Students go fishing to get fit
by Alex Lindstrom
May 22, 2008
An unknown author once said, "If you give a man a fish, you have fed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you have fed him for a lifetime." Hiawatha High School students in Amy Bearce's physical education classes recently put this proverbial quote into action as they worked in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Wildlife on a recent fishing outing.
Bearce organized the fishing trip, held at the Brown County State Lake on May 13 and 14, to allow students the opportunity to learn a lifetime sport while working with the Wildlife Department as a career exploration opportunity.
On the first day, students got to experience electro fishing in which the water is shocked and the fish rise up to the surface and are caught with a net. The Wildlife Department does this once a year to assess the size of fish, populations of fish and to check on diseases. On the second day, students used poles for regular fishing.
"Fishing was fun because it was relaxing," said junior Chelsey Williams. "After we cast out lines we could sit and talk or even just think."
Bearce says that students learned more from this experience than the pleasure of fishing as a life-long sport.
"We got to see all different types of fish," she said. "We
actually dissected a fish so we could see the different parts of
the body system, meats of the fish and what parts could be eaten.
Also, we learned how the weather impacts fishing and the rules and
regulations."
Students also got to assist in dissecting the fish.
"When the guy cut open the fish to show us the heart, I was kind
of grossed out," said sophomore Breana Adcock. "We also got to see
some of the eggs, and the weirdest thing was that the fish was
still breathing like it was gasping for air."
Many students enjoyed this off-campus learning adventure.
"It was fun catching a fish," said freshman Cassie Binns. "I would like to do this again but, I'm not for sure I want to put the worm on the hook or to hold a fish again because that was gross."
Bearce would like for this to become an annual outing for students.
"I would like to do this again in the future; next year I would like to add a lesson about first aid and safety concerns in the outdoors/camping as well as orienteering."
