Greg Swick and Laura Swick

00:02 I'm Laura swick 26 years old. Today's date is June 1st, 2012 in West Plains, Missouri. Greg swick is my father.

00:16 And I am Greg swick. I'm 59 years old. Today's date is June 1st. 2012. We are in West Plains, Missouri. And Laura is my daughter.

00:29 Laura

00:31 This is going to be fun because I get to ask you that. Anything. I want to ever play like you were the teacher when you were little girl.

00:40 Tell me about it in my bedroom, obviously.

00:44 And

00:47 I would act like I was teaching I would take big sheets of paper and draw on it act like I was teaching a lesson and then at the end I would take a little Post-It note pads and I would create fake assignments and then grade.

01:10 Five, I remember ones. I did it all the time. And then once I mom came into my room and she was like Laura, would you like to have a friend over today? And yeah, I did it all the time. You have a question for me.

01:29 Teacher

01:31 I don't know. I think when I first started thinking about being a teacher is probably in the 7th grade cuz I was raised in his family that was hunters and fishermen and so I had a conservation teacher in the 7th grade. His name was John colon, and he always had tremendous things in the classroom. You have a hawk that was blind that he had permission to kebe add steaks and all of that stuff really excited me about science and and the out-of-doors and I think that's where it began in high school. I remember thinking I was going to be a math teacher because I really liked doing math, but in college I

02:09 Went back to all the nature sort of thing and decided science and biology with my thing and I wanted to be a biology teacher you teaching away because of no doubt about it. How about you Chris, but the fat how she could teach and never seem to be out of breath, but it would be all the time from minute one to minute 50 of science class. So she would continue to teach with so much energy and I think

02:49 I mean I still use different techniques to her kingdom phylum class order family genus species that dance or whatever. She does. I do that in my fifth grade classroom. So what's up, we're both talking about age groups that we both taught. I mean, you're a fifth grade teacher which not far from 7th grade and I was in seventh grade teacher. Why do you think is there something about our own history that made us choose the age that we're working with?

03:21 Okay. Well, no, but I think I'll an

03:24 Where I was supposed to because you know you go through college and you have all these practicums and mine was Kindergarten first second, and that's where I wanted to teach but when I graduated it was the job opening in fifth grade that

03:40 That I obviously landed in and that's but I wouldn't go back to kindergarten at all ever. What is it about a 5th Grader?

03:55 Their conversation there

03:59 The fact that they still want to please you, but they're growing into individuals themselves.

04:09 I remember I had a really funny moment this year in school when I'm obviously very bubbly personality and I have this student who is very literal and she's very bright and kind of challenging but she was working with me to clean up my classroom for something. I don't know. We are preparing for the next day and she goes I really didn't think I was going to like you this year and I was like really? Okay why and she goes? I don't know. You're just you you're just always happy then I was like, okay and I love you now like You're great and I was like, oh and that's when she was like, I'm so excited about outdoor classrooms. And so that was kind of cool that she had such an attitude and then ended up being one of my

05:05 Favorites this year not favorites, but you know, you know, it took a lot of courage to say that is true. So what is a moment that you felt hopeful as a teacher I guess.

05:27 When I first started teaching someone told me well if you if you touch one person's life every year but that be enough, you know, and it was probably later. Maybe the first year. I think I remember touching one life. It was a young person named work from Thayer Missouri, which is close to here. But we ended up floating down the Spring River and and spending a lot of time Outdoors together, but I keep thinking that when I gained experience on what really made kids chick in Science Education. I started to be able to impact positively a number of kids per year. I think that's when I realized that this is really important work. It's really important work because your wee-wee affect the future and I think that's when it became so meaningful for me. I'm not sure if that answers.

06:24 Your question aren't or not. But at the point where I knew I was a changemaker in a developer of human thought it became very very meaningful to me.

06:42 I should ask you a question.

06:49 See

06:57 What is it about science that makes you choose to do science. I realize that you are certified to teach anything you'd like to as far as the core areas are concerned.

