"To the left," high school senior Jovanni Martinez called out to his principal, Marshall Burgamy, who was scrambling on all fours through a thicket of shrubs while clasping one end of a length of transect tape. The pair was attempting to lay a straight, 50-meter course for a vegetation analysis at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

Also on hands and knees in the dirt, Rodolfo Dirzo, professor of ecology at Stanford, emerged from the same patch of shrubbery, where he had been working side-by-side with three of Jovanni's classmates.

Jovanni and the other students are members of the Redwood Environmental Academy of Leadership (REAL), a Stanford-funded program that holds classes twice a week at Redwood High School—the only continuation campus in the Sequoia Union High School District in Redwood City. The Jasper Ridge vegetation analysis is one portion of a special field trip that the four teens participated in that day.

Later that afternoon, the group analyzed the data in a classroom at Jasper Ridge. With the help of a Redwood High math teacher and two Jasper Ridge docents, the students calculated the density, frequency, dominance and value of importance of each species of plant they had encountered.

"They're really learning the concepts of ecology," said Dirzo, one of the program's founders, "but by doing activities, by doing the work of scientists themselves."

"Learning by doing is key when you have students that have really never had a successful scientific experience or class," added Cindy Wilber, the education coordinator at Jasper Ridge and REAL's other founder.

Many of the approximately 30 students involved in the program have visited the preserve, just west of campus. But most of the curriculum focuses on ecology-related activities that the students conduct back at Redwood High.

The REAL program, now nearing the end of its first year, is funded by a grant from the Stanford Initiative on Improving K-12 Education, one of the multidisciplinary initiatives sponsored by the university's $4.3 billion fundraising campaign, "The Stanford Challenge." Dirzo and Wilber co-wrote a grant proposal, and theirs was one of eight pilot projects accepted for the K-12 initiative's first round of funding for the 2008-09 year.

"I am humbled that they [Dirzo and Wilber] have taken invaluable time out of their many important responsibilities to plan, implement and collaborate for countless hours on this small high school program for underserved kids," Burgamy said. About 70 percent of the students are Latino, 40 percent are English-language learners and 70 percent are from low-income households, according to Burgamy.

Daily schedule

REAL takes place on a plot of land behind Redwood High that is about as big as a football field. To get there, participants cross a bridge over Cordilleras Creek, which runs adjacent to the school and represents the heart of the program. "The students are in the creek completing water flow analysis, pH tests and gathering specimens for data collection," Burgamy said.

The teens study how the creek fits into the ecosystem in a broader context, how development has changed the creek ecosystem over the years and what the students' responsibilities are as environmental stewards of the creek.

"You guys own this whole portion of this bigger watershed," Raynelle Rino, REAL's program manager, told the students at the beginning of the year.

A garden, currently dominated by weeds, occupies a large portion of the land. Classes take place on a small patio or in an adjacent shed that serves as the students' laboratory. Nearby is a small greenhouse.

The curriculum is organized into three-week modules that focus on topics such as species interaction or ecosystem services. Dirzo lectures on species interactions—the ecological relationships of plants and animals. Specifically, he covers how these interactions determine plant fitness and influence evolution. Students then come up with their own examples of species interactions with which they are familiar.

REAL addresses the problem that regular classes "are not innovative in the sense of moving beyond the typical, traditional way of being in front of a board and spitting facts for the kids to learn and memorize," Dirzo said.

The roughly 250 students enrolled in Redwood High attend classes either in the morning or afternoon. Students must be recommended by their teachers in order to participate in REAL. About 15 students participate per day, although the number varies because students can graduate whenever they have accumulated enough credits.

Burgamy likes to open each session by reading a poem and encouraging the students to say what they are thankful for that day. Then a brief lecture is given, either by Rino, a teacher from Redwood High, or a student volunteer or faculty member from Stanford.

Finally, REAL's students engage in an activity related to the day's topic. For example, during the session on ecosystem services, Redwood High history teacher Maureen Svenson asked the students to study old maps of Redwood City to see how development had changed the land. Then, the students—pretending to be landscape designers themselves—walked the land and created development plans that they would later present to their classmates.

"This … has really made me look at the curriculum and come up with things that are much more interdisciplinary than I [otherwise] would have," Svenson said. "It's been a really creative exercise for me."

In addition to the various activities swirling around the creek, another ongoing project was inspired by a history lesson about World War II victory gardens, which civilians planted with the intention of easing the burden on America's food supply.

"We're planting edibles from the 1940s, like potatoes, tomatoes, stuff that they ate in the 1940s during the war," student Eric Hagler said.

