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I'm doing a presentation at a school tomorrow.
Posted by nate-the-surveyor on February 21, 2017 at 3:54 amI have a few ideas.
Not sure the age groups… But I think it’s around 10th grade.
Should be fun!
Ya’all say a prayer for me.
I did not learn surveying, by pecking on a cell phone, or reading facebook.
Lots of our next generation is not like me.Ideas?
N
sergeant-schultz replied 7 years, 6 months ago 15 Members · 18 Replies -
18 Replies
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i’d start with a shovel. have a hole digging contest.
remarkable how many pie-eyed newbies i’ve seen wash out after a day or two just based upon being tasked with properly using the sharpshooter.
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Nate The Surveyor, post: 415104, member: 291 wrote: I have a few ideas.
Not sure the age groups… But I think it’s around 10th grade.
Should be fun!
Ya’all say a prayer for me.
I did not learn surveying, by pecking on a cell phone, or reading facebook.
Lots of our next generation is not like me.Ideas?
N
NONE of the next generation is like us. Find common ground with your audience and don’t dwell on the apparent vast chasms that separate. And remember…you probably can’t see a fledgling surveyor at that age.
I was once a scraggly-haired mouth breather who’s only claim to fame was that I knew snooker balls were smaller in diameter than regular pool balls. I use to count the seconds from when an adult began attempting admonished correction until they walked away frustrated with my attitude.
There is hope for that ‘next generation’. Being in an environment different from ours their blossoms and flowers will also be different.
ps – tell them how many kids you have…that will at least impress the boys in the room…;)
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Several years ago I was invited to the University of California Davis as a guest lecturer for one of their civil engineering classes. I worked diligently on the presentation in hopes of keeping their interest. It was a 7:00 am class in a big lecture hall. Less than 10 minutes into my presentation, roughly 90% of the students were asleep. There were less than 10 who were clearly engaged, so I wrote off the rest and presented to the few who weren’t sleeping. I guess my point is, don’t set the bar too high for how you hope they may “act” and just aim to connect with a few and hopefully leave a positive impression.
Good luck.
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SPMPLS, post: 415149, member: 11785 wrote: Several years ago I was invited to the University of California Davis as a guest lecturer for one of their civil engineering classes. I worked diligently on the presentation in hopes of keeping their interest. It was a 7:00 am class in a big lecture hall. Less than 10 minutes into my presentation, roughly 90% of the students were asleep. There were less than 10 who were clearly engaged, so I wrote off the rest and presented to the few who weren’t sleeping. I guess my point is, don’t set the bar too high for how you hope they may “act” and just aim to connect with a few and hopefully leave a positive impression.
Good luck.
I have also stood at the front of a room full of people whose interest was scattered. Dennis Mouland once said, “if you can leave your impression on 10% of a crowd you’re doing OK.”
Once after what I considered a well researched and presented lecture one of my attendees approached me and said, “I really liked your joke about the rooster…”. 🙁
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I gave short presentations to every 5th grader – 5 schools – in my area for about 20 years.
With that, I have no idea how to reach a 5th grader, but I will say that my most effective line was:
“Working outside with a survey crew for me at your age was one HECK of a lot more fun than mowing lawns for a living!”
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10th graders should know or be learning Trigonometry and Geometry. Surveying is the perfect way to demonstrate a practical application of basic math.
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Any type of presentation that connects what they are learning to something real would be beneficial.
For instance have a math class calculate a search position for a corner on the school property, then go out and crank a couple angles and search for monuments….a few would be hooked for life.
GPS would be less impressive to them (in my opinion).
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We promoted our survey program at a local high school. We brought in a total station and some reflectors so we were able to show of some of the technology which the few interested students seemed to like.
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maybe take the approach the pony express did years ago. You know, along the lines of “orphans preferred”…
Regale them with tales of snakes, ticks, bears and puma, poison oak, hacking through thick brush on the sides of cliffs in 110 degree heat and driving sleet, digging for traces of 100-yr old rotted pine hubs, and the always enthralling effort expended retracing the Benson Syndicate boys.
After all, you wouldn’t want to attract anyone less than those with the primitive instincts still intact. -
Ask how they would create a rectangular form for a concrete base for placing a garden shed on when all they had was a length of string of about 30 feet, a sharpie pen and the physical length of the sides of the garden shed still in the shipping box.
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Well, it turned out to be in a room, about 150′ x120′. Students could either skip a class, and go to “Career Day”, or they could attend their regular classes. It started with Seniors. Then 11th graders, and so forth, all the way to some 8th graders.
I discovered that giving them ANY information, before establishing rapport, was not going to help them. They loved the metal detector. I let them look through the surveyor’s transit. (On the table in front of me) I told them “I’m a Land Surveyor. Do you plan to own your own home?” YES!
“Well, then eventually you will probably have dealings with a land surveyor.”
I’d hand them my suunto compass. Let them look through it. Without fail, they “zoned out” while looking into it.
I told them, that was where surveyors live. In that world, they could see in the compass.
I showed them about inches, and tenths.
