Thursday, July 10, 2008

Old Friend Does Good

Congrats, ‘topher. 

Have a look inside most high schools around the country and you’ll find that geology isn’t exactly a popular class, said The Colony High School geology teacher Cristopher Marshall.

Granted, the geological timeline can be tough to wrap one’s head around. And maybe some students think they’ll just be studying rocks.

But thanks to Marshall’s efforts in The Colony, 150 seniors signed up for his geoscience class last year. It’s an elective course for students who’ve already completed their science requirements and TAKS testing, and who wish to go above and beyond the curriculum.

Seems geology is more than a little popular after all.

Marshall has built up the program at the school the last five years, and as a result of his work, he was presented with the Patty Holyfield Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching earlier this year. The award is given through the Ellison Miles Geotechnical Institute and the Dallas Geological Society. Any teacher who teaches earth science in the Metroplex is eligible for the award, which has been in existence for six years. Teachers are nominated by a colleague or student. Marshall was nominated by Lewisville ISD Secondary Science Supervisor Kevin Fisher.

Marshall said he tries to make the class interesting and exciting for his students primarily by presenting them with real-world applications for the discipline.

“In our class we talk about Earth systems and how they affect the globe and how that affects mankind, and also about the human impact on the Earth system,” he said.

Interactive, hands-on experience is key to helping maintain that interest and excitement. “I always try to get my kids out on two or three field trips,” Marshall said. “As a geologist, the world is our classroom.”

Cris"topher” and I went to Junior High and High School together.  He stood up in my wedding.  Yeah, he’s a t-sip, but we can all overlook the flaws in good friends wink

(2) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2053 hrs
Off-Duty

  1. Congratulations, Cristopher!  Yea!  You should take a field trip to Wisconsin…and bring the wife and kids!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 10, 2008 at 2121 hrs


  2. Tell Christopher that the book “Rare Earth” by Paleontologist Peter Ward and Astronomer Donald Brownlee.(1999) is a must read for his students.  It is a work of astrobiology in which light spectrum analysis shows how very rare are the unique combination of metals and elements which make up the Earth and Sun and how unlikely it is therefore, that lots of life will be found elsewhere in the universe—all my examining our own microbiological rich soils.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 11, 2008 at 1456 hrs


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