"And we're going to start growing mini-plants in the greenhouse," added his classmate, Brian Jensen.

For extracurricular activities such as these, students can earn history or elective credits toward graduation.

Collaborations

Dirzo stressed that being a part of the Stanford K-12 initiative's grant program has been instrumental in fostering interdisciplinary collaborations.

Occasionally, the grant winners get together to report on the progress of the eight pilot projects. "People get excited about what we're doing, and we get excited about what others are doing." Dirzo said.

For example, fellow grant-winner Professor Rega Wood and graduate student Eva St. Claire, both in the Classics Department, helped design a lesson plan about the use of Latin in scientific vocabulary, in order to help REAL students understand the words they encounter in class.

Thanks to another collaboration with grant-winner Professor Roy Pea in the School of Education, REAL will soon be international. Via the Internet, Skype calls and YouTube videos, Redwood High students will correspond and share data with students in Sweden and with participants of similar restoration projects that Dirzo and Wilber lead in Mexico.

"This will connect students doing ecology across the globe, from Redwood City and Yucatan to the state of Veracruz and Sweden," Wilber said.

Another collaboration, independent of the K-12 Initiative, was with Alan Launer, Stanford's campus biologist. An expert in conservation biology and environmental planning, Launer helped the students dig a pond behind the school so that, in the spring, they will be able to compare the creek's ecosystem to that of the pond.

Stanford graduate and undergraduate students have gotten involved as well, serving as guest lecturers and mentors. "It's really amazing to see how much [the students] really love what they're studying," said senior Jennifer Panlilio, who is completing her co-term in anthropology.

Project-Based Education

Its unique, outdoor classroom may be what makes REAL so popular with its students.

"It's fun," said student Sergio Guero. "Instead of being at class all the day, you [can] come over here and be outside working with nature."

"They have a lot of fun out here because they're sort of just hanging out," Rino said. "But at the same time, they get a lot of science content."

Patrick Gemma, superintendent of the high school district, has visited REAL and seen the program in action. He agreed that hands-on activities can bring classroom subject matter to life. "It's a way to connect the students with why they are learning algebra and why they are learning better forms of writing, and what's the value in reading and what's the value in being able to give a presentation," Gemma said.

Other schools in the district offer project-based education programs, but Redwood High does it on the largest scale, according to Gemma. "Connecting the math and the history with a theme, creek study and other environmental kinds of themes, just really engages kids and makes the education more relevant," he said.

Wilber said that project-based education programs can change a student's attitude about learning—and, in this case, make science education more attractive and rewarding for students and teachers. "It's all just rolled into this three-hour experience," Wilber said. "It doesn't feel like, 'Oh, this is my math homework.'"

Svenson, the history teacher at Redwood High who normally holds classes indoors, notices an improvement in behavior and engagement while teaching outdoors for REAL. "At certain age levels," Svenson said, "you just need to get up and move around and do stuff, and that's what this really allows them to do."

Across the board, the students agreed that being outside provides a welcome break from traditional classroom learning. "You're looking at the trees, the birds," Sergio said. "Time goes fast out here."

Chelsea Anne Young is a science-writing intern at the Stanford News Service.

    우주와 환경         Universe & Environment
        - 우주의 역사
        - 글로벌 지속가능한 발전 전략 : 에너지와 기후변화
        - 생물다양성 보존과 환경정책
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    물질과 생명         Matter & Life
        - 과학과 종교
        - 과학과 기술의 역사
        - 생명의 기원과 인공생명
        - 기아 대책과 물질 대사(metabolism)
    뇌, 몸, 마음         Brain, Body, & Mind
        - 생명 윤리와 의료 윤리
        - 뇌 과학 : 기억과 치매
        - 링크 : 뉴런과 인터넷
        - 동양사상과 한의학
    감성과 감각         Emotion & Sensory Science
        - 감성 과학과 관능 평가
        - 감성을 자극하는 맛의 창조
        - 생체 모방 디자인 (bio-mimic design)
        - 2050년 세계 : 과학기술과 혁신

