By Anelia K. Dimitrova
When a classroom is under the dome of the blue sky rather than a tiled ceiling, the light above comes from the gentle May sun rather than fluorescent tubes, and the breeze emanates from the wind rather than from the air conditioner, students are bound to be joyful.
Away from the hallways and study halls, where nature is both a teacher and an environment, hands-on learning is fun.
Cedar Falls sixth-graders on Thursday giggled, joked and reveled in what nature has to offer during a field trip to Big Woods Park, now a school tradition.
It was a fitting way to celebrate the end of the school year outdoors after 180 days of learning inside a building.
Led by teachers and assisted by helpful parents, the students from Aldrich Elementary practiced hands-on activities such as kayaking, orienteering, archery and fishing.
Not far from the campground on the lake’s north shore, the fishing group got a firsthand tutorial on how to bait a hook from Black Hawk County Conservation Board intern Parker Scott, an environment and earth science junior at UNI.
“Lock in,” Parker told the students as he urged them to settle down so he could start his talk.
He then pointed to areas nearby that he said are off limits for the students and added that if someone disobeys the rules, they would not be allowed to continue.
“You have to set boundaries,” he told me later. “This is the most important thing.”
A friendly and helpful guide, Parker then assisted individual students.
Hooking the bait was quick.
Waiting for the fish to bite took patience.
Catching the first fish, and then releasing it, took luck and skill.
All were valuable lessons.
Meanwhile, life in the park went on as it usually does on a beautiful late spring morning.
On the trail weaving around the lake, runners and dog walkers kept their routines. On the edge of the water, brothers Dennis and David Donley, of Brandon, a town they said is known for Iowa’s largest frying pan, unfolded their chairs and quickly dipped their fishing lines into the water. Thursday was the brothers’ first time fishing at Big Woods Lake and they found a spot of solitude away from the kids to go about their hobby.
The presence of young fishermen livened the banks with excitement and wonderment. In short order, the sixth-graders were joined by Jim Sprau, a veteran teacher and avid fisherman. A staple of the fishing middle-school experience, Jim is one of those indispensable volunteers whose career in teaching spanned over four decades. Today, his self-assigned purpose was to help repair hooks and lines.
“My dad used to make me fix my own stuff,” he said. “And it’s something an old geezer can handle.”
But Jim’s experience added more to the overall learning for the students than just handling tangled fishing gear.
He taught the students how to show respect for nature and release the fish that would not be used for food. Jim said he learned this lesson from a Native American fisherman he met years ago.
“He would always say something nice to them (the fish), like ‘thank you, have a good life,’ and then release them,” Jim told the students.
Jim also gave practical advise, telling the budding fishermen to move their lines into the shade, as they might have better luck there.
But the outdoor lessons were special not just for the kids. They were also treasured by at least two moms, Amy Crozier and Michelle Stricker, who had come help with the field trip.
“You gotta soak in the memories,” said Michelle, who watched her son, Brenden, fish.
When one of the students wailed that he wasn’t catching anything, an adult quipped:
“It’s called fishing, not catching.”
Laughter followed the witty remark as it captured one of the field trip’s most important lessons: the reward is in the effort, not in the prize.
Asked to reflect on the joys of the experience from an educator’s perspective, Matt Switzer, one of the teachers, said the field trip celebrates the hard work that was done during the school year and also extends learning beyond the classroom.
“We want to teach them about being responsible in nature, enjoying nature, learning skills that maybe they’ve never been exposed to before, or have been exposed to and really enjoyed doing,” he said. “And it’s a beautiful day for something like this.”
