J.C., a student at Thompson Valley High School wrote a great 'reflection' paper on his experiences with Trout in the Classroom. We so enjoyed it we wanted to share it with everyone. The paper appears below in it's unedited form:
Trout in the Classroom
Various questions I will get throughout the day is, “Hey, How are the fish doing”, or “Are all of this fish doing okay”. This has been a product of Mr. Hewson and teaching students by using the life cycle of the trout but also the chemicals in the tank. Most kids aren’t really interested in the chemical stand point but that plays a big part. That’s when I come in, so that the fish can survive and stay healthy. I do a 5-15 gallon water change daily to make sure the nitrites and ammonium don’t build up and kill the fish. Especially when we try to keep around 100 fish alive in a 55 gallon tank all of the waste can’t just stay in there.
In a river this wouldn’t be a problem with freshwater plants and other wildlife not to mention a flowing water source. But I need to do what I do so that we can transport them to the Big Thompson River in the spring, happy and healthy. But last year for fear of the fish not being big enough to survive against the larger and more aggressive brown trout, we decided to hold our fish at one of the water treatment plants nearby where they have two 55 gallon tanks with constant Big Thompson water or the reservoir’s water flowing through the tanks. So the fish get an extra year to grow but also get to learn how to eat live river insects and other food sources before having to make it on their own in one of the harsh rivers of Colorado.
I have learned throughout the time of working with the fish that yes we are doing it to help restock the Big T with rainbow trout and yes to help Mr. Hewson teach. But that kids have interests and that they just need to find the right one and if the option isn’t there how can they figure that out by themselves. It’s a great feeling when kids walk in to Mr. Hewson’s room to get homework help and they stop at the door and talk to me about how the fish are doing or just sit there and watch them swim around, that I actually, possibly had a kid get an interest in something. It just helps me carry one in doing my work so that they can enjoy the fish being healthy and the water is as clean as I can get it. And more times than I ever thought that kids will see me changing the water and will ask me, ”Why am I doing this?” and I’ll respond, “So that we can learn about fish and chemical cycles”. And before you know it they are taking a mini lesson from me learning more and even Mr. Hewson will help sometimes.
By the end of this year, the fish in our classroom will be around 1.5-2 inches. We plan to release them into the tanks at the water plant. At the same time, we will release last year’s fish currently living at the water plant into the Big Thompson so that they can thrive. The cycle will then become set so that every year we will release last year’s fish into the river and start fresh next year with eggs that will in two years be doing the same. It’s so exciting, not only to see rainbow trout to go into the river that hopefully one day I’ll catch, but to know that next year a new batch of eggs will be coming so that students can enjoy the pleasure of looking at them grow, also name them, but so that they can learn about the fish and about water chemistry from a stand point that relates to them. And if it only gets through to some people, that’s fine, that’s more than none before. But I always miss the questions I get from other students while cleaning the tank when we don’t have the fish yet. I know that they will be coming soon and new lessons will be thought and new interests will be sparked.
Thanks, J.C.!