기자 사회에서 전설처럼 내려오는 실화가 있다. 아마 1960~70년대의 일이지 싶다. 옛날에는 서울 창경궁(창경원)에 동물원(83년 경기도 과천의 서울대공원으로 이전)이 있었다. 창경원 시절의 동물원 취재는 동대문경찰서 출입기자들이 담당했다. 예나 지금이나 기자들은 기삿거리가 없을 때 가장 큰 스트레스를 받는다. 큰 사건도 일어나지 않고, 중요 출입처이던 동물원마저 조용해서 다들 고민에 빠져 있을 때 한 신문사 기자가 특종을 터뜨렸다. ‘창경원의 암 코끼리 한 마리가 임신했다’는 뉴스였다. ‘코끼리 임신사건’을 낙종한 동대문서 출입기자들이 헐레벌떡 창경원으로 달려갔다. 그러나 수의사마저 “임신 여부를 알 수 없다”며 난감해했다. 더구나 코끼리의 임신 기간은 무려 650일. 웬만큼 시일이 흐르지 않고서는 임신한 티도 나지 않는다. 분명히 거짓 기사인 것은 같은데 딱히 반박할 방법이 없어 속수무책으로 당했다는 얘기다.

　사람의 회임(懷妊) 기간은 280일로 코끼리보다는 짧지만 포유류 중에서는 꽤 긴 축이다. 더구나 사람은 태어난 뒤에도 또 다른 회임 기간을 보낸다. 바로 교육이다. 초·중·고교를 거쳐 다섯 중 넷꼴로 대학교육까지 받는다. 여기에 각종 직무교육·재교육이 있고 전국 지자체마다 노인대학까지 있으니 가히 평생이 회임 기간이라 할 만하다. 주축은 물론 의무교육을 중심으로 하는 성장기의 공교육이다.

덕성여중 김영숙 교장선생님의 헌신적인 노력(본지 2월 4일자 1면, 5일자 3면)을 보고 나도 감동받았다. 나는 사교육을 추방할 대상으로 보지는 않는다. 공교육을 보완하는 공로가 크다고 생각한다. 그러나 도가 지나쳐 아예 공교육을 대체하는 지경에 이르는 것은 분명히 문제다. ‘사교육 없는 학교’를 만들기 위해 세상에, 오전 7시 출근해 오후 11시 퇴근한다니. 교단에 김 교장 같은 분만 계시다면 누가 학원과외에 목을 매겠는가.

그러나 한편으로 모든 교사가 김 교장 같기를 바라는 마음속에 숨은 얄팍한 이기심을 직시하지 않을 수 없다. 엄연한 교육 주체 중 하나인 학부모는 할 일이 없는가. 나는 학부모가 김 교장이 들이는 노력의 10분의 1이라도 가정교육에 쏟아야 한다고 생각한다. 가정교육이라 해서 거창하게 여길 것은 없다. 세상을 긍정적으로 보는 눈과 남을 배려할 줄 아는 태도, 이 두 가지만 염두에 두면 충분하다고 본다.

한 대학이사장이 전해준 일화다. 아침에 출근하려고 아파트 주차장에 내려갔다. 같은 아파트에 사는 한 남자가 초등학생으로 보이는 아이를 데리고 있었다. 이웃 남자는 새 외제 승용차가 주차된 것을 보고는 “저 자식은 돈이 어디서 나서 새 차로 바꿨나”라고 내뱉었다. 이야기를 전한 이사장은 “아버지의 말을 듣는 순간 아이의 머릿속에는 ‘새 차 사는 것은 나쁜 짓’이라는 인식이 박혀버리지 않았겠는가”라고 개탄했다. 공감한다. 정부가 2013년까지 95억3000만원을 투입해 국민경제교육을 한다는데, 이런 가정교육 아래서는 95억 아니라 9500억원을 쏟아부어도 말짱 헛일이다.

　『지도 밖으로 행군하라』의 저자 한비야(월드비전 긴급구호팀장)씨의 아버지는 달랐다. 그는 어린 시절의 한비야 등 자녀들에게 지구의를 선물하면서 “이 좁은 한반도에 머물지 말고 넓디넓은 세계로 나가 활약해라”고 일러주었다. 한비야씨 형제들은 나라 이름, 수도 이름 맞히기 놀이를 즐기면서 꿈을 키웠다.

초등학교 저학년 담당교사들은 “아이의 부모를 만나보면 어쩌면 저렇게 같을까 싶을 정도로 말투, 행동, 예절바름 여부가 꼭 닮아 있다”고 이구동성으로 말한다. 가정교육은 누가 대행해줄 수도 없는 ‘사교육 무풍지대’다. 증오를 심느냐 사랑을 심느냐가 무심코 던진 부모의 한마디로 갈릴 수 있다. 공교육·사교육 논란 속에 가정교육의 중요성은 왠지 퇴색돼 가는 느낌이 들어 하는 말이다.

노재현 논설위원·문화전문기자
중앙일보 2009.1.6