Before I could ask him to explain his teaching method, he handed me a chartreuse flyer he’d found taped to a fence along the route he walks with Sadie, his adorable Schipperke, early each morning along West Cliff Drive:
LOST: Sexy boy with crystal green eyes and longish brown hair driving a forest green 4 runner or explorer – wave exchange at Mission/Laurel intersection on Sunday And yes…you are THAT hot that I spent an hour making these lame flyers and posting them all over town. If you are him or know him please email me at icantbelieveimdoingthis….
“It’s things like this from everyday life … and when I have time to dream that ideas just come,” he offered.
Veteran educator: Greg Kolar
Greg Kolar spent his 34-year-long career teaching ninth grade English and coaching football in the East Side Union High School District of San Jose, California. His college mentor, Alice Schofield, from San Jose State University, supported his creative style whose focus was to engage pupils in coursework by calling on their personal experience.
One afternoon, for example, he told his new class of gifted students (I’m paraphrasing):
The grading system here works on a curve, which means that two of you are required to fail. Since you’re all likely to do pretty well based on your academic record, I’m going to take care of this by lottery.
The son of the district’s head coach drew the first F. He wouldn’t stand for it because this could mean jeopardizing his chances of being admitted to the college of his choice. A young lady got the second. On the spot, she bolted out the door and ran to the school counselor in protest.
This is unfair!
The counselor, of course, knew nothing of what was happening. When they returned to the classroom, Greg explained that this kind of unwarranted sacrifice by a few to uphold an arbitrary and unjust policy presumably to benefit the many was the subject of the story they were about to study. And you can bet every student in that classroom was now prepared to read it very carefully!
Interactive Style
Halfway into his career, this more interactive style between teacher and student came into vogue, but there have to be innovators, and Greg was one of them.
He put into practice his belief that punishment should be swift and fit the offense. Disrespectful or disruptive students would get “The 1 Minute” – they’d have to stay in their seats for one minute after the bell rang. No kids like to be singled out and left behind when their friends are leaving class. The 1 Minute worked like a charm, even with the toughest and roughest.
So did his idea to involve the toughest and roughest – often from youth gangs – in a project to educate kindergartners. It was Halloween time. The guys got busy building a make-believe coffin in wood shop for their Halloween show for the kids while the gals cut out large letters for their lesson on the alphabet and simple word building. The sheer joy of sharing and creating fun and happiness for others engendered by this new interactive learning approach awakened in the toughest and roughest an excitement and energy they’d never experienced.
Elephant seal migration to Año Nuevo
Always drawn to the splendor of Northern California, Greg spent his free time as a young man skin-diving, surfing, and hiking throughout the Santa Cruz region. In the early 90’s he discovered pristine Año Nuevo State Park and he fell in love with its rare beauty. He made himself a promise to return. Sure enough, after retiring, he became a docent there and has helped to develop teaching manuals for its environmental interpreters. Greg also leads school groups through the Neary Lagoon and volunteers at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Ask him sometime about the Aloni Indians: he can tell you a lot.
He gains his inspiration from Freeman Tilden, Father of Heritage Interpretation and author of Interpreting Our Heritage, and from University of Idaho Professor Sam Ham, author of Environmental Interpretation. Greg was able to distill – as every outstanding teacher can – the very best of this classic into two valuable directives:
- Love the thing you interpret; &
- Love the people who come to enjoy it.
The connection of love between teacher and student is what transforms dry, boring data into essential knowledge that remains with us for a lifetime. After all, don’t we all remember a favorite teacher with affection?
Weekly Image (rt) ~ January Day at Año Nuevo State Park (looking south).
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like to read: Miwok.
