. The homogeneity of the people I see. Well dressed and fed. Driving cars and trucks, often alone. In contrast, a man transporting four goats on a scooter the last day I was in India.

I’ve returned to the wealthiest economy in the history of the world. But Charles M. Blow’s article in the New York Times brought me up short, reminding me that poverty continues to challenge significant numbers of Americans. Though poverty in the US is easy enough to ignore, the numbers of families facing poverty continues to rise.

In the 35 years I’ve worked in Des Moines, the poverty level of kids and families has risen fearfully. I came to Des Moines in 1980 to supervise a nutrition education program for kids from families living with low incomes. We worked in schools where 25% or more of the kids qualified for free or reduced-price lunch. Of about 40 elementary buildings, less than 20 qualified for the program.

Now, 72% of all Des Moines Public School students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. In 2013-2014 all but two elementary schools in the Des Moines district meet the 25% free/reduced lunch qualification.

Living in poverty affects children in ways that are often irreparable. In early childhood, living conditions such as poor nutrition and a shortage of learning opportunities impact brain development. Damaging effects include poor cognitive outcomes and school performance, as well as higher risk for antisocial behaviors and mental disorders.

Whether we choose to fight family poverty for humanitarian reasons, we need to address it for economic ones. A report by the Educational Testing Service estimates the cost in economic and educational outcomes at half a trillion dollars a year.

It behooves us to stop the spread of poverty into the American middle class and help the United States move out of second-highest place for child poverty rate among the world’s richest nations. You can get involved by scheduling a Next Step Poverty Simulation for your community or organization.

Color Me Calm

Martha McCormick on November 28, 2014

Last week I sat in a meeting and listened to a group of adults talk about how much they hate the holidays. It made me a little angry. I believe we have choices about how we experience the world, and that staying in the moment allows us to enjoy life to the fullest.

I also understand that our culture puts a lot of pressure on people during the holiday season. We may be asked to spend time with family or friends we don’t really like that much. We may not have family to spend the holidays with.

We may feel the need to find just the right gift for someone we don’t know all that well, or someone who is hard to please. My siblings and I finally settled on giving our dad gifts of exotic food; we could never find a pair of slippers that fit his size 13 feet.

We may compare our contribution to the office potluck to those of others and feel less than a great cook. Or maybe there is no office potluck to contribute to. We’re surrounded by requests, from the bell ringers to the TV ads.

Well, I think it’s time to take a moment to calm down with a coloring book. According to this article, coloring generates quietness, creativity and stimulates our brains. I was an anti-coloring book mom, but I admit to having lovely memories of lying on my stomach on the floor coloring many a Disney princess as a kid.

I also loved paper dolls but they aren’t nearly as calming as coloring. All those little tabs. Yikes.

I looked at a few options for your coloring needs. From the blatantly zen Color Me Calm to the entertaining Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book to the clearly cynical Unicorns Are Jerks. Lots of fun choices; some I wasn’t willing to highlight on this site! Ten Bizarre Coloring Books for Adults offers even more choices for your gift list.

Laughter is always good for releasing stress, lightening up and brightening your day. But Carl Jung, a very wise psychologist recommended coloring for releasing stress. He had his patients create mandalas, circular designs originating in India.

Tell Me Something Good

Martha McCormick on October 22, 2014

I’ve worked with Des Moines kids since 1980. Sometimes it’s hard to be optimistic when the challenges seem to multiply each year. But this article and the statistics it uses to illustrate its points provides some tangible examples of progress.

This morning I taught art to half a dozen boys who attend a group home for various problems they’ve had at home. We start each week with an art journal. Today more than one boy started their journals with, “I hate my life.”

I gradually introduced different media, first crayons. I asked the boys to experiment with using different pressure, and mixing different colors. Then I passed out watercolors and had them paint over their crayon drawings and see what happened.

They really got excited when I put their watercolor paper under the faucet and told them to go experiment with putting watercolor on it. They tried brushing, splattering, dripping. Their attempts produced a variety of results, but the product isn’t the point with these young men.

The point is building self confidence and a sense of mastery. Using simple tools and media gives these boys a chance to succeed, to produce something they’re proud of, whether it’s for the spring show or to take home to decorate their rooms.

