Grade 12: Nature

The readings for this week all had a common theme: nature.  While nature was the overarching connector for these texts, they all seemed to reflect the interactions and relationships between humans and the natural world.  Humans depend on nature for resources, shelter, food, water, and recreation.  However, it seems that there is an unclear line, which if crossed, can have devastating consequences. 

The New York Times article, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, demonstrates the ways that people push the limitations of their surroundings for recreational purposes.  Out of the group of sixteen skiers and snowboarders, multiple people had doubts about skiing Tunnel Creek because of the unstable conditions.  However, the group continued to make their way down the mountain (though some chose safer paths than others) and put their lives in danger.  The tragic and frightening avalanche that took the lives of such amazing skiers and people was preventable.  Too often, human beings underestimate the unmatchable forces of nature.  This naivety is common and due to much of what the government and large companies tell us is true.  While this article was an amazing piece of multimodal journalism, the story is tragic.  Spike Lee’s documentary also shows the powerful and vast impact that nature can have on people, even when unprovoked.  Hurricane Katrina destroyed so much, both natural and man made, but humans did not cause the storm.

Both the nature poems and the Vanishing Ice exhibits show the natural world itself as well as the interactions between humans and their surroundings.  I saw the “tyger” in Blake’s poem to be symbolic of humanity.  Like a tiger, humans are animals who are part of the natural world, yet destructive and deadly.  Issa also captures humanity’s destruction of nature in his poem.  He writes, “What a world,/where lotus flowers/are ploughed into a field” (Issa).  These lines capture another reason that people disturb and destroy their surroundings: food.  However, these lines can also be looked at more broadly to show the selfishness of humans when it comes to nature.  The Vanishing Ice exhibit explains the consequences that can result from this disregard for nature.  It explains that the ice is important to human existence, but it also tells the reader that human beings are jeopardizing the ice, and in turn, their very existence.  The Gasland trailer also visually demonstrated the ways that humans can negatively impact the environment—this time through the process of “fracking.”  Spike Lee’s documentary trailer also

All of the texts show the complicated and sometimes dangerous relationship between man and nature.  I think that the variety of texts is great because it shows students that there are various ways to present information.  The New York Times piece was unlike any article I had ever read.  I found the combination of text, video, graphics, and sound to be captivating, and I thought that it fit very well with the story the author was recording.  I hope to see more pieces like that in the future, whether about nature or any other topic.