Today I’m going back to the “light bulb” moment when I was inspired to write stories to teach environmental science.  I was teaching a tropical ecology course at Watchung Regional High School in New Jersey.  I loved the kids in my course but their social life was more important than their academic life.  What could I do the day before a holiday break that would be meaningful?  I knew they were going to be excited and it would be hard to get their attention.  And believe it or not, I wanted to enjoy the day without heavy instruction.  The “light bulb” went on over my head.  “The Lorax!” I said out loud sitting in my office. “ I’ll show Dr. Seuss’s Lorax.  It has an environmental theme of deforestation.”  I didn’t think high school kids would pay attention to a children’s story but I love Dr. Seuss from reading to my children.  “Oh my goodness,” I said to myself when I turned the video off.  These socially active kids didn’t say a word during the video.  Their eyes were wide and jaws dropped.  Even at their age they loved Dr. Seuss.  It was the rhyming, the story, and bright pictures that held their attention.  After that experience I started to change my lectures into small stories with a lot of projected pictures.

I’ll talk more about stories later.  I’m going to sign off from now on like I introduce myself when I do a reading.         Mr. Tom, 7.8.10

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