West Morris can tell spring is coming when Mr. Lawrence brings ducks into his classroom for his classes to study! Mr. Lawrence has been bringing in ducks for many years to demonst
rate life cycles, learned/natural behavioral characteristics , and pollution for years. “We study ecosystems and we study life in the stream and we study pollution and how the ducks can be an indicator for pollution. Then, The Ducks come in the classroom” said Mr. Lawrence
Mr. Lawrence shows his students the ducks and points out certain behavioral and physical traits. He talks about how we can gauge pollution in a stream based on how the wild life in the stream looks. Mr Lawrence also points out certain behaviors that the ducks exhibit.
“We learn about how ducks grow up and how even when they’re born, they already know how to do a lot of things without their parents teaching them how to do it” said Karl Alstede, a senior in Mr. Lawrence’s environmental science class.
Most of the students enjoy the ducks and learning about them but Alstede had some complaints: “My least favorite part of the ducks is they’re very loud and never stop peeping so they get a little annoying while we’re trying to do tests but besides that, they’re all right.”
Although they get on Alstedes nerves occasionally, he along with other students make great memories with the ducks and have fun with them in class. “We put them in the fih tank and they started swimming around, so that was pretty funny I won’t lie.” said Alstede.
Mr. Lawrence’s students value the hands-on approach he takes. Alstede feels it is much more engaging and believes activities where students interact with life are beneficial to his learning. “I think hands-on learning helps a lot because you can actually see the ducks In person and You can see how they act and everything. I think that definitely helps a lot more [than traditional school work]” said Alstede.
Mr Lawrence’s approach to teaching students about the environment and wildlife is simple but important. “I believe the best way to teach about life is with life,” Mr Lawrence said. This methodology has greatly benefited many of Mr. Lawrence’s students. They are able to be curious, learn and have fun.
