Dairy Cows Have More Choice Than Many of Our Students
Because I am a full-out geek, I watch ‘How It’s Made’ on the Science channel (thank you, Chris, for getting me hooked). So, I record it on the DVR and paruse the episodes when I watch the little TV that I do sit down for.
The other night, I came across an episode about how milk is produced. Being a born/raised Kansas boy, I though - hmph - I know THAT already. But, OH, how times have changed! You’ll see the episode below from YouTube (don’t know how long it will be there) and there are a few other episodes on the How It’s Made website.
It hit me last night, for one reason or another, that these cow’s actually have more choice and self management than what we give many of our students. AND, on top of that, it is entirely thanks to the technology involved. I’ll stop there and let you make the rest of the connections … let’s start treating our students less like kids and more like cows.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Okay, first of all… who knew milking cows was so technical?
Secondly, how cool is it that the cows know where to go to get scratched, milked, etc. I am betting most people think/thought cows need to be herded to the milking area, trough, etc. but apparently they don’t. It seems that if we set up the appropriate environment with the necessary technology, even cows can take care of themselves… good to know.
I like that the cows are taken care of, but I think I still want to treat my students like people instead of cows. I want my students to be able to journey outside of the classroom… and the cows looked a little confined.
Thanks for sharing.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:39 am
You know it isn’t your classroom I’m worried about…
And, at least the cows are free to roam inside/outside and are not put in stalls with assigned seating all day!