07:10 Well

07:13 In my school, we're broken up fifth grade is broken up and apartments. So there's the Comm Arts which does spelling writing kind of the stuff that the kids either love or they hate and then there's math and you're either good at it or you just struggle or you can get by and then there's science and then come to me and I consider myself very lucky for the but they come to me and they are able to do Hands-On things. They're able to move around the classroom. They're able to if they don't get it. They're still working there not frustrated so much because they're still exploring and they're still you know, what stuff they can connect with whether it's the outdoors or whether it's animals, they see or the physics part of it like stuff that they can build and roller coasters. So I feel like science is something that

08:08 They really connect with whether they struggle or whether they excel in it. It's still something that they're interested in and that they stay involved and from now until the rest of their lives. So there's a Natural Curiosity about science.

08:27 Certainly, we both believe in Science Education.

08:31 Yes.

08:35 Okay.

08:40 I'm trying to think.

08:45 So, okay, the outdoor classrooms has been obviously a lot of fun to work with why have you taken such an interest in the Outdoor Classroom at Ozark Upper Elementary or just because I'm the director of the Glade project which is the green Leadership Academy for diverse ecosystems and it's a one-week conservation Leadership Academy that occurs at Missouri State University's Bull Shoals Field Station every summer. We work for a week with young people to increase the

09:22 Knowledge of science areas in ecology, but also we teach them to restore habitats and we teach them the value of green space in our lives. And we also teach them the skills of leadership and I would say almost more specifically we teach them the skills of Grassroots leadership, which means that each of us must summon within us.

09:45 Our role within every group and so I'd like to call it other people referred to it this way, but I like to call it a leader for model which basically says that each one of us is a leader it we are just awaiting an opportunity to lead and so when are glad alarm Kelsey and Michael came back to Ozark and we're looking for a Community Action project. I remembered that 324 Acre Wood lot that was behind Ozark Elementary because I taught at that building at one particular time of my life.

10:22 Used to be the junior high. That's right. When it used to be the junior high and we had sort of forged out of sheer rugged Trails there, but I thought what a great opportunity to develop this into an Outdoor Learning Center and so as a result, I served as mentor to these students and they jumped on the bandwagon and we're really excited. Especially Kelsey. She wrote a grant and receive $500 initially to start project.

10:51 It was as part of our leadership training. We also teach them about management Tools in real Society particularly nonprofits. So we teach them about leveraging we teach them about matching funds we teach them how to go about

11:11 Building strength in your project and so as a result as you know, they went to the school and they ask the school we have in this case two of them had $1,000. What are you willing to put into this project? If we develop this Outdoor Learning System and

11:33 The school was jumped on the bandwagon as you know, your principal. Mr. Baumann was all excited about the possibilities and was willing to invest school money, but also to organize the fifth grade science teachers into a team to work with the Glee project to complete this project. I guess this would be a good time for you to tell us about what you did at that particular point in terms of getting funding for that project.

12:04 Well, we talked to the fifth grade. I mean obviously I brought the issue up to the other fifth grade teachers and we have these a perfect opportunity. I'm for it because we have tiger time which is an enrichment which is the first hour of the day if the kids passed their science mass and Comm arts test with an 80% that first hour of the day, they go to their in Richmond classes if they don't get that 80% they don't Master the unit that we are teaching they go to remediation. So it's a good motivation for them to

12:45 Are like to go to enrichment they want to build the Outdoor Classroom. So it was really cool to get the fifth graders on board. They worked hard to pass their classes. So every morning they go outside and mulch the trails they could build benches and we've had so many.

13:06 Organizations support us through grants and just donations Empire Electric gives us as much mulch as we need to mulch the trails and know that you're

13:21 Paper part of it was seeing the kids when they were actually working out there tell us about what they did and some of the experiences that you had one-on-one as the kids were out there. What did they do start with?

13:41 Entrails

13:44 Pass, so we knew where the trails were. We knew where the classroom boundaries were with rocks. We took big rocks that were just laying all over and we created passed for them refilled in the trails with Mulch and they worked days tons of mornings tons of hours. We had a Saturday work day where they came in parents brought.

14:10 Trailers and lawn mowers and tools and family members and we worked for 4 hours and got a lot done when it became much more than school project students during the school day would build benches Leopold benches and we stained them. We also now this year thanks to the community foundations of the Ozarks. We got a grant through CFO and UFO, which is another CM Punk and I had a student actually help me write that gray one of the fifth graders last year currently a sixth grader.

