Amazing Member Jim Rogers

Meet MEA-MFT member Jim Rogers, a 20-year teacher at Polson High School.

What I do and why it matters:
I teach astronomy, earth science, and world geography. I'm one of those people who is highly interested in everything myself. I'm a lifelong learner. I share that enthusiasm with my students, and I hope they'll do the same. It's just a blast, to come to school every day and talk about the things I'm interested in.

My best day on the job:
The best days are those where you're leading an activity or discussion, and you obviously have piqued students' interest. The active discussion lets you know you've hit it! Also, the best days are when I'm out in the field with my students. For three years I took students to Costa Rica to study nesting leatherback sea turtles, the largest in the world, about the size of your desk.

Work tip:
Keep learning and have fun!

What I do for fun:
Outdoor activities-hiking, camping, cross country skiing, birding, wildlife watching, travel.

Latest adventure:
Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic (TEA) Program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. As one of 12 teachers, I was at sea for 48 days this summer in the Arctic on an icebreaker ship as part of a scientific team doing oceanographic research. As part of the project, I did a live interview from the Arctic with a 7th and 8th grade science and math camp at Pablo at Salish and Kootenai College.

Now I will take what I've learned and implement it in my classroom. I'm also mentoring a small group of teachers to share the information and develop lesson plans appropriate for each grade level.

Why I belong to MEA-MFT:
I love all the support services MEA-MFT provides. Many science teachers have concerns about liability, and it's great to have the insurance and legal representation. Also, I really appreciate our long-time field consultant, Tom Gigstad. I was chief negotiator for the local for a decade-I appreciate that aspect of the union.

(To see photos from Jim's Arctic trip, visit his web site at http://tea.rice.edu/tea_jrogersfrontpage.html. For information about the TEA program, visit http://tea.rice.edu/.)

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