Awesome Squad and our classroom reef tank

awesomesquad · Oct 20, 2013

Hello Reefing Community,

My name is Brandon Rutherford and I teach in a third grade classroom at Garden Hill Elementary School in Champaign Illinois. One of my goals is to connect my students to the reef community and give the encouragement they need to learn new skills.

As a class, my students and I built a tank from scratch and installed all of the support systems needed to maintain it. They are really into all of the different pieces of equipment and how it works.

The marine biology, chemistry, and environmental ethics learned by building and maintaining the reef system are integrated into most areas of my curriculum. We use expository writing to document what we are learning. We read books about chemistry, marine biology, and ecology. Students have already taken over most of the detailed tasks necessary to cater to the chemical and physiological needs of the reef ecosystem. They can do all of the water tests, clean the skimmer, mix salt water and do water changes, frag coral and many of the other complex things reefers have to learn to move up to the master level.

Every classroom/student in the school, and several community groups, are allowed to access it. My students and the children who come in to help, take the responsibility of keeping the reef system healthy very seriously. Many live in extreme poverty and some are homeless or in the foster care system. They have never been trusted to oversee a project this magnitude and all have risen to the occasion.

Many stay after school or give up their recess time to care for it. The reef system exposes students to an ecosystem many of them will otherwise never see. It provides a hands-on contextual platform for complex science instruction. It also is a source of wonder for the entire school.

I have documented much of work we have done on the aquarium on my classes website. Please check it out for more information: Reef System - Awesome Squad:Â Third Grade Gifted Class at Garden Hills Elementary

I will show this post to my class everyday. Please respond with well wishes or questions.

GrandeGixxer · Oct 20, 2013

Cool! Good to spread awareness to young minds. :)

awesomesquad · Oct 20, 2013

Thanks for all of the support. I know that my kids will be very excited to read your posts.

We would really appreciate if people would spread the word about our site. Please post my website on other appropriate sites to spread the word.

Rob&Gab · Oct 20, 2013

OMG thats awesome why couldnt they do this when i was little im only 21 but dang! those kids got it mad. i prob would not be doing my work, but hopfully casue i had interst in your tank you would of passed me! great stuff ! keep the reef alive and spread the word to everyone.! your doing a good job!

ShippD · Oct 20, 2013

Oh yes I have seen the website before and read it great work to you and the kids..I agree this is the only way some kids will ever see a reef or any type of ocean environment ever so keep up the great work.. You should start a new thread on it also...Look forward to more pics...

johnanddawn · Oct 20, 2013

Awesome job
I'm a teacher in WI and we have a small reef in my classroom as well.
It's great that your students are so involved in the care and management of their tank.
Keep up the good work!

Coraloliseffect · Oct 20, 2013

This is great.
You can see it really interests the kids.

Also great your school /admin allows this. So many admins are so afraid of any thing outside standard core requirements, plus the equipment-cost issues that they stop the project before it starts.

You have put a ton of ot into this.

RiverRat · Oct 20, 2013

Greeting Garden Hill Elementary School,
First off, congratulations on your new reef system. Now you can see first hand the stunning beauty of Earth's marine life.
Take the time to thank Mr. Rutherford and everyone that brought this magnificent reef to life in your classroom, you now have an excellent tool for fun and learning (a tool not many classrooms in America get to experience).
Understanding Chemistry, Biology, and Ecology will enable you to not only appreciate the world around you, but prepare you for a more successful future. Caring for a reef is no easy task, but you are learning a very valuable lesson at a young age, responsibility. A responsibility for the mundane tasks of everyday life to a responsibility to planet Earth.
You are the future of this country (better yet, the future of planet Earth). Now you will be more prepared than ever.
Enjoy your learning experience and have fun,
A fellow reefer from Massachusetts

Dtech07 · Oct 20, 2013

Coraloliseffect said:
This is great.
You can see it really interests the kids.

Also great your school /admin allows this. So many admins are so afraid of any thing outside standard core requirements, plus the equipment-cost issues that they stop the project before it starts.

You have put a ton of ot into this.

We have a program sponsor by forum in Portland Oregon that place reef aquariums in schools to stimulate interest in ocean and the life in it. The forum collects equipment and live stick from members as a volunteer donation, volunteer install and setup, and volunteer maintenance while showing teaching the students how to maintain and appreciate the hobby and what it brings.
Since your doing this on your own I must say "GREAT JOB" for being a doer not a sayer or watcher. Keep up the great job and PM if you'd like to know how we were able to have over a dozen schools involved.
Darryl
Darryl

M.I.A Don't worry they'll find me!

Coraloliseffect · Oct 20, 2013

Awsomesquad sending you a certificate for up to $50 rebate on instant ocean salt or reef crystals. (Extra I got from a conference.)

spspirate · Oct 20, 2013

Your doing such an awesome thing!! Spawning little reefers!! Great job my friend! This kids will have a firm understanding on how fragile and important our ecosystem are.

awesomesquad · Oct 20, 2013

Coraloliseffect said:
Awsomesquad sending you a certificate for up to $50 rebate on instant ocean salt or reef crystals. (Extra I got from a conference.)

Wow thanks dude! Please PM me your address so my kids can write you a thank you note. I'm a firm believer in 25% weekly water changes and with 160 gallon system salt is a major expense. Your help is greatly appreciated.

awesomesquad · Oct 20, 2013

[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks again for all of the support.[/FONT]It's been a hard sell educationally and i've had to do a lot of documentation to provide it pedagogical value but I [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]am very glad that we started this project. It was kind of a leap of faith but it's getting more and more momentum and the kids love it. I teach children who live in poverty and many don't see science or education in general as something valuable. Having a project that requires them to learn science has been a major motivation and even people who aren't interested in reef keeping have acknowledged the power of what we're doing. [/FONT]

Slideways48 · Oct 20, 2013

I have to say, if my schools had a reef or anything like that, I would've paid a lot more attention in school...I originally lived in California and I love and miss the ocean, now that I live in the Midwest, it's hard to find things that remind me of being near the ocean, besides the tank I'm in the process of setting up. Your students are learning things every day that most don't get the chance to really learn. Or even see. And I'm glad there's schools and teachers like you to teach kids about our oceans and our environment! Keep up on the good work :)

Reefing Madness · Oct 21, 2013

VB68 · Oct 21, 2013

This is great. Wish my class would have done this.

3Twinklets · Oct 21, 2013

How wonderful!! I have twin 10 year old granddaughters that I took to MACNA this year. Their teacher said they learned so much there. I have always believed that the aquarium setting is the only way that many children will ever see creatures such as these.
Congratulations to you Mr. Rutherford on taking this step to show the children the wonders of the sea! And A+ to all of the great students that care for your creatures!
Welcome to you and your students and feel free to ask questions any time.

TallShow · Oct 22, 2013

Very nice! They get to learn while they're young.

Hampton · Oct 22, 2013

This is critical to their futures. Showing them that there is so much more to life than the values that Hollywood tries to bestow on them (NO values) will make them better people. Life is not about getting an I-phone or having more than the next person. My philosophy on life is making the world a better place. Every where I go, I try to do what I can to leave the place a little better than it was when I got there. This starts at home with cleaning the trash off the beach every weekend that we can.

By showing these kids what life is really all about and how sensitive it is, they will have a greater awareness of the world around them. They are less likely to be self centered and more likely to be good citizens that contribute to society. In our current world of ego-centrism, learning to care for others (people and creatures alike) will go a long way to improving our world in the future.

In my opinion, the greatest gift a person can give to a child is work ethic. You are doing that for your students. I thank you for that.