As a child I was always a little different from my peers. I had to move frequently and during the school semesters I lived with my father in a small country town in northeast Connecticut. Every school break I would go to my mothers in an even smaller mountain town deep in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho. This put a strain on my social relationships and outside of sports I often felt isolated in my school and among my social circles.
I enjoyed the science classes I was taking much more than my fellow students. In my free time I would either be exploring the wild or playing with legos. These were not popular activities among my peers and I was often alone. I developed a belief that if I wanted to pursue a future in the sciences I would become isolated from people and would have to work alone. For a long time I struggled with this idea and didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be alone, but I also really enjoyed learning about science and nature.
This is not to say I didn't have any friends, although many of the people I hung out with were much older than I was. Most of my time as a youth was spent fishing or going on nature hikes trying to catch as many creatures as I could. I enjoyed getting dirty and examining all of the life around me. I would connect with other fisherman or hikers and we would share our findings. Fisherman would explain where the biggest fish were, why they were there, and what techniques could be used to get them to strike. Hikers would share with me their knowledge about the flora and fauna I was finding and also discuss the geography of the land. Many of these hikers and fisherman I connected with were my own teachers who had formed connections with me outside of the classroom or strangers who also happened to be teachers themselves.
I though the environment was extremely important, not to mention completely fascinating and when I got to college I had opportunities to share my passion with my peers. I founded an outing club with my chemistry professor and we engaged many students in community clean ups at local parks, taught students about plants and animals, and even planted trees on our community college campus. My peers were excited about what we were doing and these were my first experiences getting others to be passionate about science in an applicable way. I still was unsure about pursuing a career in science but this was an area I excelled in and maintained my focus in biology through most of my schooling.
After suffering a traumatic motorcycle accident my junior year of college I knew the vision I had for my future was going to have to change. I still didn't have a real plan and I was nervous about committing myself to a bachelors in biology so I switched my degree to an independent study. At first I wasn't sure if this was a good move, but shortly after doing so many opportunities began presenting themselves to me. A communication professor helped me get into volunteering for the BGCMD where I was again able to build a passion for science in my students by developing exciting and applicable activities for us to do together. A biology professor hired me to assist with research in their lab where we would monitor urban wildlife across Denver along Colfax ave. These experiences in turn opened doors to TA a General Biology 2 Lab on Auraria Campus at CU Denver.
I was finally able to take what I had learned from my experiences working in the field and with science materials into my own classroom. I had productive discussions with my students about what we were doing and tried to form positive relationships with them. Some of my students have even been able to assist me in the research I do and have gained some experience for themselves outside of the classroom.
I believe if we are able to build meaningful relationships with our students and present the information in a way they will care about it their learning will be enhanced. I have also learned myself that students have a lot to offer us. It is important we are having open discussions with our students were we are able to exchange ideas through discussion. We are able to guide students to do their own thinking and learning when they believe their voices matter and they are personally invested in the material.