15:03 Help me write that Grant so that we could continue the project this year, but we got binoculars and bird books. We have signs on the trees labeling. What they are. We have bird feeding station different bird feeders hanging out their hummingbird feeders near the classrooms. We have a handheld GPS says that next year they will be able to take for treasure hunts and scavenger hunts and geocaching. That'll be really cool. So we were able to do a lot now, we have the high school botany class. Thanks to one of the Glade graduates created grow Native Garden and the construction trades class built us the shed and has helped us with mulching and getting the garden ready as

16:03 I also had a lot of help from the school and programs the Audubon Society community service. But what about science? Is there science we learn out there everyday they go outside and they'll hunt for Turtles. Of course. We don't touch when we're out there.

16:25 We find spiders everyday and even though they're so scared of spiders in the classroom when we're outside. They don't seem to matter anymore, which is really cool. Lizards Turtles Birds.

16:40 Snakes lots of different plants they like picking out the poison ivy and then warning everybody.

16:47 So that's really cool as well.

16:49 What do you see out there that happens with certain kids that you don't see happening in the regular classroom extra help will go outside and instantly it clicks when we're doing plant classification. They're able to tell me what kind of seed that plant came from whether it was a monocot or a dicot. They're able to tell me if it's herbaceous or Woody stems there be able to tell me if it's an angiosperm or gymnosperm and that's really cool because they don't get that from reading a book or listening to lectures or seeing pictures. So it's really cool to see it all happen location as well as education in general. We really Embrace technology.

17:41 And we spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen in our class is right. Now, what are we losing by taking away outside time for kids cuz I understand that some some schools even take away recess is now and certainly what we are involved in is education outdoor. But what does it bring that we might be losing if we are to plugged into technology, they're not as active and they're not active learner. So when they go outside, they're running around they're discovering they're exploring and they're finding what they need to learn versus send them in front of a computer and they're staring at a screen for 2 hours and it does keep their attention. Yes, but they're not active anymore right there stationery and it's just not as effective as effective as if you were to go outside and

18:38 Explore and learn from the environment and what they need to learn. What does that mean environmentally, they take care of East Lee they're taking ownership of what they felt and they want to take care of that land. So in turn their Environmental Education, they need to take care of it, whether it's littering, you know, all that environmental stuff, but they're also learning.

19:12 2 Chainz and the way things live together habitats and just seeing how things interact and

19:24 They can think they can observe they can be active. It's kind of just touches base. Does it happen just naturally?

19:40 It's so funny when they're molting you'll have those kids that are just like okay this needs to be done. You need to take the wheel barrel this way and you have those kids that are like, okay, let's do this. You have the roles kind of just develop naturally and it's really cool to see that you have those go getters and you have those people that are like the glue to it all they make it flow naturally. So that's really cool to see people work together as a group cuz that's also something that they need to learn some of the ones that are observers and are really hard workers, but they don't have a whole lot to say when they're out. There are some of the most reflective ones on what their experiences means to them. Have you had any kids who are expressed it to riding or anything else that you were surprised.

20:28 I have it goes back to those kids are sped kids in our kids that like I said, sit back and observe but they'll bring me pictures and drawings of you know, like reflections of the working at their classrooms are reflections of what they learn drawing me pictures of a flower but then describing it and whether it's a monocot or dicot flat are like flower, you know, the kind of stuff that goes along with that. But yeah they do.

21:01 They are very, you know, they re know when you think they're not getting it they totally are and it shows when they draw you pictures or write you letters or and that's one of the most rewarding things to the teacher. So sounds like your blending both Science Education and personal growth and development in some way shape or form.

21:24 I'd I really didn't I thought probably that you would be as far from it as anything could be because I know that the one we talked about earlier today where we're going up the river and Nathan your older brother us at the front of the canoe and and he wants things quiet because he wants to see the wildlife and here is Laura in the middle and she's three years old and head there you are banging them or against the side of the aluminum paddle the canoe.

21:56 Banging the paddle against the size of the Canadian banking all kinds of noise and I just think that's kind of funny when I think back but that you have become a science teacher number one, but a science teacher with a real strong bent towards getting the out doors to be part of your message to the kids that you work with Ethan's reaction to you know, of course.

