"Preparing for Survival"
Brian Horner, Learn to Return

Brian is a survival trainer and president of Learn to Return.

Fate - using numbers. Fate selects you to get hurt, to loose your shoe. Your good day is someone else's bad day, or your bad day is someone else's really good day.

Problem: Mountainous areas are not really meant for people to live in. As we learned to build better clothing, produce fire, etc. we grew and moved to other parts of the world. The AK natives have made adaptations that are amazing. They have no word for fighting - it's tough enough to survive. You must very quickly become a native. You have to have everything you need, including the correct clothing. You have to adapt to a place you're not used to being.

The first thing they do in the longer course, is take back packs away and show them how to make horse bundles. Carry things on your body - only what you need.

Changes in environment - insulated suits don't always work. Having a vehicle doesn't provide all the protection you need. 2 parts - gear plus physical part and mindset - you're there and you can't get out.

How do human emergencies start:

• Recreation accidents - most compromised - no radios, beacons, cell phones, etc.
• Travel accidents
• Lost persons
• Natural disasters
• Remote work locations

People feel that safety gear is their safety, so they take more risks. Still need good common sense.

Children are more likely to survive because they stop when they're tired rather than continuing to move. Adults want to get to civilization, men are worse than women.

Reaction phase - beyond the point of normalcy. People don't react until then.

Hollywood movies are not the best example of emergencies. They sensationalize what happens and expand the time during which emergencies/disasters occur.

What are real emergencies. Is it a fluke that people react poorly in emergencies or can they be trained. People can be trained.

Panic: You need enough of a catalyst to make the reaction. You need a sense that something is going wrong. People look around at others to see if what is happening is normal. Gather data...

Everyone wants to know how much time they have. If they think they have time they do better, otherwise they start to get overstimulated - too much data coming in. We want time to fix things as they come along.

People can be trained to deal with anxiety. When accidents happen they are everywhere (psychologically) but at the accident. We feel we're better dealing with the post-scenario rather than the scenario.

People push the comfort level as long as possible, especially when things are happening slowly. Cold, confused, tired, sore. Too many things building up. Hazards that start taking people over slowly.

Who Survives:

• Determination
• Self discipline
• Self sufficiency
• Outdoor living
• Confidence
• Good leadership
• Physical and mental wellness

Increase your margin for error:

• Attitude
• Preparation
• Training
• Knowledge
• Skills

The HIS/HER Principle:

Hazards	Heat
Injury	Energy
Shelter	Rescue and rest

Your body is what really produces the heat. As long as you have food and water, you continue to produce heat.

Hazards:

• Wind, rain, animal, water, normal work activities
• Be alert, aware and able...
• How do you weigh a hazard? Is it a real hazard vs. artificial - bear vs. wind

Biggest hazard is injury

• Breathing
• Bleeding
• Broken

Medical emergencies are like commercial real estate. Location, location, location

Find and fix

• Are they breathing - airway position
• Are they conscious
• Bleeding - Stop quickly, people bleed out quickly - easy or hard

Shelter

• Water or insulation problem
• Blue tarps are good - no smaller than 8x10. Space blankets shatter in sub-zero temps
• Dome snow shelters. Flat topped ones sink and can trap you.
• Smaller the shelter the better. 2 hands all around your body is what you can heat up.
• Rock is cold, bad insulator, but good reflector
• Igloos - the last top piece is the toughest to fit. Parasnowhouses - throw some skiis on
• top, tarp over that and snow over that. Then fires can be built with ventilation.
• Vent should be in level with the platform
• Never burn a candle or anything else while asleep - asphixiation

Heat

• Isometric exercise, activity
• Matches, lighter, metal match
• Candles, sterno, fuel/oil lamp
• Chemical heat packs
• Blanket, extra clothing, vapor barriers
• Centrifuge hands - really heats them up - rotate them backward instead of forward.
• Anything with grease to it will burn. Mayonnaise, chapstick
• Native cultures use fuel fat stoves, must have a combustion temperature
• Bend a can lid, put fuel source in middle, heats medal, keeps going

Energy
Food and water feed the fire that keeps your motor running.

