VOLUME 10
ISSUE 9
SERVING THE STUDENTS OF PIERCE COLLEGE PUYALLUP SINCE 1994
Field excursions free education from classroom boundaries
Katrina Megrath Editor
Education reaches a new level in Pierce College's Field Excursions led by Tom Bush and Dale Blum. These excursions have taken students to the depths of canyons and height of volcanoes over the years. "I started leading these excursions in 1993," Tom Bush, geology instructor and excursion leader said. While many students have never heard about the excursions, several are actually done each year! "I did just one each year at first, but then started doing two or three a year," Bush said. "One year I did four! That was too many for my sanity! To date I have led a total of 30 Field Excursions!" With all of these field excursions, it stands to reason that they must be fun, as well as educational. "I always pick destinations that I think are exciting," Bush explained. Excitement may come in many forms on these trips.
From seeing and learning new things in new environments, students find that hands-on-learning is fun and exciting. "They [students] learn by my example and that of other instructors (if present) and then by doing it themselves," Bush said. "This gives them the ability to have a fuller, deeper appreciation of nature." Side-trips are offered to more adventurous students on these excursions for additional excitement and learning. Of course, these trips are often more arduous and may involve measured risk that is prepared for. "Once in Hawaii we got lost on a hike in the dark looking for lava and were forced to spend the night," Bush gave an example of what could go wrong. "It wasn't really THAT scary, because I knew overnighting was a possibility before the hike, so we were prepared. And I only had those students with me that I knew could See EXCURSIONS continued on page 8
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