Chico, Sustainable

I will be substitute teaching for a junior high school life science class on Thursday. The forecast calls for a pleasant, sunny day, perfect for taking the class on a short stroll down to the closest creek (Chico Jr. and Marsh Jr. are a 10-minute walk to minute walk Big and Little Chico Creek respectively, and Bidwell Jr. is 12 minutes from the Lindo Channel Greenway).

While there, we could check out macroinvertebrates in the stream and on the shore, or gaze up at the valley oaks, or dissect an acorn or a flower, or discuss how and why some trees lose their leaves in the winter, while others are able to stay green all year round. We could document different types of birds, or perhaps even take part in a habitat restoration effort.

Even though the transportation costs would be zero, I would speculate that this would be the only such field trip for the students this year. And I would end up getting chastised, fired, and sued all at the same time.

Because I didn’t hand out permission slips.
Because I didn’t follow the assigned curriculum.
Because there would be no parent chaperones.
Because my lesson would not necessarily be aligned with the state science standards.
Because the creek, with its unstable, rocky bank, creates an unpredictable and unsafe learning environment.
Because the traditional educational system simply isn’t set up to teach life science outside, among (my goodness) living things.

Any teacher can tell you these things. They will also tell you, truthfully, that since the students aren’t used to a culture of regular field trips, they become harder to manage. That getting a parent-signed permission slip and emergency form from every student is a nightmare. That by the time you have spent 5 minutes at the beginning of the period to brief the class, 10 minutes to walk out the creek, 5 minutes to regroup the class, and 10 minutes to walk back, you are left with 22 minutes to actually dedicate to stream study, if you are lucky.

In my 13 years as an educator, I have found that indoor science education is the prevailing culture, not just for Chico’s schools, but for most public schools in the country. Our children will inherit the planet, but I fear that the precious little they learn about it will come from books, websites, and videos, rather than first-hand experience.

As for this Thursday, there is a pretty good chance the teacher will have a DVD for me to show—describing the wonders of life.