• Water, juice, tea, bouillon
• Sports drinks - cut gatoraide by 3
• Ramen noodles, minute rice, potatoes
• Slim jims, dried fruit, beans, gorp, nuts, breads and cereal
• Drink a minimum of 2 quarts of water per day. Eat a good meal.

Rescue
Signaling

• Journey management plan
• Mirror/whistle
• Brightly colored cloth or scarf
• Chemical lightstick
• Pattern signals
• Pyrotechnic devices
• Fire
• Personal locator beacons
• Cellular phone

  Clothing Demo
  "2 pairs of socks, 1 pair of underwear"
  Inside out -
  

  • Polypropolyene underwear - will not hold water next to the body
  • If your body is warm, it's a high pressure area and is pushing water
  • If fibers are slippery, the droplets will migrate from high to low pressure
  • The more slippery the fibers the faster the water goes through
  • Different weights to purchase
  • In order to work best, the first layer has to be touching your skin.
  • The first layer needs to be the lightest, snuggest layer you can get
  • Add bulkier layer next - multiple synthetic layers
  • Pile - Boundary air - each of those hairs has a boundary layer (air) around it providing insulation
  • Brian wears fleece vest more often than anything. Keeps core warm. Better freedom of movement and no constriction around elbows and armpits.
  • Packs easily. Buys these bigger - oftentimes big enough to sit on.
  • Western Mountaineering Bison sleeping bag
  • Down parka - boundary air principle
  • When compressed there's no insulation. Coat it with a rain jacket. Can't get anything warmer and it's very light. With down, if it's too bulky, air pumps out of it, make sure it fits at the bottom and at sleeves.
  • Doesn't recommend down pants, but hollofiber.
  • Balaclava
  • Headsok
  • Hands and feet are the most important. Mitten best for hands, but frustrating. Wear with polypro liner or nomex glove. Wiggy's mittens are good. Back taking fingers and sticking into palm, you're better off centrifuging hands. Heat glove and hand in armpit. Anatomical gloves.
  • Goretex has a failure subzero. If you don't have enough heat to push moisture out, it won't work.
  • Bivvy sacks should be Goretex.
  • Mosquitoes - Bug net - wear ball cap underneath so it's not touching the skin. Bug repellant. Deet is still the best. You systemically absorb some of it. Atomizer bottles then you can cover clothing. Small mist. Keep away from eyes, mouth, will melt plastic. Eat lots of garlic and take lots of B vitamins.
  
  To be willing to adapt to the environment, you need to do whatever it takes.

  Frostbite - local injury
  

  • Ears, nose, fingers, toes
  • As tissue freezes, membranes start to adjust. Cell dehydrates. Moisture forms between cell membranes. The longer the injury, the more moisture, then crystals form, rupture cells, loose nuclei. If you freeze for 24 hours, you'll have tissue collapse. Less than that, different responses. If frozen and continue to flex or move, rupture more cells. If you can thaw, it expands. If you refreeze, you quadruple original damage. 104 degrees is the best for thawing (hot tub temperature). Clear blisters are okay, with blood means damage deeper down.
  • No blisters means that fluid won't come in - like a third degree burn.
  • Put moleskin on pads of glasses. Put Vaseline on cheeks, ears, etc.
  • Go out like you plan to walk back. If you can lay down on the ground for 30 min. and just start shivering, then you're dressed okay
  • Wool - likes it on feet. Combo socks of wool and synthetic. 85% synthetic, 15 % wool
  • Dahlgreen or smartwool - wear out quickly
  • Make them warmer with a vapor barrier (stuff sack like) gives 8-9 degrees of heat, however gives you wet feet. Can give you blisters after many days. Warmer than bags, but more blisters.
  • Cotton bandana
  • Should always have a knife and Bic lighter
  • If you wear glasses bring a toilet paper tube or SKYY swizell sticks makes something you can use.
  • Cordage is the hammer and nail of survival. If you can't tie a knot, tie a lot...

