Commission, now where from here...?

We have finally reached the part of the journey where I introduced the commission. This came in the form of a letter written by the CEO of the Animal Welfare Department of NZ that was sent to Jae (our managing director) and given to me (the secretary) to read to the 'team'.  I labored over the wording of the letter, trying not to give too much away to allow room for inquiring questions and discussion around what they were asking us to do. I have also treated this as a mini tension. While in role I voiced my concerns about whether we could possibly accept such a job as the animals were not the type we were used to dealing with.

I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but my intended effect worked...and then some! We had a very in-depth discussion about the pros and cons of accepting the job. Here are some of the notes from our meeting minutes:

• We don’t usually transport wild animals. 
• They are more aggressive and unpredictable
• We need to find homes for them and transport
• These animals will be bigger and will need special cages and gear so they don’t hurt us
• Food might be different
• Sick and might need more medical care. A special doctor who will look at wildlife animals. 
• Extra attention needed to transport wild animals

What I hadn't factored in was how leaving out 'where' the animals would be moved to would have such a focus. Some of them have decided that we are also being asked to find homes for them as well as transport them. Others were arguing the fact they should be sent back to the wild so they are free to roam in their natural habitat. I feel this taking a slightly different direction to the one I have planned for. It may be that we will be debating having animals in captivity!

I have just spent the past hour or so finding School Journal articles about zoo animals and have found the perfect one that debates the pros and cons of animals in zoos and looks at how zoos have changed over time. I have been wondering how to integrate reading, writing and maths into MOTE and I think I've just stumbled on the solution. It will now be a case of weaving in and out of the 'story' as needed.