Oh radiation...and health....and students...and...

Well, I may (or may not have) taken my students to the hospital this week. I took my Grade 9 class on Monday and my Grade8 class on Thursday. I did this because we are learning about the human body in both classes and it is important that students see that what they learn in the classroom has important implications for life and who things work and people are cared for. And because many of the board members at the school are doctors at the hospital it was a natural blending of the two communities. So off we went Thursday morning - and boy did we get the tour. We had a slide show (might I say it was all in Spanish because even though the Dr. could speak in English he was more comfortable talking in Spanish) and the students got to see the skeleton in life-sized form and touch the bones. They saw different types of fractures and name the types of fractures and the bones. They saw healthy blood and "sick" blood in the microscopes and in general had a good time. (I heard this through the grapevine. My student's don't tell me this. I wish I had told my teachers more things when I was younger.) Anyways, we finally ended up in the x-ray room where a student had an x-ray taken of his hand. We all put on those special vests while the rest of the class huddled behind a protective shield. Now the x-ray was about to get done when Ashley leans over and goes "Shouldn't the kid who is getting the x-ray taken have something on?" "I think so" I answered back. At this point, he is bending over holding his hand in between the table and the x-ray. The technican comes out and grabs a thick glove. I think "what is that going to do?" as she very firmly places it over my student's crotch and tells him to hold it there. The entire class cracks up - and my student just turns his head and looks at me as his face changes shades. I may have cried. I hope you have too.
\manda