In ancient times, tribes throughout Mesoamerica worshipped Quetzalcoatl - a winged serpent deity capable of great destruction and a patron of the Aztec priesthood. He is depicted as (simply and obviously) as a big snake with feathers. Please see image below...
Fast forward several centuries to Bug Tussle, USA. Apparently, this feathered freak of nature is still alive and well in rural Kentucky. Imagine my shock! This great revelation came about during a fantastically instructed unit on animal groups. Let me refresh your memory... mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians - you get the idea. (Unless of course you suffered through KERA or CATS in the public school system. Then it could be hit or miss from here on out. For all I know, you may also fervently believe that Quetzalcoatl is an active part of the rolling hills and bluegrass of our fair state.) Two weeks of painstaking lessons and creative activities would all but ensure that THIS was the test my students at Bug Tussle Elementary were going to complete successfully. They'd love all of the video clips and hands-on activities. They'd even completed the Art Project and At Home Task with glee. And then came "The Test".
While circulating around the classroom, I felt positive vibes from each young Scientist. By the end of the day I was practically leaping to get home and grade the stack of educational GOLD in my zebra print school bag. (It goes with my classroom theme and was $2 at Dollar General - don't judge!) So imagine my surprise when I starting wielding a colorful Sharpie and began bleeding royal blue all over my carefully constructed tests. My jaw began to tense, my heart rate went through the roof. I'm fairly sure beads of sweat broke out across my lightly wrinkled forehead. Because student after student was missing a CRUCIAL question (OK - there were only about 5, but even 1 would make your blood pressure similar to a geyser). Let's test your grade school Science skills, shall we:
You are a scientist in the field. What can you infer if you find a NEST in a TREE with FEATHERS and broken EGGSHELLS?
I truly hope that "BIRD" is flashing in your adult brain right now. If not, thank your elementary Science teacher for all those coloring sheets and fill in the blank assignments you did. In my class, several misguided youths confidently answered "REPTILE". At first - as mentioned - I was filled with disbelief (and trace amounts of anger or rage). There were so many clues in the passage to lead even the most confused student in the right direction. Furthermore, these were students in Bug Tussle - stomping grounds of Turtle Man, FFA, and a hunter's Promised Land. Magnets might befuddle us, the Rock Cycle would undoubtedly leave us confused - but ANIMALS?! What was the world of education coming to?
Then, I started doing some thinking. Obviously, a handful of my students are members of some Aztec tribe long thought to have perished during the Spanish takeover of Mexico. Their ancestors escaped unscathed and found safe haven in far away Bug Tussle, the Hunter's Paradise. So very soon, I'm going to take a personal day and pull on my hunting moccasins. Because if I can search out the nest of the great Quetzalcoatl, maybe I can quit my day job and be an Aztec priestess. Pretty sure when one of my minions messes up animal groups then, I can just pull an Aztec and sacrifice their addled brain to the Feathered Serpent...
XO,