  Knots:
  

  • Square knot
  • Sheet bend
  • Double sheet bend
  • Bowline knot
  • Water knot-for flat rope-webbing

  Comment Cards
  New TEAs
  

  • Great day again.
  • I would enjoy this as a 1-3 day right before my Arctic trip. Could replace this day, but I believe it places an importance on safety, preparation, planning, etc.
  • Great material! I'll probably tie knots on the plane ride home.
  • Very informative! Great presenter. We could benefit by a longer session.
  • I thought the presentation was wonderful. I learned a lot. It would be nice to have a hand out that followed the presentation a little more with knots, illustrations, food, clothes, recommendations, etc. Overall I found it very interesting and useful.
  • The field safety "school" was very valuable! Some great new "tricks" and information was learned!
  • Great. Appropriate. Entertaining but seriously helpful. Perhaps extend to 2 days? Nothing to change.
  • Brian did a fantastic job. I feel much more confident about going into the field. It's a comfort to know that people like Brian are out there. Time is a constraint, but make this session longer if possible.
  • new material and super review.
  • Even if Antarctic TEAs get Happy Camper School, this is a good program to get us "ramped up" before leaving.
  • Great day.
  • Lots of food for thought and practical idea. It was just great to do things all day long.
  • Brian is an excellent presenter.
  • Superb!! Bring Brian back again!
  • The day was too short... we could have had a week of survival training :)
  • Wow! Great day! Thank you! Thank you! I learned so much.
  • High: Well worth it! Even if there are no bugs to eat.
  • Lows: None. Thanks!

  Friday

  What's Happening Today

  • Partnering with Colleagues / MRGs
  • Research Presentation - Nancy Chabot
  • Lunch
  • Arctic Cultures
  • When Things Don't Go Well
  • Journaling

  • Tonight: Review Reading on Inquiry

  Partnering with Colleagues / MRGs

  For additional discussion of mentoring, please visit Notes on Mentoring / How to Submit Online

  Reasons for Mentoring
  
  • NSF requirement of this and other TE programs - but this is NOT the reason for undertaking a collaborative relationship
  • Multiplies the investment
  • Intent is a depth of investment and commitment with colleagues so that meaningful learning is on all fronts
  • Offers a process for simultaneously promoting individual & organizational capacity building
  • Assumes a shared focus, a shared responsibility to learn, and a disciplined approach to acquiring the desired goal

  The Language of Mentoring Many TEAs use the term "collaboration" or "collaborative team" rather than "mentoring" because "mentoring" has a top down feel to many teachers. Know your audience and meet their needs.

  What are your assumptions & beliefs about meaningful professional development?
  

  • Something to offer, CEUs, re-certification, credit, etc.
  • Write grants together
  • Identify resources
  • Working with peers - sharing the good and the bad
  • Shared parcticipation - rejuvenating
  • Team - identify common (and dissimilar goals); work on common ones, celebrate reaching all the goals
  • Fun!
  • Useful
  • Attract others by doing some of the leg work; build equipment that others can use (establishes credibility)
  • Everyone is a professional and should be treated that way
  • Don't let the sessions de-volve into a "bitch session"
  • Correlate with state standards
  • Model for other TE opportunities
  • Don't make it "extra" - do it as part of the job if you can - on school hours
  • Let your principal and superintendent know what is happening.

