Campus Views: Curating curiosity in the classroom
“What is the driving question?” It’s a question Whitefish science teacher Eric Sawtelle asks on a daily basis.
Asking questions and thinking deeper have perhaps become the most influential aspects of Mr. Sawtelle’s science classes. With offerings such as earth science and GIS — a class on geographic information systems that focuses on visualizing information through mapping technology — Sawtelle pushes students to expand our parameters of possibility.
In GIS, for example, virtually any kind of data can be conveyed on a map, offering a new perspective for accurately portraying data.
Mr. Sawtelle’s teaching style is incredibly conducive to learning. By putting in the hours toward enriching our educational experience, Sawtelle learns with us, not afraid to be knee-deep in river mud or computer malfunctions.
As a teacher, he also incorporates professionals and other teachers into our daily learning experience. It’s not uncommon to have the top professionals in their fields swarming our classroom, sharing their knowledge and expertise. From GIS professionals to various biologists, we learn in an intensely active environment, structured around answering or potentially uncovering more of those driving questions.
Along with Nicole Reed, Sawtelle also takes time to facilitate FREEFLOW. This high school club is the go-to spot for environmental activists and outdoor lovers of all kinds. FREEFLOW, like Mr. Sawtelle’s other science classes, is an incredibly multi-dimensional atmosphere. Club members are a part of designing greenhouses, recycling, independent research projects, sustaining a healthy watershed and being all around active members in community.
From the multi-day school bus excursions, bug counts, pick-up soccer games in the fog, ski — I mean snow — science trips, birding outings, potlucks, forestry studies, hikes, water quality examinations, musical marshmallow roasts, and countless other irreplaceable experiences, FREEFLOW has instilled a deep sense of connection into its members.
Armed with a yellow school bus, a collection of binochs, the ever present quinoa, and few spare fluorometers, the deepest reaches of Montana have been made richer because of FREEFLOW.
Curating classrooms with curiosity and fortifying them with patience, respect and a deep connection with the environment and for those who learn, Mr. Sawtelle and his comrades in cultivation, enrich the lives of Whitefish.
— Grace Kurtz is a senior at Whitefish High School.