Sep 17, 2026: Exit Slip

What struck me about the sketching activity on September 17, 2026, was the open-endedness of it. The class was provided mainly four criteria: sit down somewhere that strikes us, draw two natural elements, draw two manmade objects, and focus on angles. I found myself drawn to sit in the shade next to a blackberry bush, as when I was a child I would pick blackberries a lot in elementary. When looking at my location, I noticed how the nearby dandelions were all growing in the same angle. I realized that they were all reaching towards the sunlight. Moreover, some of the leaves on the blackberries were stained red, possibly from when they were eaten by animals.

Figure 1

Not all this would go noticed if just passed by, and I felt strongly about this because it felt like the first part of being reflexive. Slowing down, taking the time to look at something whole, and thinking about how it came to be. I am still questioning what the full motif was, but I believe it connects to our class discussions as well. My group talked about how to be reflexive, we would be reflecting a lot on how our actions have consequences. As a reflexive teacher, we should pay attention to the story of the land we are visitors on, and our presence on it. This felt even more apparent when also sketching the two manmade structures. This idea definitely changed my perspective of how connected I am to the land, and I hope to learn about the history of all schools’ lands I visit in the future.