Learning about Being a Geographer - Mia's Mom Visits

It is so wonderful when families come into the classroom. It is a privilege to teach at a school with so much parent involvement. This involvement takes lots of different forms, of course – from being a weekly math helper, to helping plan a big yearly event (like Eudaimonia), to regularly reading and responding to this blog. All is appreciated.

When parents come in to share their work, it can have particular value. It provides students with an up-close view of a job they may not have ever heard about. They might begin to see more value in the importance of learning in school. Also, children take pride in their parents and their parent’s support. You only have to take a look at Mia’s face to see that this is true.

Mia’s mom, Dana, was nice enough to come share some beautiful photographs she took of the street art in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dana went there on a recent work trip. She is a trained geographer; someone who studies the earth’s environment and human society. Mapping fieldwork has been a big part of Dana’s life (until a recent job change and now she does most of her work behind a computer screen).  She is extremely passionate about mapping cities.

Dana told the students that there are many different types of maps and many ways of mapping. She described mapping with digital cameras hooked up to balloons – and we got to see and touch one such balloon.

One way of mapping a city is by documenting street art. Dana and Mia showed many pictures of the gorgeous and vibrant art that is a huge part of the cultural landscape. Click HERE to see some examples.

Many thanks to Dana and Mia for this very interesting presentation!