TEACHER OF INTEREST
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Trends In Education
with real world experiences like that is exciting.”
To teach students engineering standards — understanding
wind and water energy — she had them build sailboats with
foil, straws, wax paper and masking tape. She then had them
go through the engineering and design process and consider
how wind would move their vessels.
The students tested their boats using a kiddie pool and fan
to see how they moved. Part of the process is to improve and
modify, so they reworked their boats and tried again.
“This is so engaging and rewarding for them,” she said.
“They feel good about what they’re doing — and then they
see learning from OCEARCH how they might transfer that to
adulthood, that the same things you’re learning in kindergarten
can become a career one day.”
It’s difficult to keep children’s attention these days, but
Chesrown says the students are excited when they come to
class saying, “What are we engineering this week?” or “Are
we doing sharks?”
Chesrown integrates local educational resources, including
Inwater Research Group, which monitors the intake canal at
the Florida Power and Light nuclear power plant on Hutchinson
Island for turtles and other animals that get caught there.
“I use the resources in the classroom every year,” she explained.
“This time students are learning about the sea turtles
that nest here and a light that won’t disrupt the nesting
activities. The final project was to engineer a light fixture that
would be safe for turtles. The children are learning respect for
the resources we have here, how important the health of the
water is for animals and humans, while tying it all into their
science standards and getting their engineering experience.”
Students recently completed an everglades project by
building models of Florida before the waterways were
changed and afterward to see how significantly different
they are today and how the everglades aren’t getting enough
water. The Everglades Foundation trained Chesrown with
a course developed for high school, which was adapted for
fourth-graders.
“I work hard to use community resources available here
and get involved with the people that make a difference in
our community — my biggest passion is the health of our
water and that the students understand,” she said. “It was so
helpful to work with the Everglades Foundation. You finally
got to hear the full story. It began as a flood control idea 100
years ago. It’s important to see the big picture and hear all the
information and decisions that got us to this point.
“I talk to the students about the coming 30 years worth of
projects to restore the everglades, and that, ‘You could be one
of those people that are working on this.’ I let kids be kids,
but it’s nice to let them think about a life career that isn’t
typical. Especially children in class who struggle academically
but they’re growing up here loving the water, fishing
and surfing. Then they see these men and women tracking
sharks and they can relate and feel they could maybe do that
as a life passion.”
Another resource Chesrown uses is the Environmental
Study Center, which is available to all Martin County students.
“We are so fortunate that our school district has this resource;
they have camps all year-round,” Chesrown said. “I
think it’s the only one like it in the country. There is a whole
curriculum ending with a field trip for every grade level to
see what they’ve been learning.
“Fifth-graders go aboard a boat on Indian River Lagoon
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