22:24 Jumping off into the water.

22:29 So yeah, I think.

22:33 In some ways you always did enjoy science and nature you you were took second place in the science fair and maybe the second grade third grade fourth grade. I found it when I was but you you were a rocks and minerals Science Olympiad state champion. Is that right? And that's obviously you had a real interest in science from the get-go.

23:01 It's true, but I fought it for a long time. It did. I'm not sure.

23:10 Eat if your parents are teachers and especially when they're in your building growing up, I always thought you guys did that on purpose of both of you were in the junior high when I happen to start seventh grade convenient, right? So I fought it for a long time because like everyone is like you're going to be a teacher you're going to be a teacher like whatever and I didn't want to for that very reason and but it then, you know you getting the college in there like okay, it's time to declare major. What do you want to do and it's like, okay. Well, I really like working with kids. I like the lightbulb moments. I like discovering stuff with him and learning with him. I'm Not Afraid when they asked me to quit a question to say, I don't know let's find out like but I fought it for a really long time and then you know, he comes down when you have to declare your major, which I did declare Middle School at first, but I took one class and decided that wasn't for me.

24:09 But yeah, so when it came down to it.

24:14 I realize that maybe it does run in the blood and I do and I like seeing how you guys affected the lives of kids and how students still write 2 using thank you for what you've done. So that was it's meaningful it. You know, it's contagious.

24:36 You have a passion for teaching when I watch you in front of the kids. They respond really well to you. They they want to know what you have to share with them. And you allow them the freedom to discover. Like you said they find what they need to know and I think that's so much part of being a good teacher is that you allow the student a chance to discover what's inside of them?

25:04 That makes them.

25:06 Want to become something special and want to feel a passion for life.

25:13 I love quite well. Okay. Well, then I would say I learned that part of it from you watching you.

25:21 Interactive them and not necessarily giving them the answers but giving them the guidance to discover who they are as a person in the big picture, but also, you know for that topic or that

25:34 That thing that they're trying to get that.

25:37 Piece of information or whatever but I would say that I learned that part of teaching from watching you and like when kindergarten going back to when I was five. I was just half day and I would have to ride the bus to your classroom and I would watch you interact it goes back to that kind of thing to so I would say that a lot of my teaching techniques strategies I've learned from you as well. As you know, the woman that you worked with forever that I had as a science teacher the props to mrs. Mcpheeters, but no

26:24 Okay. Well, do you see yourself? What do you see yourself doing? Like do you picture yourself? Just sticking with Glade for the rest or do you see yourself taking that and expanding but that's probably a good question. I I spent 32 years in the classroom and and that was before I co-founded and co-direct the green Leadership Academy for diverse ecosystems and it's been a successful program.

26:51 And

26:53 So it has challenged us as a planning committee to discuss where it should go, but me personally.

27:02 I'm in sort of a transition. Because I love working with.

27:06 The kids in Glade. There's no question about it. It's it's a big part of my life. But I also see the Glade model as something that could be used all over the place everywhere in real schools in urban schools all over because it combines and appreciation for nature with leadership.

27:27 Development

27:29 And also habitat restoration and and all of the earth is in need of some restoring and preserving.

27:38 All of the Earth in need of some leadership that empowers all instead of just one person and all of us need to be aware that it's

27:50 The water in the earth and the lands that we gain our nourishment from so I think the message is very important. And so as far as how it relates to where I'd like to go I would like to train teachers to incorporate.

28:10 Outdoor education leadership training and restoration and preservation and creation of green space into their life. So I think that's what I'd like to do. I'd like to train teachers.

28:25 In September, we we are where we are going to do our first Mentor training for area rule teachers. One of the things about real educator is they are the science department for instance teacher that I might talk to in a small town in the Ozarks might teach 7th grade General Science and teach all the way up to high school chemistry and advanced chemistry with physical science and biology all in between. They don't get a great opportunity to network with other professionals. And so what we are doing is not only trying to expose them to the Glade model of habitat restoration and academic rigor and Leadership, but we're also providing a network for them so they can come and voice their concerns about being isolated in the rule areas of the Ozarks.

