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As a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park, Keith Crandell has been confronted by mountain lions, grizzly bears and wolves. On Tuesday, Crandell took on 85 seventh- and eighth-graders at Heritage Middle School in Berwyn.
Crandell was invited to speak at the summer school by Principal Core LaVersa.
“I wanted to introduce the students to the beautiful environment in Yellowstone,” La Versa said, “and I wanted them to learn about a new profession, one that’s very different from a doctor or a lawyer.”
During his 30-minute presentation, Crandell showed the students photographs of Yellowstone on a projection screen that was set up in the school’s cafeteria. The students sat quietly as Crandell talked about a park ranger’s responsibilities and some of the dangers he faces while on patrol in the park.
Only two hands went up in the air when Crandell asked how many students had ever visited Yellowstone, a government protected park that spans 2.5 million acres in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
“I’d only heard about Yellowstone on the Internet,” said Destiny Lopez, a seventh-grader from Berwyn.
But after Crandell’s presentation, Lopez was able to rattle off facts about Yellowstone’s geysers, which are created when groundwater is heated by a volcanic heat source until it is ejected from the earth in a plume of water and vapor.
Although these geysers are Yellowstone’s most famous feature, the students were more interested in Crandell’s interaction with the park’s wildlife.
AJ Rodriguez, a seventh-grader from Berwyn, wanted to know if Crandell had ever treated a snake bite.
“No,” Crandell said, “I see more grizzly bears and wolves than I do snakes.”
This answer got a rise out of the students and started a series of questions about animal attacks and the treatment of park animals.
When speaking to children, Crandell said his main objective is to teach them about the demands of his profession and encourage them to visit Yellowstone or nearby parks.
From Crandell’s presentation, Lopez said she thought working as park ranger would be a challenging career.
“Being a ranger is hard. You have to make sure people stay safe,” she said.
Crandell’s presentation was part of the summer school’s guest speaker series. Heritage Middle School’s summer school is a reading-intensive program. Students receive reading instruction each morning, and in the afternoons, they divide into their weekly clubs, where they participate in activities such as drum-making, comic-strip writing and moviemaking. Enrollment is voluntary.
LaVersa said many of her students have somewhat limited views of the world. She hopes presentations like Crandell’s will “open up the world to them and show them how beautiful it is.”
As a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park, Keith Crandell has been confronted by mountain lions, grizzly bears and wolves. On Tuesday, Crandell took on 85 seventh- and eighth-graders at Heritage Middle School in Berwyn.
Crandell was invited to speak at the summer school by Principal Core LaVersa.
“I wanted to introduce the students to the beautiful environment in Yellowstone,” La Versa said, “and I wanted them to learn about a new profession, one that’s very different from a doctor or a lawyer.”
During his 30-minute presentation, Crandell showed the students photographs of Yellowstone on a projection screen that was set up in the school’s cafeteria. The students sat quietly as Crandell talked about a park ranger’s responsibilities and some of the dangers he faces while on patrol in the park.
Only two hands went up in the air when Crandell asked how many students had ever visited Yellowstone, a government protected park that spans 2.5 million acres in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
“I’d only heard about Yellowstone on the Internet,” said Destiny Lopez, a seventh-grader from Berwyn.
But after Crandell’s presentation, Lopez was able to rattle off facts about Yellowstone’s geysers, which are created when groundwater is heated by a volcanic heat source until it is ejected from the earth in a plume of water and vapor.
Although these geysers are Yellowstone’s most famous feature, the students were more interested in Crandell’s interaction with the park’s wildlife.
AJ Rodriguez, a seventh-grader from Berwyn, wanted to know if Crandell had ever treated a snake bite.
“No,” Crandell said, “I see more grizzly bears and wolves than I do snakes.”
This answer got a rise out of the students and started a series of questions about animal attacks and the treatment of park animals.
When speaking to children, Crandell said his main objective is to teach them about the demands of his profession and encourage them to visit Yellowstone or nearby parks.
From Crandell’s presentation, Lopez said she thought working as park ranger would be a challenging career.
“Being a ranger is hard. You have to make sure people stay safe,” she said.
Crandell’s presentation was part of the summer school’s guest speaker series. Heritage Middle School’s summer school is a reading-intensive program. Students receive reading instruction each morning, and in the afternoons, they divide into their weekly clubs, where they participate in activities such as drum-making, comic-strip writing and moviemaking. Enrollment is voluntary.
LaVersa said many of her students have somewhat limited views of the world. She hopes presentations like Crandell’s will “open up the world to them and show them how beautiful it is.”
