Manganese

So I recently noticed a surge in my blog views because of Nick's mention of my fun facts on his blog. Thanks for the blog love Nick and I love the newly added pictures!

Be prepared for a long post today...my apologies. I should have split this up over two days but I am just so excited to share my trip to Detroit. Detroit is unlike any other city I have been to...from media portrayal, we witness the horror stories from Detroit, but what you don't see is a city that is passionate about bringing back its vibrancy.

The fellows who live in and around Detroit were kind enough to entertain my questions about the city. I think Nick (not blogger Nick) put it the best when he said that Detroit was built for over 2 million people but currently has less than 1 million. Some of the buildings and skyscrapers are abandoned in the city not by choice but because there is no one there to occupy them.

Looking toward downtown Detroit from midtown.

An abandoned building near the UM Detroit Center. The building was actually in nicer shape than others but was the closest picture for me to take. I hope you can see that it is void of windows.

Just this small taste of Detroit has really taught me that you can't judge a book by its cover and that you can't always rely on what you read in the media. This city was once amazing and will no doubt be amazing again. I think a young girl and boy from a panel of Detroit Public School students that we talked to on Friday put Detroit into perspective for me: "great things come from this city (referring to Ford, etc.)" and "we are going to bring back our city and youth." Detroit is not dead yet nor will it even be because its residents have pride and more importantly they are ready to fight. The resiliency has already been implanted into its next generations. Amazing.

Below are some pictures of the kids that we talked to. They work on a project called First Robotics where they build robots from the ground up with NO directions in six weeks and then take them into competition. What they come up with is amazing. They also have "mini bots" that they can build in 25 minutes (from Legos) or 2 days (from metal). They do EVERYTHING from designing to programming and building the robots. What they know and what they do puts my college education to shame.

Don't be quick to jump to conclusions about these students. While some have a more stable background than others, many are not at the top of their class and some attend alternative schools or their local neighborhood schools instead of the top Detroit Public Schools. They all come from diverse backgrounds but they all bond around the robots and they all care deeply about one another as well as their mentors. I asked them how they saw themselves without First Robotics and many concluded that this opportunity gave them the tools to succeed. If that isn't a success story, I don't know what is.

One of the First Robotics students showing us how his team's robot works. (Permission was granted for the use of this photo)

A First Robotics student showing us her robot. (Permission was granted for the use of this photo)

I learned SO much from these students today. As a group we were able to ask them about school and what advice they had for new teachers. It is absolutely amazing what you can glean from a panel of students: they are so honest and open and are not afraid to speak their minds. And in the end it boiled down to this: they want teachers who are consistent, sincere, and (simplest of all) say "good morning."


Fun Fact: During the 1970s Howard Hughes commissioned a ship the Hughes Glomar Explorer to find manganese nodules (small round lumps) on the ocean floor near Hawaii. However, his real mission with the Glomar Explorer was to raise a sunken ballistic Russian submarine for the CIA. The manganese nodules were simply a ruse for treasure hunters and unfortunately worthless.

(Not as) Fun Fact: If you rearrange a few letters in manganese, you can spell my first name! I could have told you this back at magnesium, but it is so much more apparent with manganese.