Kleyn-Kennedy: Thankful for remarkable lessons

At this special time of year, most pause at some point to connect with others and reflect on the things we are grateful for.

I am grateful for a school district that cares passionately about kids; for dedicated staff members who regularly go the extra mile to provide the best educational experiences for students; for parents and community members who are supportive and give of their time and resources to help our school district.

link Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy

Speaking of connecting and going above and beyond, a teacher at Lockwood Elementary recently held a uniquely interesting lesson that connected across considerable distances to enhance classroom learning. Third grade teacher Keely Whitmore, now in her seventh year of teaching, began her career in Oregon and has spent the last three years in the Clovis Schools.

Ecosystems and habitats are part of the third grade science standards. After reading stories about various ecosystems and researching climates, plants, and animals within each ecosystem, students also read about the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 in Prince William Sound and wanted to know more.

At the end of their unit, Whitmore had a surprise in store for her students. As she described it, “From their research, students came up with all sorts of questions they wanted to ask a professional biologist.”

It immediately occurred to Whitmore that she had the perfect candidate for providing more information: her father, a recently retired biologist.

From many years with the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Whitmore's father, Kevin Ryan, now living in Washington, has worked in Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska.

Ryan seemed the perfect biologist to answer student questions. Not only has he worked with endangered fish, elk, moose, waterfowl, bald eagles, Kodiak brown bear (Alaskan grizzly), and many more, he also worked on the Exxon Valdez spill response team.

Upon entering the classroom, Whitmore's laptop, connected to her large-screen projector, showed a Google Earth satellite photograph of the earth. As students responded to her various science and geography questions, Whitmore gradually zoomed in until we hovered above the location of the biologist, with kids ooh-ing and ahh-ing at this interesting process.

Then, connecting with Ryan using Skype via the Internet, there we were, face-to-face with a distinguished gentleman who could also view the students through the camera on the teacher's laptop. After introductions, one by one, Whitmore's students sat down to ask their questions and discuss the answers. Students were fully engaged, able to see Mr. Ryan and the artifacts he shared in a larger-than-life-size format across the whiteboard.

Lockwood principal Debbie Westbrook dropped in during the lesson and marveled, too, at the high interest level of the students in the unusual science lesson, listening in on student conversations afterwards, as they discussed their learning, prompted by Whitmore as she moved from group to group; a remarkable lesson.

Education visionary Sir Ken Robinson noted: “Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”

Happy Thanksgiving.

Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the Instructional Technology Coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools and can be reached at

cindy.kleyn-kennedy

@clovis-schools.org