Why We Do What We Do

To view the photo-rich magazine version, click here.

Originally appears in the Summer 2021 issue.

Editor’s Note: This short (and true) story — originally titled “On Being a Scientist” — is not only an affirmation of why we do what we do, but a reminder of how a challenging situation can get back on track with a touch of nature’s magic. At the risk of sounding too poetic, I’ll let you read on to see what this particular incarnation of nature’s magic is. Needless to say, we are all re-emerging from a challenging global situation; fortunately, we need not move mountains to reignite that spark of wonder and inquiry in our students. I do suggest creating a make-shift terrarium, though…

By Jeannine West Paull

In one of my first years of teaching, I was assigned a class of 26 first- and second-grade students in an urban public school. We served a diverse community in the heart of Denver, Colorado. My class was a rambunctious multi-age group with more boys than girls. Classes stayed together for two years in a British Primary model, but this continuity had been interrupted by the departure of a teacher the previous spring. Because there had been a long-term substitute, the classroom culture had unraveled a bit, and the start of the year had been rocky. 

One evening during those first weeks of school, I found a large house spider on my basement steps, put her into a small jar, and took her to school the following morning. 

At our morning meeting, I showed my students the little creature, soon named “Sophie,” after a character in one of our favorite books, Sophie’s Masterpiece, by Eileen Spinelli. We decided that the students should research what she needed to survive and what we should include in a habitat/home.