Blue: Seed Week 3, Call/Answer

The work we're really doing at 1960 Bryant Street is a Call and Answer.The Call often takes the form of an exploration, expert, experience, or lesson. The Answer is a way of cementing that Call into something practical that we take the time to cherish. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish the Call from the Answer. None the less, both sides of this coin are required for a memorable education experience.This week, the Blue Band had an overwhelming number of Calls and Answers!Plants: The CallThe Blue and Orange Bands took a trip to Plant Warehouse! While there, we walked around in their urban jungle, asked a lot of questions, and also purchased some plant babies to later care for in the classroom. When selecting a plant, the Blue Band was encouraged to ask as many questions as possible of the expert staff. What is this plant? Where does it grow best? How should I care for it? What type of container should it live in?Plants: The AnswerOnce back in the bandspace, everyone spent the afternoon researching their new plants. After all, who is going to care for them during Thanksgiving and Winter breaks? Amanda is. How am I going to know what to do? They all made me some handy guides to caring for their plants, which included facts and tidbits that I might not otherwise know. Which researching, we also learned quite a bit about the different plants, including that Felix bought a hot pepper plant (spiciness confirmed).Raisin in the Sun: The CallWe are nearly finished with Raisin in the Sun, and everyone is still pretty excited about how the story is progressing. We had some great conversations this week, which included a pretty lengthy discussion on housing discrimination laws and the current Air BnB discussions here in San Francisco.Raisin in the Sun: The AnswerTo answer this call, we had a cost of living calculation session this week, where we mapped out the differences in the cost of products between 1959 and 2015. Once we found the costs, we calculated the percentage of increase due to inflation, and then graphed out the differences so we could see the increase visually.Printmaking: The CallDuring a particularly distracted afternoon this week, Blue Band had to take an unplanned walk around the neighborhood to clear our minds and let off some steam. During our walk, we ran across Aesthetic Union, a printmaking business a few blocks over. Even though the business was closed, one of the owners saw us peering in the window and let us all in for a quick tour of the space. While wandering around the shop, we got to see the printing presses in action and check out some of the artwork they are replicating.Printmaking: The AnswerWe're been printmaking on Friday mornings nearly the entire year, and this week was no different. Every member of Blue Band is at a different place in their print projects. Some were printing for the first time, some are now working on a six-color piece, and still others have launched into various side projects based on what they have learned so far. The highlight of this week: we learned that taking a break from a practice doesn't necessarily mean your body isn't continuing to learn. Audrey was so surprised when she printed the first color of her new print, and her technique improved one hundred fold since the last time she inked!And from that, the only logical conclusion: time isn't necessarily a factor, but you definitely need to bookend learning in order to experience growth. The Call needs an Answer.