Intensive Learning @ MFS
The World At Your Fingertips
In spite of the cold the tour of Fort Mifflin revealed much about the life in a Civil War military prison. Some prison issues such as overcrowding and resources remain; a military prison presents unique problems in its treatment of traitors and prisoners of war. Back at school we prepared questions for our guest...
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Today we explored in depth the complexity of drug and alcohol use/abuse. We started the day learning improv techniques through games, and then built scenes around moments of conflict/decision-making. We held a discussion centered around sensitive statements involving peer pressure and social influences. We ended the day by creating realistic scenarios that we may...
Continue readingToday, Service in Camden traveled to the South Jersey Food Bank to sort, pack, and ship food donated from a variety of sources. Here is what we did today:...
Continue readingDay Four Our day at the Habitat Warehouse began with Steven, Anthony and Peter taking down an office space by removing the windows and doors, preparing the area for demolition on Friday (hopefully by our group). While this was happening, a number of students, plus Mr. Thomson and Mr. Newman, started the long practice...
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Today we traveled to Cordoba. After we unpacked at the hotel, we began to explore the city. We then went to eat tapas. Tapas are a family styled way of eating meals, where everyone shares the food given to each other. We enjoyed a variety of different Spanish dishes, some with seafood and others...
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After a spirited game last night against the top-rated lacrosse team in Arizona, the team worked out this morning for a few hours at the hotel fitness center, then … We all headed out to Goodyear Ballpark to watch the Texas Rangers take on Mr. Hager’s beloved Cleveland Indians. Too bad for Mr. Hager,...
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Today we spent the day at Ocean City, NJ. The weather was not ideal; however, we prepared and had back up clothing thanks to Mrs. Edmund’s winter clothes container. Originally, we planned to install our artwork and create projects for 4 hours but the weather cut that number in half. While baring the cold,...
Continue readingThe weather held out today to allow us to spend most of the day out working on the coal forges. Some students finished working on the forks they started on Monday. We also learned how to “upset” the metal to get a thicker section on an end. We returned to school early to be...
Continue readingWe began our (rainy) morning with a French favorite, croissant and baguette, along with some yogurt and coffee. The coach arrived for us to begin our tour of the city. The tour lasted 2.5 hours and included a stop at Café Richard, Simon’s favorite coffee stop in Paris and Garrett’s favorite stop because it...
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Day Three Today we learned about HIV/AIDS by watching the movie Philadelphia (fun fact: Mrs. Galler was an extra in the movie) and we explored the stereotypes and social pressures associated with the disease. We explored the stigma around HIV/AIDS through conversation and through theatre activities like creating human sculptures and emotional “machines.” Quotes from...
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Day Three Today, one of the coldest days of the week, we did various activities that seem to take the bitter edge from the chilled temperature. To begin the day, we watched a documentary about a football team in Memphis, Tennessee. It connected nicely with our multicultural discussions from Friday. Our focus today was...
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Today, the Service in Camden group went back to The Neighborhood Center to finish some projects and begin some new ones. We pulled roots out of garden beds, created garden beds, scrubbed some chairs for kids to use, cleaned chairs and tables for neighbors to eat from, organized books to be ready to go...
Continue readingDay Three Today was a really busy day! We helped the Restore at Habitat for Humanity move the rest of their furniture by loading trucks and putting porcelain products on palettes. We did a lot of heavy lifting. Loading the trucks was like playing Tetris – it took a lot of thinking to get...
Continue readingPrisons designed to depersonalize inmates trigger antisocial behavior. Students learned about the three keystones of the social psychology of prison life – the Stanford Prison experiment on social roles, the Yale Milgram studies of obedience, and the Swarthmore Asch work on conformity – as a prelude to understanding the social pressures on behavior. Today...
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Day Four The Foxes played a solid game against no. 1 ranked Desert Vista of Phoenix today. The Foxes lost against a very strong side, but played quite well in the desert heat and extreme conditions. Following the game, the team dined at In and Out Burger in Chandler, AZ. The boys finished the...
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