- Tim Breen, Ph.D., Head of School
Watershed’s FAIR - Festival of Arts and Intellectual Reflection.- is back! What a lovely opportunity to get together and hear from our students about their interests, curiosities, and passions. Throughout the week as students were finalizing their ShedTalks, I often asked them about their topics and about how they were feeling about their upcoming talk. The most common response was that they were nervous. I think this is good. It is good to push ourselves. We grow from doing things that make us nervous. And being nervous is a sign that you care about what you are doing. I know that I am still nervous (though less over time) every time I speak to a large group. It reminds me of the quote, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” (often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, further info about this below).
Finally, I wanted to note that the range of student curiosities was truly impressive. Here is a partial list of ShedTalk topics:
High School
The physics of propulsive landing
How do artists learn from trial and error?
Is ignorance inherently a source of evil?
How does art give us a better understanding of science?
Connections between crows and hunting
What about religion compels people to do good?
Why do people do bad things?
Defining a religious connection to western philosophy
How do birds depict morality in art?
How does our perception of good and evil affect our behavior?
What can pottery tell us about the past?
Why do people love morally gray and evil characters?
Do violent video games cause violence in real life?
How do birds inspire movement?
How does religion guide people to goodness or guide them to evil?
What does "loving everyone" mean in a religious setting
From humans to Martians. Will we ever be able to live on Mars?
How do humans and raptors build bonds?
How is social media addictive?
What does it mean to be a good person?
How do religious beliefs influence politics around women's rights in the middle east?
How will human spacecraft evolve over the next 10 years?
The psychology of color
What is special relativity?
Middle School
How do you make a realistic scientific illustration?
Quantum Computing
What is Batesian mimicry and how does it work?
Why does some bees’ honey taste different than others?
How do camera angles affect a film?
How does painting someone you know affect how you paint?
What is the purpose of pollination?
Will the human population go extinct?
How do different colors affect our brains?
How does the arctic bumblebee survive in its environment?
What might I or others do to help Afghan refugees?
How can music affect a documentary?
How do insects protect themselves?
How does work done by pollinators affect our daily lives?
What flowers can I plant in my garden to be pollinator friendly?
What would happen if the sun died?
How do bees make honey?
How do we know so much about black holes?
Neutron stars
What is a hyperloop?
What would happen to a rocket if it ran out of fuel?
And that is fewer than half of the Trimester 1 ShedTalks!
*Regarding the quote often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Another source suggested that her true quote was “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” Either way, very wise.
