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*MISTAKES* |
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NAM*AN*IMALS back to the main welcome page 
Commonly made mistakes and mistaught information
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Extra Tips - ArthropodsHints and logistical nuances of teaching this station 
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Site MapLinks to every page on this site |
Sometimes learning and teaching on field study can be like a gigantic game of telephone. You learn something at workshop, taught to you by somebody who learned it another workshop from somebody who learned it at another workshop... Now you're teaching it to 6th graders, and you've got the right idea... but the details are a little sketchy. Here are some of the more common mistakes Lafcadio has seen. Study them, and help your fellow Animals Student Leaders to teach them correctly in the future. Mistake: Foxes walk starting with their heel and then slowly rolling forward onto their toes. 
The truth: Foxes (and all dogs, cats, cows, birds, you name it...) NEVER walk on their heels. Their heels only touch the ground when they are sitting. The only animals whose heels regularly touch the ground are those who walk or stand on their hind feet on a regular basis, such as humans, bears, raccoons, apes, and some rodents (birds don't count in this category, they still walk on their toes).
The way a fox actually walks while in stealth-mode is by testing the ground lightly with its foot to see if that bit of ground is stable enough to hold the fox's weight without making any noise. If it seems to work, the fox will put its whole weight down and then continue with the next foot. If the ground is too noisy, or it seems like it might give way or be slippery, the fox will try a different location with its foot. All of this is done on the toes (or the ball of the foot) just like a human on "tip-toe," the classic way to be silent and sneaky. In terms of walking with the "fox walk" yourself, or teaching it to others, here is the step-by-step method (no pun intended): 1) Bend your knees and stand up straight. Keep your center of gravity over your hips the whole time. Stand on one leg and keep your balance completely on that one leg. 2) With your free leg, locate a potential stepping point in front of you (not too far in front, or your center of gravity will no longer be over your hips). Set your foot down starting with the outside edge of the BALL of your foot. Listen for any noises your step may make, or any uncomfortable/dangerous objects underneath. 3) Slowly roll your foot down so all of the ball of your foot is touching the ground. Keep listening for noises and feeling for objects. 4) Slowly lower your heel to the ground. 5) Finally, slowly put your full weight on that foot. 6) Repeat the whole process with your other foot. The more you practice, the faster you can fox walk silently over any terrain. If you want to practice at home without much effort, just pay attention to your feet when you walk around your house barefoot. Most people walk with their heel first, and you can hear a light thudding as they walk around the house. Try to walk around your house with no thudding at all. If you get in the habit of doing this all the time, slipping into a fox walk will become second nature. Plus, your joints and bones will thank you when you're old. Mistake: A large saggital crest is a good indicator that a skull belongs to a carnivore. The truth: A large saggital crest is a good indicator that a skull belongs to an animal with strong jaws. The saggital crest is where jaw muscles attach. The larger the surface area for attachment, the stronger the jaw can be. Usually, animals with strong jaws need those strong jaws for meat-eating purposes. However, not all carnivores have strong jaws, and some herbivores have strong jaws, too. The beaver is a good example of an animal with a pronounced saggital crest, an thus strong jaws, that never eats meat. Beavers need those strong jaws for chewing on wood, not on meat. Mistake: The two kinds of vision are "binocular" and "minocular" The truth: This one is subtle, but important... it's all in the pronunciation. Binocular (BYE-naw-kyu-ler) is correct. It should sound like a pair of binoculars. The word comes from the latin "bini," meaning "two together," and "oculus," meaning eye. Two eyes together looking at the same object is binocular vision. The other word is trickier to pronounce. It does not completely rhyme with binocular. The word is monocular (MAWN-aw-kyu-ler). The beginning of this word comes from the latin "mono," meaning one. One eye looks at one object, the other eye looks at another object. Take your time and pronounce these words correctly. Also, slow down every time you say them so your students can tell the difference. If you mumble your way through saying "carnivores have bunocular vision and herbivores have munocular vision" without being extremely clear in the distinction between the two words, students will be confused about which one is which, or even be confused about whether there is a difference at all. Say, "carnivores have BI-noc-u-lar vision and herbivores have MON-oc-u-lar vision," with extreme emphasis on the beginnings of the words. Use exaggerated movements with your mouth as you say the words slowly to your students. On a related note, the whole vision distinction thing works really well for mammals, but the rules are less clear for birds and even less clear for reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods, etc... |
