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Conversation With Dr. George Tilson

Maximize your time with the good ones- this was the closing piece of advice today from our discussion with George Tilson. The “Conversation With” series attempts to do just that- to maximize the student’s time with people who are great examples of success. George Tilson of course is no exception. Dr. Tilson is a career development expert and disability specialist. He is also a playwright, creating shows such as the musical Boundless!, a collection of stories about Delawareans with disabilities.

Dr. Tilson’s discussion was in the form of a brainstorm session, engaging in snippets of thoughts and exercises that tie in with personal success. To demonstrate creativity in action, the students teamed up to come up with features that they would add to a Swiss Army knife.

Then, they went around the room describing things that they were surprised about their learning experience this year, as well as things they have taught others recently. Dr. Tilson then discussed with the students what it physically feels like when they are feeling anxious, angry or sad, and demonstrated different coping mechanisms such as breathing techniques and posture.

The discussion wrapped up with with Dr. Tilson sharing a few things that he has learned over the years- four C’s. Have a champion in your life and be a champion for others, make connections, success is a upward cascade of effects, and always maintain courage in everything you do. What a great interactive workshop!

Final Space Lab- Rover Launch!

Our students are never afraid to reach for the stars! For the past couple of months, the students have been using their problem solving skills to design a space rover that can fulfill a mission to a given planet or moon. With the guidance of Elaine Lewis of NASA Goddard, the students have researched their location, planned the type of of equipment needed to complete the mission, and created a rover that can adapt to the conditions of the location. Today was the culmination of their hard work. The groups presented on their mission and showed off their rover designs.

Aiden, Jordan, and Destiny made a rover to explore Titan, a moon of Saturn. Neenah, Ronan, Sara, and Claude planned to land a rover on the icy surface of Pluto. Tyleiah, Sean, Donald, and Garrett designed a rover to investigate the scorching surface of Venus. Finally, Olivia, Jacob, and Salma explored Neptune’s moon Triton with their rover designed to send out a probe to retrieve samples.

Congratulations on your research and ingenuity, everyone!