Bend the Sun

Bend the Sun is a website used for educational purposes. Its purpose is to share curriculum resources for students and teachers, as well as to share community supports to all those interested in pedagogy and the broader understanding of student needs. This is a not-for-profit educational site, and as such its materials fall under the Fair Dealing provision of the Copyright Act. Feel free to peruse it for learning or pedagogical resources/links! Also, feel free to support the site by forwarding any valuable resources to info@bendthesun.com.

Photography

Looking to explore the exposure triangle? Wondering what depth of field refers to? Perhaps colour theory, the technical elements of image composition, and post processing are what you’re teaching or looking to learn. Here’s where you’ll find everything from Afghan Girl to Zeiss Otus.

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Construction and Woodworking

It is often very difficult to determine if woodworking is an art or a craft. One thing is certain though, whatever it is it is necessary to our society, and those who are deft at it are a rare and treasured breed. In the construction and applied woodworking studies we explore the often humbling study of the trades from a safety-first mindset. We recognize that often the academic studies are far more monotonous, repetitive, safe, and less intellectually-engaging than the challenges presented by environments of problem solving with genuine potential for hazard - the trades. So we adopt a lifelong student mentality with a deference for our projects, materials and tools.

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Philosophy

Was Kant right in his ideas about human dignity? Should we draw from Kierkegaard when looking past logic and leaping to faith? Was there validity to Camus’ position on the role of philosophy? What is the difference between non-cognitivists and moral nihilists? From Plato and Aristotle to Russell Brand and Stephen Fry, help students dig deeper into these questions and more in the following pages.

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Geography

“The Earth, that is sufficient,” as Walt Whitman once said in his famous Song of the Open Road. Yet, what is it sufficient for? We explore its composition, the nature of its biomes, climate, the food web, energy cycles, the impacts of humans on the planet, and explore critical subject matter such as sustainability. Here is a collection of materials, lessons, and links to resources for classes which challenge students to think about the world as they know it, and discover it in new ways.

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Civics and Careers

If we have only one life to live, and one world to live in, civics and careers explores much of the natures that will define those two domains. From Henry David Thoreau to George Orwell, here’s where the critical questions of social change and the instruments of power are explored as a civics class. As it pertains to careers, we dive into the frameworks for self-evaluation, academic pathways, career avenues in dynamic industries, financial planning and advice with different schools of thought, government legislation that protects students and workers, and alternative career trajectories for students to explore including things like SHSM, OYAP, Dual Credits, and other such avenues.

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Curriculum Materials and External Links

This is a collection of random curriculum materials and external links which I’ve found to be valuable to my classrooms, but for one reason or another don’t quite seem to fit into the other sections. Feel free to peruse at your leisure.

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