  Identify the meaningful issues that would drive you to establish a collaborative learning group
  

  • Needs - keep all the science teachers on the same page, up on the content, ideas for sharing the research experience, equipment-based needs, etc.
  • Elevate the educational atmosphere for yourself and for individuals at your location
  • Efficiency to get help
  • Promise of something
  • Common interest
  • Sharing the experience
  • Eliminate the need to re-invent the wheel
  • Team building

  Mentoring Resource Groups
  

  • History
  • Mentoring is a very real challenge. Group discussions help generate new ideas, brainstorm solutions to problems, keep TEAs connected to the community
  • Structure
  • Approximately 4 TEAs
  • Grade-level specific
  • Time-zone specific
  • Bi-polar when possible
  • ~ Five one-hour evening conference calls each year
  • Calling cards to cover cost
  • Well before the meeting, 3 suggested times proposed; if they do not work, other times will be suggested
  • Suggested topics from leaders and from parcticipating TEAs (e.g., grant writing, etc.)

  Assignments to MRGs

  Newsletter
  

  • Shares mentoring and transfer ideas across the community
  • Keeps the community connected
  • TEA provides a list of questions for the parcticipating TEAs to use as a guide so that the structure will be consistent
  • Focus on Arctic and Antarctic parcticipant each issue
  • Three issues per year
  • Delivered as PDF's and available for download on the TEAs Only site

  Ideas For Meaningful Mentoring Experiences
  

  • Develop & conduct a professional workshop
  • Develop inquiry-based classroom lessons
  • Plan and construct a school research program
  • Take a trip to a research facility
  • Edit existing curricular materials to reflect standards
  • Investigate on-line classroom resources
  • Plan & offer a "polar" night at school or a science fair with a polar theme
  • Develop & conduct a professional presentation
  • Collaborate on writing an arcticle
  • Write a grant proposal for needed resources

  Additional Mentoring Ideas from the New TEAs
  

  • Work with colleagues across schools and disciplines'
  • Find scientists in a non- traditional locations
  • Gravel / cement companies, universities
  • Adopt a school - find ways to involve student from different schools in working with other students
  • Listen to live audio together and discuss
  • Work with new teachers or feeder schools
  • Rotate meeting places and try to involve communities
  • Develop and utilize units that focus on the local region and meet together
  • Meet for longer times and less often
  • Plan an agenda for the meeting to keep folks on-task and to respect the time of everyone involved
  • Develop a polar unit across grades and disciplines
  • Develop a longer term research project together
  • Work on technology training
  • Look at this as a way to raise the academic goals/investments/payoffs within your group

  Group Report Outs
  

  • Set up a group setting and have others in the group lead the meeting
  • Set the agenda for the next meeting at the close of the meeting
  • Let colleagues have buy-in - they help set the agenda, they identify what is discussed, prepare readings, activities, etc. so that it always is pertinent to the needs of the group
  • Move across grades and disciplines
  • Start by looking at school and state standards
  • Plan and construct a research program that reflects those standards
  • Develop inquiry based classroom lessons
  • Investigate on-line resources
  • Develop a presentation / workshop with your colleagues
  • Share that with the broader community
  • Leverage this for an arcticle about what you are doing
  • Leverage this for a grant for needed resources
  • Students can mirror this process - investing in research,

  • Develop school science research programs - not necessarily about polar research but about outdoor labs,
  • Parcticipating in field courses as a group
  • Developing applications from those experiences as a group

  • As part of your collaborative group, invite area teachers to more-open sessions to better increase the

  Scenario Discussions
  Scenario 1: TEA teacher - 5 years or experience. Teaches grade 5 in a small urban school. Married without children. Colleagues originally excited, one has now retired and other two are "stuck in the curriculum." The TEA is back from field, and having a hard time to get team to meet. The two team members are working hard on a butterfly project where the students raise butterflies.

  Suggestions:
  

  • Meet at team member's homes
  • Replace retiree
  • Leverage other projects that they are doing - help ramp-up the butterfly project with more authentic process of science / experience of research based on your own experience
  • Butter flies researchers
  • Work around planning periods
  • Get outside - modify the project if needed - get kids observing, recording data, analysis, presentation, etc.