Last week we built structures per Andy Goldsworthy. First we watched the movie Rivers and Tides as well as a satire my cousin created. The idea of just creating a piece of art was a little too abstract, so I asked them to build structures. They learned collaboration, creativity, perseverance and problem solving through the activity.

They climbed trees, got dirty and wet, and came up with several different approaches. Today when we walked back to the woods, their shelters were still there. And they crawled into them.

Make Space

Martha McCormick on September 26, 2014

While I was in Akumal I dreamed I gave birth. Don’t worry; someone whisked the baby off before I could do any damage. But dreams of giving birth are really about transformation and creation.

Vacations are for getting away from routines, exploring places that are a little uncomfortable. This trip especially gave me a chance to question my “way of life,” to reflect on my addiction to “busyness,” my hesitation to have down time.

So I came home and changed my calendar.

Changing your calendar doesn’t seem like a very big deal. But you haven’t seen my calendar! Seriously, every journey starts with a single step. I changed my calendar to give myself space for reflection, mindfulness and a new routine.

Over the last year, I’ve begun teaching art classes for the Des Moines Art Center Outreach Program, and I’ve become a certified yoga teacher. Teaching five or six classes a week wrought havoc with my old routine where I usually spent mornings working at my desk or in art class.

Now most of my mornings I’m out and about so when I got home I set aside three afternoons a week for “office time.” Sometimes that will include a power nap, reading, yoga or time in the garden and art work.

The real thing I’m transforming isn’t my calendar. I’m creating space in my life for reflection, planning, playing art, moving my body, making a home and other adventures.

Remember! Having an adventure means you don’t know how things will turn out.

Retreat to Akumal

Martha McCormick on August 8, 2014

Akumal is a sleepy little resort just about an hour south of Cancun, Mexico. It’s the perfect place to relax, do some yoga, go snorkeling and explore the underground–the cenotes.

I fell in love with Akumal last February. It’s kind of an old hippie village, friendly to those of us who have un piquito Espanol. Or none at all. The restaurants are international and the fish is fresh as can be. After a week, I could totally see returning for more. More sightseeing, more time sunning on the beach and of course more time doing yoga!

As fits the setting, Akumal has a more relaxed and musical approach to yoga than you may be used to. However, it’s founded on strong principles of alignment, and the teachers are very knowledgeable about anatomy, sequencing and philosophy. I got some excellent feedback on the mysteries of my bodily misalignment.

Michael J. Stewart is master teacher at Yoga en Akumal, and during the off season he teaches across Europe, Russia and Morocco. I just happened to get to Akumal when Michael was teaching a workshop. It was a lovely adventure, and we celebrated the closing with a group dinner where I found him to be an engaging spirit as we discussed everything from Hindu philosophy to John Friend.

Michael quotes Patanjali who said ‘to perform the yoga asana “boat posture” simply to get a flatter tummy is indeed, missing the boat.’

GO TO AKUMAL AND CATCH THE BOAT!

Get Happy!

Martha McCormick on May 16, 2014

“We’re happy!” declared the Burmese refugee group as they finished their Des Moines Art Center tour on May 8, 2014. This was the culminating activity of their four-week art class. According to the ELL teacher at Lutheran Services in Iowa, “many elderly clients are dealing with vision, hearing and general health problems. Some have endured torture and malnutrition… Many … have had no schooling in their own country…”

The language barrier makes it difficult to know much more than this about our art students but we can tell that some have formal art training, and we know that several were weavers before they came to the US. They often use English letters and numbers in their designs, as well as images from their native lands. Art is proving to be a universal language.

This spring session was the third one for several of the refugees, some from Burma and some from Bhutan. People in both ethnic groups arrived in the US after many years in refugee camps. It’s hard to imagine an environment more different from south Asia than Iowa.

We focused on batik during the spring session. It is a universal medium; every culture around the world has developed an art form based on a resist process. The medium brings out the refugees’ love of fanciful designs and bright colors.

The First Unitarian Church will host an exhibit of the class’ work in July. The Church is prepared to collect a donation from anyone who wants to purchase the artwork. Proceeds will be used to purchase personal art supplies for students in the program.

Connect to Mother Earth

Martha McCormick on March 7, 2014

I walked into the kitchen and had to squint. The morning sun was shining brightly through the door. It’s been a challenging winter; judging by the number of people walking and running outside yesterday, we’re ready for it to end. The cardinals, goldfinch and house finches are emptying my bird feeders again.

