WhatUpThen the Camper

WhatUpThen has decided to finish off graduate school with a bang. For all of studying and research on science education and forestry and environmental science and environmental justice, I've never been camping. In my room you won't find a folded-up tent, binoculars, a sleeping bag, spiffy New Balance cross-trainers or rain gear. And you sure as hell won't find a Nalgene bottle. Those things are incredibly obnoxious. Soon you will find most of those things in my apartment, though, because I'll need them for this monster 8-unit environmental science and resource management class that includes four weekend field trips. One is to San Juan Island and one is to the Olympic Mountains. I can't remember where the other two trips are and I couldn't even tell you where the first two are located since WhatUpThen isn't exactly outdoor-oriented.

But I'm not concerned, and doesn't it make sense to do this? We want our teachers (and other professionals) to have had experience doing the things they teach to others. One could be the master of X's and O's, but how could she (Good job, Stanford women!) coach a basketball team if she hasn't played on a team? Hmm...what's another example? Oh yeah...one could join with a political family through marriage and pay attention to national affairs while making movies in Hollywood and becoming a star, but how can you become Governor of California if you've never held public office? In fact, how can one even think he is capable of performing the job duties? Maybe they're not that tough?? Anyway, you get the point. This course is gonna be great and it really is necessary if I'm gonna exhort to students the importance of the natural world.

Incidentally, does anyone reading this have camping gear I can borrow? I'm talking tent, sleeping bag, binoculars, galoshes, a headlamp, a backpack...I don't even know what else. The way I figure it...I don't know you and you don't know me, but if you send me something relatively clean, I'll send it back to you in June with maybe $20 and a coupla lottery tickets. Can WhatUpThen build community or what?