So, making a long story a bit shorter, I have to tell you that this opportunity was a once in a life-time shot for me, a no brainer! As a public school teacher, if you aren't independently wealthy, your favorite word is budget! Being on a teacher's budget and having a family means that you don't always get to take educational trips with colleagues.
When the chance from Kennesaw State University was made available everything changed. I've seen different places in the world, but none so meaningful to my classroom as the great Yellowstone wilderness. In the 19 years of teaching grades 5 - 8, I have been able to bring some aspects of the science and social studies into my classroom through life through experiences. However, until the first trip to YNP, my experiences seemed to lack a little spark. Was it because the places I'd been were boring? Was it because there was not as much "spark" from me? Honestly, it may be a combonation of the two. As much as I've always loved teaching science, I don't think I really was excited about certain topics until now. I mean, let's face it...teaching classification and DNA to 5th graders isn't always exciting. BUT, when you through in pictures of bears and wolves in YNP (or anywhere) with real stories about how you actually saw the dished nose of a grizzly and could tell the shape of the ears on a black bear, students see your excitement and really start to get interested too. I mean, really, how cool is it, that you can tell a student you have seen the hot springs where the study of DNA fingerprinting was born???
Being afforded this chance was something I will never be able to sufficiently thank KSU for. Explaining how it's changed my thoughts, my teaching, and my overall look at the world and our place in it will never completely be understood. It's a process that just keeps growing. Whether it's something as small as recycling a few more items, or teaching the next generation about the democracy of decision and policy making through winter use issues of the park, my views on the importance of being a good steward of public land is forever changed.
When the chance from Kennesaw State University was made available everything changed. I've seen different places in the world, but none so meaningful to my classroom as the great Yellowstone wilderness. In the 19 years of teaching grades 5 - 8, I have been able to bring some aspects of the science and social studies into my classroom through life through experiences. However, until the first trip to YNP, my experiences seemed to lack a little spark. Was it because the places I'd been were boring? Was it because there was not as much "spark" from me? Honestly, it may be a combonation of the two. As much as I've always loved teaching science, I don't think I really was excited about certain topics until now. I mean, let's face it...teaching classification and DNA to 5th graders isn't always exciting. BUT, when you through in pictures of bears and wolves in YNP (or anywhere) with real stories about how you actually saw the dished nose of a grizzly and could tell the shape of the ears on a black bear, students see your excitement and really start to get interested too. I mean, really, how cool is it, that you can tell a student you have seen the hot springs where the study of DNA fingerprinting was born???
Being afforded this chance was something I will never be able to sufficiently thank KSU for. Explaining how it's changed my thoughts, my teaching, and my overall look at the world and our place in it will never completely be understood. It's a process that just keeps growing. Whether it's something as small as recycling a few more items, or teaching the next generation about the democracy of decision and policy making through winter use issues of the park, my views on the importance of being a good steward of public land is forever changed.