  Scenario 2:
  The TEA teacher has been teaching 7 years in a 9-12 grade level rural classroom setting. He/she has 2 science teachers and one English teacher - all are enthusiastic, but they are having trouble finding a common meeting time.

  Suggestions:
  

  • Meet on weekend
  • Have longer term meetings - fewer meetings
  • Ask administrator to have funds to meet during school year - get a release day to do this
  • Ask administrator to give you a common prep time
  • Bring the children!

  Scenario 3; 15 year teacher in a 11-12 grade level, urban school setting. The TEA is married with three children. The three colleagues are in the same department but all are suffering from mandated curriculum requirements; flexibility apparently is not an option in the classroom in terms of integrating the TEA experience or the process of science based on the TEA experience.

  Suggestions:

  • This could be a great opportunity to write new curriculum materials to specifically meet the need
  • Leverage what little flexibility there is - as a team define those areas
  • Perhaps focus on PD (content and pedagogy) of the involved teachers - investment in their professional development; they will get this into the classrooms (in other words, concentrate on becoming a more knowledgeable and better teacher, and do not focus on creating activities that will not be used)
  • Look at this as a way to raise the academic goals/investments/standards within your group

  Scenario 4:
  TEA is a 2 year teacher working in grades 7-8 in a suburban setting. The TEA has not been in field yet, and is not married. He/she is having difficulties getting previously interested teachers on board to commit to the collaborative team. Suggestions:
  

  • Perhaps the TEA should try to think out of the box by being more sensitive to family needs of colleagues - use school time rather than outside time
  • Too time-focused - focus instead on goal(s) of other parcticipants
  • Cover the content / teaching needs identified by the colleagues first
  • There is a huge pool of other teachers to leverage the process of science

  Scenario 5:
  TEA in a private school setting. How does he/she connect with colleagues beyond the private school setting?

  Suggestions:
  

  • There is a strange (but real!) tension between public and private schools
  • Perhaps this is a more restricted setting than the public setting - need to work to create a network
  • Expand to connect with teachers in your local community
  • Perhaps focus on individuals in other schools, rather than approaching the entire school
  • Leverage network of public schools
  • Cross disciplines
  • Must prove yourself - leverage your experience
  • May mean a workshop to generate interest - and then draw from pool
  • Work with content clubs / associations e.g., Association of Physics to share the experience and to generate interest. From this interest, you can recruit.
  • Leverage alternative schools

  Research Presentation
  Nancy Chabot, Case Western Reserve University
  ANSMET- The Antarctic Search for Meteorites
  ANSMET

  Overview
  

  • What Meteorites Are / Where Meteorites Come From
  • Types of Meteorites
  • What Meteorites Tell Us
  • Why is Antarctica Such a Popular Location
  • Why is ANSMET so successful
  • Results from ANSMET Efforts

  What Meteorites Are / Where Meteorites Come From
  

  • Most meteorites are from the asteroid belt
  • Finds - no idea of time
  • Falls - observed entering our atmosphere; we can backtrack their trajectories to the asteroid belt

  • Primary mechanism to get a meteorite to Earth
  • Due to collisions and started on a path to Earth; has a correlation with the orbital resonance with Jupiter

  • Solar nebula
  • Cloud of dust and gas
  • Spherical originally; gravitationally compressed

  • Named by location
  • Farmington - 02 (second meteorite found in Farmington, NM)

  • ALH90411,19
  • Allen Hills
  • 1990-1991 season
  • 411 - processed number
  • 19 - the 19th thin section of this parcticular meteorite

