6________
Feature
WEÓNEsdAy, ApRil 5, 2000
TL ie CI ac I< amas P rìnt
Desert education: an experience to remember
PHOTO BY BOB PORTER
Twenty-eight students, three instructors and three honored guests braved the desert over spring break for The Natural History of the SW Desert class. The students,
brought together by their interest in science, explored the history, flat lands, hills, vegetation and wildlife of Death Valley National Park.
MEGAN OLDENSTADT
Managing Editor
What happens when you get 35
people together with a common goal
in mind...They have a kick-ass time.
Over spring break (March 16-25) I
went to Death Valley, located in Cali
fornia with some of the most amazing
people I have ever met.
The adventure was led by John
Snively, a geology instructor (see
profile below), Jennifer Porter, a biol
ogy instructor and Bill Guthrie, a
friend of the science department.
The Natural History of SW
Deserts - yes it is a graded class- is
an on-site study of the plants, ani
mals, geology, and environmental
issues of the Mojave and Great Ba
sin Deserts of the Western United
States.
Ok, now that the basics are out
of the way, let me tell you what the
trip is really about. It is about lov
ing science, learning about your
self and creating lasting memories.
It takes two days of driving
through Nevada (more than 900
miles) to reach the national park
known as Death Valley. Five days
are spent camping in a canyon lo
cated in the park. And two days
driving home.
Our days were spent learning.
Birds and plants were identified,
rock formations analyzed and can
yons were explored. The nights were
devoted to dinner, summarizing our
daily activities in our journals, and
chatting around the fire.
The weather was nice, the sun
was hot and the wind, well I think
"windy" is an understatement.
The wind decided to play games
with us one night. I don't think any
one got much sleep, because it's
hard to sleep when your tent is pelt
ing you in the head for hours on
end.
We flattened the tents the follow
ing day, because the wind will rip
them to shreds. Several tents were
lost that night (and will be dearly
missed). The following night,
people crowded in the vans or on
picnic tables to sleep. Several
people braved putting their tents
back up, but the majority of them
stayed flattened.
Besides learning about the area,
making new friends and soaking up
the sun, creativity snuck up on us.
Poets, song writers and musicians
crept their way out of the rocks and
dazzled us with their talent (see fol
lowing page).
This was an experience I can
hardly start to explain in so few
words. I can't even come close to
giving justice to something that
truly changed me.
If you want to find out more about
this amazing trip, talk to John
Snively, Jennifer Porter or any stu
dent who has gone on the trip over
the last 25 years. I'm sure they will
all tell you how one class, in the
desert, can change someone's life
forever.
John Snively reveals nature's wonders through field trips
PHOTO BY MATT BROWN
John Snively, currently a geology teacher at Clackamas, makes
learning fun through his hands-on field trips, especially the spring
break Death Valley Trek.
PATTYEZENSEN
Contributing Writer
Clackamas geology teacher John
Snively knows why volcanoes
erupt, what makes the earth shake
and where the Columbia River once
flowed.
He will gladly share this informa
tion with anyone who takes one of
his geology classes, which he re
fers to as “the science classes where
you don’t need math,” making them
popular with the non-science as
well as science majors.
To be a teacher was always
Snively’s goal.
“I got my Bachelor of Science
and thought about teaching high
school,” Snively said.
He enrolled in the teaching pro
gram at Portland State University
and earned his teaching certifi
cate. From there he taught at
Beaverton High School, where he
discovered that he enjoyed teach
ing and the kids liked him. In
spired by this successful en
deavor, he attended graduate
school at PSU, where he was a
teaching assistant.
After he finished graduate
school roughly 25 years ago,
thing.
Snively began teaching commu
“They often see personal growth
nity college classes. He has taught
and gain maturity on the trips.”
at all the community colleges in the
When asked how the annual
area, teaching as many classes as
Death Valley trek came about,
he could.
Snively explained that in 1972,
“I basically monopolized all the
when he was a graduate student at
full-time jobs in the area,” Snively
PSU, he wanted to teach a course.
commented. During that time he
However, the biology department
taught both geology and biology.
would not allow their graduate stu
“I am a biologist, that’s what I
dents to teach. He asked his advi
have my degree in, but I enjoy
sor and mentor Dr. Forbes to let
teaching both,” he stated.
him run a trip under his name and
Snively began at Clackamas
was given permission for a spring
teaching biology part time. A part
break field trip. Snively looked for
time geology position opened, so
a place to go, but soon realized that
he added it to his schedule.
everywhere he wanted to go would
“Since I had been here the long
be under snow in March. Death
est I got to do
Valley, the ma
what I wanted,”
jority of it be
Snively said.
ing in California,
One of the
was a place they
highlights of the
could go that
geology and biol
time of year. He
ogy programs for
had never been
many students is
there so he
the field trips
drove to Death
Snively plans
Valley over win
each year. These
ter break and
trips range from
spent a week
one day outings
learning about
in the Columbia
it. Snively took
Gorge to a 10 day
a group from
trip to Death Val
PSU that year
ley over spring
and since then
break. Snively
has taken a
MEGAN OLDENSTADT/ Clackamas Print
feels that for him Snively shows the creation
group of stu
the trips are the of the Valley in the sand
dents
every
most rewarding dunes located in the Park
single spring
part of teaching.
break for the
“To me, when I see people with
past 25 years.
out focus go on the field trips and
“I think I have taken more people
it all makes sense [to them], they
to Death Valley than any other
change their majors.” He notes
single person,” he said.
that even the people who don’t
While the field trips and the
change their majors still gain some
sparks he ignites in students are
the most rewarding parts of teach
ing, a down side does exist, the
lack of motivation in some stu
dents.
“You can lead a horse to water,
but you can’t make it drink. We
have a lot of student horses. You
keep giving them water, but they
won’t drink,” stated Snively.
If there is one thing he hopes
students get from his classes, it is
an enrichment of their lives. He
shows them the Earth, how it func
tions and where they fit in,
“People need to believe it to see
it,” is one of Snively’s favorite say
ings, and his classes are taught
with that in mind.
In his time off, Snively runs tours
to Peru or Costa Rica. He likes to
go to the Arctic, Northwest Terri
tories, The Yukon and British Co
lumbia to run rivers in his canoe.
Snively is nearing his retirement.
He says he might stop teaching in
three to four years. He is not cer
tain what he will do when he is no
longer teaching, but feels travel
ing will be a factor. Next year
Snively will take a year long sab
batical.