"childrenz (sic)"

I spent an amazing two weeks in the San Bernardino Mts teaching/care-taking middle schoolers at a residential outdoor science and environmental education camp. i use the adjective "amazing" to describe my awe at both how exhausting and challenging/fulfilling i found the experience to be. annihilation knowingly greeted me at the close of each week. this is still evident in my loss of voice, coupled with my frazzled and dazed appearance, as well my ability to instantaneously fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. however, what i will forever take away from this experience are my reflections on the following:

- environmental education
- outdoor science education
- natural history
- why children are so enthusiastic and energetic
- working with people of diverse talents and backgrounds
- making a small difference in a big way
- some random ecology, geology, astronomy factoids. =)

children, i believe, are inherently attracted to nature. however, in our increasingly built societies, their exposure to natural environments are limited. the camp experience is meant to inspire these young students to think about biodiversity and natural processes, providing a mental respite from technology and media bombardment and state standardized exams. instead of seeing the forest as merely a stagnant place, they have the opportunity to breathe life into it through their awareness and understanding of its complexity, fragility, and importance. i played the role of willing and eager assistant (technician? maybe even lab manager!) in their discovery. "may your journey in nature lead you to yourself"

the sustainability component of the curriculum was particularly satisfying to teach. after a discussion regarding ecological footprint and the types of behavioral and lifestyle changes that can reduce it, the kids were lead through a "rock" game of sorts that featured a small pile of 20 or so rocks (per dozen kids) in the center of a circle. the kids were allowed to take rock at each turn and each player with three rocks was rewarded a piece of candy. even 11 - 12 year olds are motivated by candy. however, i, playing Natural Forces and Time in this case, would double the number of rocks that remained in the center after each round. meaning, in order for everyone to win a piece of candy, the kids couldn't adopt a 'each child for him/herself' strategy. it was incredible how violent these kids became as they made mad leaps into the rock pile, hoarding as many rocks as they could get their hands on, even going to so far as to elbow and kick other kids out of the way or grab rocks from each others' hands. [insert discussion entertaining validity of Hobbesian philosophy] however, when the kids were given the opportunity to strategize after being fed (a few) guiding questions, they caught on quickly and they were able to take turns taking rocks from the pile. what an effective exercise in teaching conceptual understanding of natural resource management!

it's incredible how much new information and ideas I picked from two weeks at camp--one definitely needs to understand the material in order to teach it! i think i can now tell whether a rock or boulder is granite or not and also throw some interesting details into the mix, like how it's made up of feldspar (the most common rock forming mineral), quartz (most common mineral on the face of the earth), and mica (flaky and shiny and only 2 on the Mohs hardness scale). wow, i feel like an amateur geologist already. also, as a fledgling biologist, i didn't realize that black bears were introduced to the transverse ranges (San Gabriel, San Bernardino, Peninsular ranges) from Yosemite/Sierras. this is quite a salient example of fundamental v. realized niche and i used it liberally in ecology discussions.

i also got my birding going and rolled out my Sibley's (field guide to the birds received as a wonderful gift from a ornithologist-friend). i spotted a few of the common bird species while taking the kids out on walks: stellar's jay, american robin, western bluebird, mountain chickadee, white headed and acorn woodpeckers, and black headed juncos. this was definitely the most bird watching i've ever done (hey, i'm slowly branching out on the tree of life), but i don't think the kids could tell what an amateur i was. luckily whatever enthusiasm i had for it made an impact on my kids because by the end of both weeks, i had 10-12 year olds pointing out bird species left and right! also, after only three days on the trail, most of my kids were noticing deer, coyote, bobcat and raccoon tracks AND identifying most common trees in the area: coulter pine, jeffrey pine, sugar pine, white fir, giant sequoia, and incense cedar! can you imagine just how pleased i was: shoulda seen me as duly impressed and beaming like a parent on graduation day. very fellow counselors and trail leaders a little refresher on ecology and tree identification (after doing some prep work on this myself) and was thrilled to have such enthusiastic coworkers as temporary students! in all, i found the experience astoundingly rewarding and i hope i've made an impression on at least a few rascals...(and our future world leaders!)

however, while i relished the teaching experience, i don't think i will EVER again babysit children. imagine 30-50 6th graders bouncing off the walls (and the trees, snow, poles, boulders, everything) from sunrise to bed time. this is how i know that if i ever considered teaching again, i could only teach college students. this is despite my fondness for their unbounded enthusiasm and impressionable minds. hardened college students are either grade-whores or don't care/fall asleep in class, but at least they won't give me a near heart attack by darting from precipitous edge to precipitous edge, making me lose my voice in the process.