    Types of Meteorites
    

    • Condules - some of the first droplets solidified from the solar nebulae (hence so round) Mostly olivine and pyroxene; accreted from molten material (textural information) and cooled quickly. Oldest ages (4.56 Ga)
    • Chondrites - primitive; have chondules. Abundance of elements in chondrites matches abundance of Sun. Primitive asteroids (chondrites) have intermixed silicate and metal. 90% of all meteorites. Primitive meteorites - also contain resistant materials (silicon carbide "grains") preserved that may record super nova outside of our solar system, from other solar systems.
    • Achondrites - heated and melted again; lack chondules. Differentiated asteroids have layers; indicates it was re-melted; elements differentiate into denser material at core and lighter material on outside (e.g., Earth, Mars, and some asteroids). Cut off seems to be 50 km (say, between 40 and 200 km).
    • Often, the meteorites in a given year are pieces of the same meteorite. Cannot tell until in the lab. So, of the 10,000 meteorites, 3000 are probably unique.
    • Fusion crust - thin crust (helps to differentiate between a "rock" and a "meteorite." Created by "burning" upon entry into Earth's atmosphere.

    What Meteorites Tell Us
    

    • What are asteroids made of? What is their history? How do they relate to each other and the other material in the solar system and in our Universe?
    • What are planets made of? What are the geologic processes operating on them? Do we have samples of these other planets? How are the planets related and what were their formation processes?
    • Iron meteorites are the type that folks find in their backyards because they look different. Thought to be the core of the asteroid and used as an analogy for our own core.
    • Ditto olivine-rich meteorites - mantle analogy. Matches with what we know of Earth's mantle and the samples that we have (mountains, ophiolites, kimberlite pipes, etc.)
    • Meteorites from the Moon and Mars come from impacts. Match the Moon samples with what we sampled in the 1960's and 70's. But how did we assess that Martian meteorites came from Mars? Compared the meteorite composition with the spectral composition / remotely sampled composition of Mars.
    • ALH04001,0
    • 6 years ago - this meteorite sprang into the news with the claims that it contained evidence for life on Mars.
    • Observations / data have held for 6 years - Interpretation being argued
    • Evidence for life - one line of argument is that the magnetite mineral forms are perfect. This is taken to indicate a biologic process.
    • If of a chemical origin, this is taken to indicate a geologic / chemical process
    • Researchers are examining Earth-based physical and chemical processes that could result in the same features (e.g., hydrothermal environments and other extreme environments).
    • The implications that arose from the examination of this parcticular meteorite have helped to drive our quest for life in extreme environments and in our solar system / universe.

    Why is Antarctica Such a Popular Location
    Why is ANSMET so successful
    

    • Easier to see!
    • Because the continent is covered by ice; hence a larger percentage of the rocks on the surface of this thick ice sheet are meteorites (not diluted by continental debris)
    • Same number fall on Antarctica per square meter as anywhere else
    • Concentration mechanism: There are places in Antarctica where ice flows concentrate meteorites (and other stuff). Ice flows against a barrier (Transantarctic Mountains) and is forced up. Katabatic winds sublimate the ice and hence concentrates the "non-sublimatable" material.
    • Terrestrial ages - how long the meteorite has been on Earth's surface. Ages measured from decay of radioactive elements that are excited by cosmic radiation (to which they are not exposed on Earth or in the ice).

    Results from ANSMET Efforts
    

    • Collection: Find a meteorite, take a picture, get the GPS coordinates, pick it up with sterile NASA-issued utensils, make any special notes (fusion crust, other interesting features), place it in a sterile, NASA-issued sample bag, seal it, label it, box it, ship it (chilled) to NASA. Photographed, thin sectioned (thin slices through which light passes) at NASA. Shipped to Smithsonian for identification and pairing with other pieces of same meteorites.
    • News bulletin describes new meteorites 2x year
    • Researchers request access

    How Can Teachers Get Meteorites for Teaching?
    

    • Must be Lunar Certified to get meteorites. Course is a 2 hour session. Describes how to take care of them, secure them, etc.
    • Each state has a NASA contact for getting certification
    • 2-week loan period.
    • Meteorite samples come with educational materials, slides, etc.
    • Meteorites are more expensive than gold

    Who is Requesting Samples?
    

    • Antarctic meteorites are property of he US Government
    • Committee reviews 60-70 requests for meteorites 2x / year
    • All working to answer the questions presented in this discussion - and more!

