Hit the books—then hit the trails

摘要

This fall, I began teaching a graduate-level course at Southern Connecticut State University entitled "The Political and Legal Aspects of Environmental Concerns." Twelve brave students and I meet on Wednesday nights at Jennings Hall for two and a halfhours to discuss historical and current-day conservation issues as well as the state and federal environmental laws that are associated with them. I have gained a healthy respect and appreciation for how much preparation teachers must do to make the learning experience meaningful for everyone. Many of my students are themselves middle and high school teachers with large workloads of their own, but they are excited enough to learn about these issues that they have been patient with me as I have heaped more than 1,800 pages in reading assignments on them.