29:20 They can come together as a community. We can look at the entire buy a region as one place that we all share that we all care about and that we all want to be.

29:37 We went we all want Healthy Communities here forever. And so it's very important that we incorporate some of these things into the lives of everyone all of the young people with the Ozarks. And so I think when we get these teachers together, it's going to provide a great opportunity for us to expand our vision of what we'd like to see in terms of environmental sustainability and just Wellness Community Wellness in the Ozarks.

30:19 What do you say yourself doing in the future? You ask me?

30:26 Well

30:29 Teaching

30:32 Yeah, I'm starting grad school this fall with a master's in curriculum and instruction. So hopefully I can turn that around and use it to my advantage when it comes to Environmental Education cuz I have a sleeping that's really important. Hopefully, you know, I can get into writing more grants and

30:55 Seeing you know, cuz there is money out there. It's just where you find it and if you have a cause for it and I think that's really important. So I would like to get into grant writing and

31:12 Promoting that kind of education for kids creating Active Learning just getting him outside and you know incorporating technology to thought that's obviously where it's going and that's important very important in teaching with that because it that in turn create students keeps them engaged and but keeping them active as well. So hopefully I think that's something we can talk about to is the role of technology in outdoor education. You're going to be using GPS to teach the kids geocaching going to be in line with what they call the stem standards science technology engineering and Mathematics.

31:59 It's teaching geography I guess right.

32:02 Getting him out.

32:09 Stand

32:10 It's not just on a map in the classroom.

32:24 Getting them outside. I'm exploring being able to tell North from South in the little handheld thing. So that's kind of cool. But this is there Outdoor Learning Center and it is at 37 degrees latitude, whatever longitude keep up that they enjoy to go outside every day. They ask me. Can we go outside or we going outside today? Can we go work on this can go do this. Can we take this test outside instead of sitting in her classroom today? And if it's a nice day teachers don't want to be inside any more than kids do so you might as well get outside and he was entering the bird list cuz we were bird watching. He was entering the bird list into his iPad and instantly uploading it to Cornell University's eBird.

33:24 Program which is a way in which citizens can engage in real scientific.

33:30 Endeavor and that is powerful that we can take this place here in the Ozarks and we can immediately upload data from the outdoors and it coordinates and contributes to the Grand data apps on them that had with the planets so you can turn your iPad kind of late you have on your iPhone or iPod Touch whatever but we can take the kids outside and when you turn your iPad a certain way it tells you what planet you're looking at or what star you're looking at. And so yeah, and we're able to do that with our iPad set. You know that Upper Elementary has an Ozark. So that's really cool. Look at it like getting them outside to see

34:23 And I'm actually having access to the tools of technology that relate to our outdoor education. What a Magic combination I think so.

34:38 I think I get this.

34:41 I get the sense that I'm

34:44 What are things I like about it is that the students today are connected to the entire globe?

34:50 But we are you and I and teaching outdoor education or connecting them with their place their local place and some people might say well, how can you teach students in Ozark Missouri about the world if all you're doing is teaching them about their place?

35:13 I guess all learning starts.

35:17 What's really cool is my another student that help me write that Youth Empowerment Grant when I talk to him about the reason we were doing this he was just like I really want 5th graders to the 5th graders this year to take pride in it cuz we work so hard to get it started. I would hate to see it fall apart and that I think is what you know the 5th graders this year will say to the 5th graders next year like really take care of it because we worked we spent hours building this don't wreck the stuff don't you know take pride in it. It's yours. We did this for you. So that future classes can enjoy it a pastor school ground.

35:59 Yes.

36:02 That's really cool.

36:06 Play some found remind okay?

36:14 Well, I'm honored that you became a teacher.

36:22 Itzhak

36:24 I think it's the greatest occupation on Earth.

36:34 Thank you. I'm honored that I got to learn from you.

36:38 And thank you for this opportunity. What a great program storycorps. I mean, it's pretty amazing that this program has empowered us to tell our story and

36:53 We're grateful for that because we have an opportunity to reach out from our place and

37:02 Give people an idea what it's like to live in this beautiful area of the Ozarks.

37:08 Thank you very much.