The challenge of working during spring break
Today, after a solid week on the road with no Internet access and several rounds of phone tag, I finally made contact with Tohulka. This past week was FCAT week, which made it very difficult for me to get in touch with anyone at MAST Academy. I decided my best bet would be to drive over to the school and catch Tohulka in action. That worked out well, and I managed to snap a few photos of him teaching his freshman biology class. I may have to use one of those pictures for my e/h/s story, since the World Ocean Watch isn’t really in motion yet.
While at MAST, I had the opportunity to ask Tohulka more questions about the project. He was kind enough to let me look over his project proposal draft, which included all of the projects he hoped to incorporate into the curricula for his biology and marine biology classes. His marine biology class is already involved with the South Florida Student Shark Program, a research program headed by University of Miami graduate student Neil Hammerschlag that focuses on collecting data about Florida shark populations through catch-and-release methods. The World Ocean Watch would allow students from SFSSP to more effectively track shark populations, since the movement of the tagged sharks can be monitored by satellite. This is just one of quite a few projects Tohulka had in mind.
I also learned that funding for the World Ocean Watch could be covered under President Obama’s recent stimulus package, which allows for more money to be put aside for educational endeavors. NASA and the National Science Foundation are also willing to cover the cost of the projects that they have a vested interest in — only a few of the projects on Tohulka’s agenda. He said that the rest of the money will likely come from a variety of other grants, including one each from NOAA and UM’s Rosenstiel School. MAST works closely with both organizations and has received project funding from them in the past.
An obstacle for the project is the precarious future of MAST’s summer school program for incoming freshman. In past years, new students were required to attend a summer session to induct them into the world of scientific research through a series of field trips and projects. Tohulka and the World Ocean Watch coordinators had hoped to use the summer program as a developing ground for WOW. However, due to the dismal state of the Miami-Dade County public school system, MAST may no longer receive funding from the county to continue the summer program. Tohulka hopes this problem will be rectified by June of this year, when the program would normally continue.
I’m beginning to get a little nervous about making contact with the program’s producer/developers, Dr. Barry Rock and Patxi Pastor. I’m running out of spring break and I haven’t been able to make contact with them yet. There is another week before the story is due but I would have liked to be able to give the story a little more time without having to worry about my other studies on top of it.
2 years ago • Notes