Earthquake
A few days ago, we had an earthquake. At the time, I thought it was the concussion of a distant explosion or possibly a serious malfunction in one of the systems located beneath my feet in the basement of a house I still do not entirely trust. When I talked with neighbors and others who felt it, each had a different description, but none of us knew at the time that it was an earthquake. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay area as a child, I recalled the rolling tremors that had shaken my toys and books. By comparison, this was not an earthquake to me.
A short while later, the text messages and phone calls began to roll in. “You just had an earthquake, you idiot!” pointed out my well-connected but distant offspring. They had the data and coordinates to prove it. The NGS confirmed it. Google Earth measured it: 2.9, centered 6.8 miles from here and 5 miles deep. Cold, hard data. There’s an app for that 
Next came the questions: what should we be doing about this? What does the data tell us to do? Are there things we should check? Did it damage anything I/we are responsible for? What about the dam that holds in the lake we live on? Is there a contingency plan to go with this data?
Shortly after that, a final question: did this earthquake even matter? We have all sorts of accounts, impressions, and hard data. We have post-surveys, inspections, and discussions
. And, when it comes down to it, it really does not matter. But at the time, it did. For a brief period, we needed the data to answer our questions and confirm/deny our worries. Without a more distant perspective, we did not even realize the truth about something potentially major. (BP certainly knows about lacking perspective from up-close at the time of an event.)
I still wonder which experience is more real: feeling it or measuring it..or combining the feeling with the data after the fact? In a classroom, how do a teacher and a student feel and measure the earthquakes of learning and know whether they matter?
I live in San Diego and can relate to the earthquakes. Last month, we had a few and one was as high as 5.9. It was like being on a roller coaster. My husband loved it, me not so much.
I am troubled and in agreement of you thought of Without a more distant perspective, “we didn’t even realize the truth about something potentially major”.
Especially in light of the recent budget cuts, common core standards, etc. What does that even mean? How will it impact the kids? Are they losing out? Will be find out much later?
Comment by Aparna Vashisht — June 9, 2010 @ 7:28 pm