Teacher as Student

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Tim 1 Comment

So why is this so difficult to write about? Because in the span of two weeks, the students and I go from complete strangers to friends. Just a couple years ago, I was a complete unknown to the students. The project begins at the beginning of their school year, spends 2 weeks in the field, then ends in April with a large public dissertation about their respective works. My involvement is solely with the field process. Twan, April, Frank, John, Wendy, and other staff are dear friends. I am in contact with Twan throughout the year so I get the schedule from him. I make my arrangements and meet the arriving group at the airport in San Jose. I quietly say my hellos to the staff and board the bus with them. It is about this time that the students nervously notice some strange guy on the bus but they are usually too afraid to point out to the staff my unwanted presence. Soon, they sort of get that I’m supposed to be there but I am a complete unknown to them. In time we learn to trust each other and learn from each other. I have found that the most amazing thing is that these kids let me into their lives. It is an absolute honor to be part of this project where these kids are completely taken outside of their comfort zones and they let me have a role in teaching and molding them. Their energy and enthusiasm gives me energy and hope. I see in a short span students who go from never having seen a wild snake, even fearing them, who have a hard time navigating muddy trails, or have never been out at night in black forests now bounding around jungle, handling animals they forgot they feared, and having a reverence for these living systems. For this I can not thank them enough.

Likely an impossible thought a month before, Lilly relaxes in a hammock while holding a spotted coffee snake, Ninia maculata.

 

My honor is that these last couple of years my influence seems to have shown. I had no idea what to expect from my involvement. The time is short. I am almost an apparition; some guy babbling about cannibalism and running down snakes trying to make a lasting impression on ecology. I had no hope of impressing myself on them – my message was quirky but not about me. But now I find that some of the students are prepared for my place. Word has spread from some preceding year’s students that there will be some crazy guy getting on their bus – don’t be alarmed.

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