Kids Ask The Darndest Things
So what do you say when a 2nd grade class asks, “Is a magnet a rock?” or “What color are diamonds?” How much information is too much? How much will they understand? How much do you really know about that to give an answer? Those are some of the questions I faced when I agreed to talk about geology with Ms. Bickle’s 2nd grade class at Dry Hollow Elementary in The Dalles, OR. It was great fun and a bit of a challenge, but the chance to get kids interested in geology at a young age was something I couldn’t pass up.
Just being escorted down the hall by a couple of students, carrying a sledge hammer, a box of rocks and a stunning slab of polished 170 MY old belemnites in my hands raised a bit of a stir, but the greeting when I entered the class made me feel like a very important person. After passing around the rock sledge and a quick circuit of the class with the belemnite slab the questions began popping out like wildflowers on a warm and sunny Spring day. “What is the hardest part of your job?” (working with my bosses). “What tools do you use?” (hammers and computers and magnifying glasses… should have said my hands because most geologists are known for waving their hands).
Since we were in The Dalles there were quite a few questions like “What is the most common rock found in The Dalles?”, “Can we find gold or valuable gems in The Dalles?”, and “What are the white rocks that people use in their yards?” Some of the questions got a little technical, “How do you tell the difference between a rock and a mineral?”, “When will Mt. Hood erupt?”, “Where do you find emeralds?”, and “Is marble valuable?”
Some questions were easier to answer, “What are arrowheads made out of?”, while some simple ones “What’s your favorite rock?” kind of stumped me because I’m not sure I have a favorite rock. And of course there were some surprises like “What are jellyfish made out of?”, which may not be a geologist’s forte, but since I’ve also taught research diving it launched me into a 2-minute story about night-diving through flashbulb-like comb-jellies, aka ctenophores (that was truly magical).
The funniest moment came when my cellphone rang with a spam call. My cell rings by actually saying “RRRING-RRRING . . . RRRING-RRRING” in a kind of goofy voice, and that brought a huge burst of laughter from the whole class, teachers and myself included.
Much of the time the energy in the room was electric and one boy was especially super-charged, but they were all interested, attentive and most importantly, respectful of everyone else. I made sure everyone, including their teachers, got chances to ask their burning questions. Then I finished off with a question for them while passing around a piece of coral, “Is this piece of coral a rock?”. What would you have answered?
In the end, insights into a job or career is something valuable to share with kids just beginning to think about what they want to be. From my experience, if you engage with their questions rather than tell them what you think they should know, they’re much more likely to remain interested, even though the questions are probably going to be challenging for you at some point. The immediate payoff for me was when the teacher asked, “Who wants to be a geologist?” and every hand in the room shot up enthusiastically. I love being a geologist and I feel honored to have been able to share that love and interest with another generation.
Lloyd DeKay, March 2018