I’m itching to get back into my garden—fantasizing about trimming my redbud tree, opening my pond and hanging a set of Japanese lanterns above the Old Pond Garden. It’s time to bring the compost bucket back into the kitchen and thaw the lid on the composting bin. These are all ways I connect with my mother, the earth.

John Muir, naturalist said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” Earth is where we come from. One of the strongest connections we have, but we rarely think of it.

I’m taking my classes outside to collect materials for spring art projects. Their resistance reinforced my concern that many kids don’t have the love of the soil and all that grows from it. Richard Louv’s article is hopeful abut helping kids connect to the earth, and how it will help us create the solutions to our Mother Earth’s challenges.

In a speech at Drake University last fall, President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland highlighted the connections between ice, energy, and food. “As the Greenland glaciers and the Arctic sea ice continue to melt faster than ever and NASA issues extreme warnings, some of us ask, a bit bewildered: Why does the political and corporate leadership of most countries honour and respect the Space Agency because it landed a man on the Moon, and recently a robot on Mars, but ignore it altogether when it gives us alarming news about Mother Earth?”

Viewing the Earth as mother gives us a paradigm for our origination from Earth, living as part of Earth, our expected return to Earth, recycled just as all biomass is recycled. When we know at a deep level that we are the Earth, we listen to the warnings and look for the creative solutions.

There are several answers, none really easy. The big answer is, “Use less energy.” Considerably less. Until we have clean energy sources that don’t add to climate change, decreasing the use of fossil fuels really makes a difference.

For me, this involves combining trips in my car, walking or riding my bike when I can. What does it look like for you? Please join the conversation.

Find Your True Nature

Martha McCormick on February 19, 2014

Find your true nature. Then resist it. We’ve been exploring this concept in yoga lately, and often the question is why? Another is how? Here’s a story that answers both questions.

Back in 2004 (thanks Beth!) we built the Adventure Learning Center. We scheduled training with Junior from Wisconsin. I loved Junior. I probably owe him my life. I certainly owe him insight into my true nature.

I spent the first two days of training on the ground. This was possible since we started on the low course where elements are only twelve to eighteen inches high. To be honest, I was actually a little scared of those!

When we did play around on the highs, I carried ladders with my friend Jeff who was also determined to remain grounded. We learned to belay really well. Then at the end of Day Two Junior told us the last three days of training would be exclusively on the high course, 40-60 feet above the ground.

I lay awake Tuesday night, filled with fear. Some people dream of flying. I dream of falling. One thing you do with fear is look for ways to avoid doing the thing you’re afraid of.

I decided I’d “experience” the high elements, but not set them up. I could stay on belay and I wouldn’t have to set up the belay system that could mean life or death to a climber. Seemed reasonable to me.

Until that morning when we got to the ALC. Junior put us into four groups of three and told us our first task was to climb a pole, set up and take down its element. I could no longer see a reasonable way to avoid climbing and setting up.

I don’t ask others to do things I’m unwilling to do myself. So, climb I would. The tower held a cargo net and a giant ladder as well as the climbing wall. Setting up meant fastening the belay system to a cable running above my reach around the perimeter of the tower.

We set a ladder against the northeastern telephone pole and lashed it to the pole with bungee cords. I don’t know who went first, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me. I believed my true nature was to stay on the ground. I had a visceral, palpable fear of heights. When we took our kids to the Rockies, I spent a good deal of time pulling the boys back from the edges of cliffs.

Making it to the top of the ladder wasn’t so bad, but then finding the giant staples sticking out of the pole, getting a purchase on them and figuring out where my left foot should go was another huge challenge. Especially since I was shaking.

Not only was the footwork challenging, but I was using lobster claws for the first time (I was also on belay thank god). By the time I got to the top and locked the carabiners on the cable I was shaking AND crying.

I had bruised and cut my legs and arms reaching for staples and navigating the railing, but there I was at the top with task accomplished. Cheers came up not only from Eric and Corinne but from the whole group. I had done what I never expected to do. I had resisted my nature.

Over the next two years I gained confidence in my ability to set up the belay system correctly, keep at least one lobster claw clipped to my harness and one to the pole. I learned to love being perched at the top of a gently swaying telephone pole, just a little closer to flying in the clouds.

Author: Martha McCormick