What's In Your Lunch?

Operation Bootstrap provides adult education in English language, GED preparedness, and family literacy. Currently, the agency serves 300 students, ranging in age from 20 to 60 years old, who come from 45 different countries around the world.

 

Reflection by Jennifer Noseworthy, Ph.D., Gordon College Department of Biology faculty

If you read in the news today that a food allergy may be linked to a genetically engineered food crop, or that genetically engineered rice is being used as a new source of vitamin A, where would you look to validate these claims? Whether a person is a scientist or not, these claims are often of interest to us all. So how do we go about validating them? We investigate methods of evaluating scientific claims and science in general through the development of science literacy in a course I teach known as The Scientific Enterprise.

When students interested in health professions visited from Operation Bootstrap, we investigated genetic engineering of food crops and the implications of these modifications on human health. We addressed the science behind genetic engineering through a reading activity and explored the potential risks and benefits of the technology. We visualized DNA by extracting it from strawberries’ DNA and discussed how genetic engineering differs from traditional breeding, yet the basic genetic code, DNA, is the same for both applications. The students were an engaging group with many questions and insights, which was a great addition to the conversation.

 

Reflection by Lisa Murdock, Operation Bootstrap student

I would like to tell you about my experiences visiting Gordon College through the Office of Community Engagement program with my College and Career Readiness (CCR) class from Operation Bootstrap in Lynn. I have to say, I have a bit of anxiety when going to new places and meeting new people. If it were not for the fact that we went together as a class, I fear I may not have attended and would have missed out on what was indeed a great experience.

The first time I went to Gordon was on November 19, 2013. We sat in on a poetry class with Professor Mark Stevick and his students. I was not quite sure what to expect of the physical campus, students’ age, professors, class size and the expectation of class participation, so I was quite nervous. I am an older student and had never been on a college campus other than to take my GED test and Accuplacer exam at North Shore Community College in Lynn. I was pleasantly surprised by how at ease I felt with the much younger, seasoned Gordon students. I was comfortable in the classroom; I enjoyed asking questions and participating in the classroom assignment. We read poetry aloud, learning how cadence, fluency, rhythm, rhyme, inflection and expression of emotion or lack thereof, can affect how the poem is received or interpreted. I enjoyed this class so much it made me think about options available to me in college that had not entered my mind before this class experience.

I was looking forward to my second visit to Gordon College on April 3, 2014. I absolutely love science and knew we would be attending a private class with Dr. Jennifer Noseworthy in the Genetics Lab. It also tied into what we were learning in our CCR class about Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. We discussed genetically modified organisms (GMOs), plants and foods additives.

We completed a lab experiment where we extracted DNA from a strawberry. You could see the actual strands of DNA in the test tube with the naked eye. We put them on slides and completed a microscopic examination at 4X magnification where we were able to see the different DNA segments. Dr. Noseworthy allowed us to take home samples of our extracted DNA in a preservative solution. I was excited about this because my daughter Emily loves science just as much as I do. I wanted to show her what I had done and saw in the lab and tell her what I had learned in class that day.

The last time I visited Gordon on April 10, 2014 they were holding a symposium and I was able to choose a presentation I wanted to sit in on. I attended Music, Memory and Metaphor presented by Laura Johnson. This presentation was unlike the other days I had attended and was not what I expected. The topic (God and Music) was familiar to me but how it was analyzed and the terms used to discuss it were unfamiliar and a bit hard for me to follow. The tour of Gordon and the information about the physical school and campus life was informative.

The variety of topics we covered, and experiences our class had at Gordon, showed me options and ideas that had not occurred to me. Although attending Gordon College is not an option for me at this time, it was a wonderful experience which eased my mind in regards to other concerns I had about continuing my education.

 

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