6th Graders

Once upon a time I considered becoming a teacher for a living. I got through two years of college and went on to doing a month as a Pre-Student Teacher.

It was a smart move by the college program to see if young students really had the calling to become a full fledged teacher.

I walked into the classroom to meet the students on that first day. 20 sets of eyes turned to look at me curiously. I felt fear trickle down my spine. I observed the class for one day and suddenly was sure that I would never survive a day in front of students. They would eat me alive.

I changed my major then next day to something completely safe and boring. Those 2nd Graders had terrified me. I was about 20 when that happened. I was positive that if I stuck with Teaching, kids would literally eat me alive.

The second thing that used to bother me to no end was public speaking. I had to give a speech while in college and I recall it was one of the worst moments of my life. My hands got slick and sweaty, my breath kept escaping me, and I knew I'd die of a heart attack any moment. Somehow I got through that experience without expiring and vowed never to speak again in front of more than two or three people.

I've had 40 years since that happened. I've done a lot of things since then. Maybe I'm just comfortable with who I am now.

I received a text from a teacher at the local school wondering if I'd like to come and do a presentation at Camp for the 6th grade. She was looking for something involving nature, something different.

I didn't really think too hard about it. I didn't even think about that day that those 2nd Graders shook my soul. I texted back yes. We made the arrangements and my presentation was going to be billed as "Nature Hike and Wild Food."

When I arrived at 'Camp', I spoke with the teacher and told her that I was going to have to 'Wing' it as I'd never been in this valley before and didn't know what plants were growing along our proposed hike route. She was fine with that.

I went to the meet up spot and watched curiously as a mixed bag of 11 and 12 year old girls and boys showed up. They pretty much ignored my presence under the tree and talked about their cabins and whatnot.

We started the hike in a well groomed area. I asked the kids if they'd ever hunted Morel Mushrooms, many hands went up. I asked about Wild Ramps or Leeks, less hands but still a few.

I asked if they knew what Garlic Mustard was. They knew. Did they know what it looked like? Curious faces. No not many did.

I found a plant and held it up.

There was a bit of curiosity in their eyes but not much.

I explained that this was a plant brought overseas by Europeans years ago. They used it apparently to spice things up and it may have had some medicinal purposes also.

There was sort of a shrug with the attention. I could hear their minds working. Big Deal.

So I grabbed a leaf and chewed on it. There was the hint of taste of garlic with another flavor. I made a face and said, "Oh this does indeed taste like garlic a bit!" Suddenly I had their attention. I picked another plant and held it up.

Hands reached out and they asked, "Can be try it?" Suddenly the group was passing the plants around, sniffing it, some grabbing a leaf and cautiously tasting it.

I spit mine out and took a drink of water.

"I could use that to flavor a salad or piece of chicken, but I won't be eating it plain!"

The kids started looking for Garlic Mustard as we walked. They would point to it and ask to pick it.

I found some Wild Parsnip and pulled out my gardening blade. I pulled it up and explained that this too was a plant that was brought over from Europe and was closely related to the Parsnip that was planted in normal gardens. However, one could safely dig them up in the spring and eat the roots. I cautioned that it takes a lot of work to make a meal, but I thought it was delicious as a treat.

Old photo of gathering wild parsnips

I asked them if they knew how nasty this plant was in the summer. They did and they told me how the plant could burn you and hurt you. I spoke about foraging and the best way to do it would be with someone who had a lot of experience so they wouldn't get the wrong plant.

We moved on after everyone got to smell the parsnip roots. They told me it smelled like carrots or parsnips or turnips.

The hit of the day was golden rod. We were looking at Jack in the Pulpits when one youngster brought me a dried out stem with a gall in it. They asked me what made it.

I pointed to the new golden rod coming up on the ground and then took the stem with the 'gall' in it.

I told them that insects burrow into the golden rod and then there is an egg laid. I thought a 'bug' should be inside the 'gall'.

I related a story of how my Grandmother and us kids would walk the fields in the fall to find these along with milk weed pods for a dried 'flower' bouquet. My Grandmother would sometimes paint the golden rod stems and the milk weed pods.

I asked if anyone knew the real technical name of these 'galls'.

I received blank looks and shaking heads.

I reached over and boinked the nearest student on the head gently. "There's your nobbin...there's your Nobbin' Knocker!"

There was lots of laughter and suddenly everyone was looking for Nobbin' Knockers. Some were going to keep them and some were going to take the gall apart to find the bug inside.

One of the girls had come up to me at the start of the hike and asked how long was the hike? I'd answered about 45 minutes. The look on her face was horrified.

On the way back to camp she was disappointed that the hike was so short. She had been having fun.

It struck me on the drive home that I'd been with groups of students all day long and had not once been struck by fear, dread, sweaty hands, or anguish. I hadn't worried about what I'd say or do. By the third hike out I'd figured out what might peak the students' interests.

And believe me. Holding a 11-12 yr old group of kids' interest is not an easy thing to do.

I had a blast.