Research Cultures - Arctic Cultures
Nick Flanders, World Bank, Washington, D.C.

Nick, a cultural anthropologist, lived in a community named Cheevak for two years on the western coast of Alaska. Based on his interactions with the people in his area, he has several recommendations.

• The native Alaskans have different names for themselves and all other
• People.
• "Inuit": refers to "all people"
• "Inupiat" means "real people"
• Children are raised by the village; everyone is responsible for their safety and upbringing. Children may wander in and out of your house, field camp, etc.
• Natives avoid direct questions to an individual. Realize that there is a different conversational style. Do not be afraid to parcticipate in it, but be aware of the differences and do not be impatient.
• Natives tend to be very thoughtful and reflective about questions, and they make take long periods of time to answer (long pauses)
• People who talk loudly & quickly are not seen as being worthy of respect
• A "yes" answer may be answered by raised eyebrows; this makes concentrating on those who are speaking a critical - and polite - aspect of communication
• Names tend to skip generations (children are often given their grandparents' names); and with the shared name comes the shared manner of treatment (e.g., granddaughter and grandmother with the same name)
• When someone says, " how are you?" they really are asking, "how am I related to you?"
• Offer to share what you are doing.
• Don't point at people (or other things). Pointing is done with looks and with the lips, depending on the culture.
• A woman never steps over a man's gun
• First kill or harvest for an Inuit individual is offered to the community.
• 30% of hunters feed 90% of people
• Books: "Shadow of the Hunter"- by Richard K Nelson; "Tischa" (author?)
• See the movie "Fast Runner" about Inuit culture
• Teaching in Alaska: high teacher attrition (approx. 2 year stay)

When Things Don't Go Well
Scenario: Ideas of what to do when your PI yells at you:

• Bite your tongue
• Take a deep breath; it probably is best to not react or be impacted right away
• Don't get into a power struggle
• Wait - build discussion later - IF necessary - is this a recurring "personality" issue with the PI/team member that you will not be able to fix, or it could be that the PI is yelling equally at everyone and not singling you out
• Build on a positive; stay positive
• Professional - discuss between 2 people
• Professional conduct - personal level
• Educate your PI and team
• Is this normal behavior??
• You are not in control. Your PI is your boss. If the problem is a personality issue that you cannot solve, recognize it and work to focus on other aspects of your experience.
• Use your TEA community as a place to vent. It may make you feel better and will not damage relationships in your field team.
• Before you react, contact the TEA staff. You are always representing the TEA community and they may have encountered a scenario similar to yours and will be able to help you trouble shoot.

Scenario: Ideas of what to do when your PI acts like your mother:

• Mom="right"
• Help no matter what
• Lead by example

• Tell your PI when you are not feeling safe - your SAFETY, and that of your team members is THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE TO THE FIELD EXPERIENCE
• Like marriage, it is the way you say it -- "I feel"
• State: "I'm not comfortable, what can I do to be more comfortable?"
• State: "I am not comfortable and I do not want to jeopardize the research."
• Say NO if an immediate response is needed (this is not a place where writing to the TEA Staff or colleagues will work!)
• Note that you might be the only member of the team who can speak because your role is different - you are a teacher/educator, not a graduate student or researcher.
• Everyone is dependent on PI - Grad student, etc.
• Get data; ask about the safety issue concerning you. Is it unsafe, or are there factors you don't know (e.g., Katie is an experienced mountaineer and has checked all ropes and equipment; everyone will be connected by ropes)
• Get data before you go - what am I going to do in the field? Are there scenarios in which I may feel uncomfortable? Will I be driving a ski-do and where will my training come from?

Cultures of Educators and Researchers

• There's significant of overlap (as well as significant differences) between the cultures of the researcher and educator.
• Use the areas of overlap to connect with the person who's giving you a difficult time.

Comment Cards
New TEAs