I took a piece of paper, wrapped it around the basket ball. Explained how we make little flat spots, on the earth, so that we could continue the fiction of a flat earth, for our math.
I explained with the square, and a plumb bob, that 2 plumb bobs 500′ apart, are hanging quite close to parallel. However, that no longer is true, over a few miles.
That gravity varies. That a plumb bob tends to swing toward a mountain. That if they want to become a land surveyor, that they should take some courses in geodesy.
A number of them came back to my table, to look at the toys, and just visit.
I am plumb tired. They really took alot out of me.
Overall, they were great kids. One in particular, was so totally bored with school… I so bad wanted to take him, and put him to work…. He was very smart, and directionless.
I could get into education.
2 asked about a surveyor’s income. I told them that if they planned to get rich, there were more efficient means of doing that.
I have to admit, resoundingly YES, I’d do it again. Those kids were great kids.
There were cops there, to discuss becoming cops.
National Guard was there.
Local banker had a rep there.
Local college had reps.
Lots of stuff.
Insurance agent was there. Explaining what he does.Kids. They need somebody to care.
Nate
PS that is an aqua dip needle on the table. I called it an antique metal detector. Demoed it, over the pipe in the table. They really liked that.
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I told them that the answer to the question “What is a Land Surveyor?” is:
“When you buy apple juice in the store, somebody had to package and label that juice, in a container. Well when you buy land, we create the container, called a Land Description, and it gets placed on the deed. We package it, with a label, such as areas of conflict, or such”.
When done properly, it makes land ownership more simple. When done improperly, it becomes more complex.N
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Nate The Surveyor, post: 415222, member: 291 wrote: PS that is an aqua dip needle on the table. I called it an antique metal detector. Demoed it, over the pipe in the table. They really liked that.
I don’t go anywhere without my trusty “Dip Needle”….
Ronald W. Berry -
I have a few vague recollections of a Career Day held sometime while I was in high school. We could go to three sessions of having someone tell us all about their work world so we might determine if that was something we might find interesting. Two of the three I attended were picked out for me by the guidance counselor, and he was rather insistent that I listen to those two guys. One was the local pharmacist. Another was an alumnus who had been a mathematics major and spent his life as an actuary for the insurance industry. My personal choice, and favorite, was the owner of a trucking firm that hauled livestock all over the US. I have never been a professional, or amateur, pharmacist and I avoid the insurance industry as much as possible because you only win if you are a huge loser. I’ve hauled a lot of livestock, though, but not by the semi load.
Young people have many hidden and undiscovered talents. Some who seem to have everything going for them turn out to be the biggest losers imaginable. Others may appear to have few, if any, talents that would lead them towards a certain career. Pure luck leads them to success years later. There are plenty of examples of that based on the stories by contributors to this site.
This past Saturday I attended a performance of a city-wide youth symphony. My soon-to-be 16 year-old grandson participated as a viola player. I would have never endured the hours and hours of torturous practicing that those 80 young people have put in to make such wonderful music come forth. After the concert, I joined the rest of the family at my daughter’s home. They now have a piano. Neither the grandson nor the 10 year-old granddaughter have taken any kind of piano lessons yet as the piano was a gift from a moving neighbor a few weeks ago. The granddaughter sat down and played three simple, short tunes from memory. I was impressed. She had some instruction from my daughter about the basics, such as what is middle c and why is it important, but had chosen to memorize the notes rather than use the sheet music. Then the grandson sat down and proceeded to blow me away. He began playing a complex, somewhat familiar-sounding, song with all ten fingers and no sheet music to follow. Then he began to improvise and take the standard tune in all-new directions for about 10 minutes. No one realized he had such talent. It was so good it was scary. Wow!
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Sounds like you had a very-very good day Nate. If you talk with your accountant it probably is a write off on your taxes and if you needed continuing education units like we do, you would get credit for this effort.
I had a high school student work with us for a few weeks a number of years ago. Back when they needed to do a Senior Project to graduate. Fast forward to last summer when I was in Italy for a wedding making small talk with another guest who asked me what I did for a living. I told him, and one thing lead to another and it turns out his Kid was the Senior Project kid. Dad exclaimed that the experience made a profound difference in his attitude and drive and that he was so appreciative of the work that we did with him. We took selfies and messaged them to Bangkok where the Kid is now a big shot for a software firm that we all use everyday. Connecting with kids has benefits. I should take more time to do it. -
Nate The Surveyor, post: 415222, member: 291 wrote: I am plumb tired.
:gammon:
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Not to dismiss your experience in the least…but in my opinion – career day is an entirely insufficient means of getting our kids to set education/employment goals.There needs to be a follow up that includes review of job listings, education/experience requirements, job duties, potential wages…then a couple days working with an employment mentor that would be willing to expose them to actual related work.
There is a high school in Washington State that focuses on job placement upon graduation for students that have chosen not to continue on to college. They will graduate with certificates in their field of interest. It’s called a vocational high school or technical high school.
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Nate The Surveyor, post: 415222, member: 291 wrote: Kids. They need somebody to care.
I don’t believe I’ve heard truer words ever spoken……
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