June 2023 Newsletter
We’re sending a somewhat trimmed-down newsletter your way as part of our work to take it a bit easier over the summer. That said, there are some beautiful stories and the usual effort to help you get energized for new possibilities, so read and enjoy!
Cats and an Umbrella
Like last month, we start with posts from the NVIV series. These final two ahead of the summer break are both moving stories that challenge us to think about what matters to us.
The first is about a man who chose to take care of those in need, and the second is an award-winning animated short film about loss, triggers, and kindness. Find them both, along with the prompts we provide, via the links at the top of the page with all our NVIV posts.
Celebrating Excellence
For years, Next Vista for Learning has celebrated the work of students who are willing to share a creative take on what they encounter in school. Here are the winners of those contests, and we hope watching them you’ll find ideas for next term.
Why not have your students enter a video contest? We’d love to help you see how powerful it can be for a young person to create something that can teach others in a fun way. The details for Creative Spark ’23, our current contest (deadline toward the end of this year), will provide ideas, and you are welcome to contact us for help. It’s part of what we do, and it won’t cost you anything.
We hope to hear from you!
Super Sips
Would you like to win a $5 Starbucks card? In May, Andrea DeLano was one of the ones who responded to a quick challenge, and ended up as the winner of our drawing!
Yours might be the name drawn from the hat for June if you watch either of the NVIV posts described above (click here to find them). Just watch one and tell us what you think of the post. We welcome your feedback, and hope to give you a little treat as a thanks!
image by Nathan Dumlao from Unsplash (license)
Understanding Wildfire
Our project Educational Videos for the Science and Prevention of Wildfires is one that is generating stories of great activities and videos. You can see what students have sent (and refined with our feedback and sent back) at this page. Keep an eye on that, as well; we have plenty of new ones to process and post over the coming weeks!
We would love to have your students help others learn about wildfires by interpreting the prompts by sharing cool videos they make. If you’re curious, just let us know and we’ll find a way to get you involved, too.
image by Tengyart from Unsplash (license)
First Finish
If your term isn’t already over, it’s probably close to finishing. Take time over the coming month or so to find things that fascinate you, and you might find a new energy for what you do. During the vacation, as always: may you inspire, and be inspired, each and every day.
In service,
Rushton and the Next Vista team
Muchas Freebies
We love sharing cool free stuff, and invite you to help us out. You can find the best of what we’ve gathered over the years on the Next Vista Resources pages, but if there is something free and powerful you love that you don’t find there, let us know about it using our resources submission form.
Images in the freebies section are screenshots from videos or web pages unless otherwise noted.
Worth the Watch
Get ready for a biological moment of mind-blown. This is a time lapse done with footage from over a three-week period in which a single cell becomes a salamander. You can watch this at higher speeds if it’s too long for your attention span. A big thanks to my buddy Shags for sharing this gem from National Geographic. (6:42)
This woman was born with problems in her legs that meant she might never be able to do what so many others can. She also had a fascination for climbing that drove her to continually rise above expectations. Now she makes a living climbing 300-foot wind turbines to repair them. Those with a fear of heights may want to skip this one from Great Big Story. (5:43)
PBS has a series called Brief But Spectacular, in which people who care about some topic tell about their work and why they do what they do. In this one, Bill McKibben tells about the organization he founded called Third Act, which is about how older citizens can make a difference. Thanks to Zach Brown for the share! (4:17)
Also in the improve-the-community space is this promo from We Care Solar. It’s an organization seeking to bring light to clinics in places where the electricity isn’t reliable, and what they’re doing can mean saving the lives of mothers and babies. What do you learn from this story, and what questions come to mind? (1:30)
And then there’s Dadarao Bilhore, who knows how dangerous a pothole can be. Some years ago, Bilhore’s son was killed in a motorcycle accident involving a pothole. Now, he works to fill in potholes in the hope that others will avoid the accident that took his son. (2:59)
Imagine using the stalactites in a cave to create a musical instrument. That’s what happened in Luray, Virginia, in the United States. The man who plays this “cave organ” describes its unique qualities in this piece from Great Big Story (1:25)
In New York City, there is a branch of The Museum Of Illusions, and it’s full of good science and math questions, or perhaps political commentary, or whatever it is you might want to make a point about in some creative way. (3:16)
Worth the Read
If one of your colleagues has a “mental health check-in” chart on a classroom wall, it may be thanks to the work of Erin Castillo in California. It’s a clever way for students to ask for help when social circumstances might make that very difficult to do. Read about the system and how it caught on via social media. Another great share from Shags!
Tracy Edwards is a Nevada educator who wrote an opinion piece for EdSurge called What’s Lost When a Teacher Leaves a School. It’s the kind of examination that can re-center leadership on what needs to happen to keep talented teachers, and for teachers to think about how they work with each other in order to make the best personal and professional environment for everyone.
One of the most important experiences in my life was spending a semester overseas during college. In this post from Stanford University, see the photos that students visiting other parts of the world took and shared as part of the Stanford Global Studies Student Photo Contest. The one below was by Kyra Jasper as part of a study program in Malaysia.
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Last Bit
Going back to the last item in the resources shared, let’s marvel over another image from the student photo contest from Stanford’s Global Studies program. This one was taken in Sweden, where Leo Glikbarg traveled to the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights for the first time. The story includes learning that rare earth metals were discovered here just months after he left, leaving him wondering what will become of this place he visited.
Leo Glikbarg
from the Stanford Global Studies Student Photo Contest
See you next month!
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