BIO

Much of my education took place in New Hampshire where I was involved in many outdoor programs including Boy Scouts and Outward Bound. Camping, canoeing, fishing and rock climbing made up a good part of my recreational choices. Because my parents had spent several years in Alaska before I was born, I felt compelled to travel to the fabled land where the rivers were full of fish and the summer-sun never set. I survived the trip in 1982 and found the sub-arctic summers beautiful and the winters remarkable. That same year I helped establish the community of Whitestone in central Alaska. I was married in 1983 and my wonderful family of five continues to live in the interior of Alaska.

I attended college for three years in New Hampshire and finished my training at Covenant Life College in Alaska. The greater part of my education took place in the classroom where I struggled to inspire my students to love learning. I enjoy teaching science, math, speech and of course outdoor skills to all ages. My interest in the outdoors coupled with my natural curiosity created a perfect scenario for an environmentally inspired classroom. Watching thousands of salmon struggling to swim up Alaskan streams can be very inspiring. These fish would leap over rocks and flop across sandbars to reach their original spawning grounds. Because the winter spans eight of the twelve months in the north, much of nature seems suspended and frozen. To create a living classroom during the winter my students raise Silver Salmon in homemade incubation tanks. Recognizing the opportunity of my surroundings had a profound effect on my teaching.

To use the environment successfully as a tool for education I think you have to spark some level of personal interest on the part of your students. Neglecting to ignite this flame will cause an intellectual indifference and though you are surrounded by students, you will be standing alone with all your wonderful ideas. I enjoy using the environment as a context for learning. This provides substantial real life connections to otherwise "inert" book knowledge. The idea of sustainability as an overall theme helps students export what they learn. It is important to find avenues through which students can share and interact with community members. To accommodate this ideal we have constructed websites, set up public speaking situations, hosted a multi-school environmental meeting, produced a radio show and participated in science fairs. Each one of these situations helped the children to develop communication skills; specifically writing, speaking and fielding questions. I find the combination of teaching speech and science lends itself to creating public speaking situations that benefit my students. I know not everyone will become an environmental advocate going toe to toe with big issues, but everyone can have an educated perspective on the environment helping them make good personal decisions.

My favorite educational philosopher is the British born Alfred North Whitehead. In his essay, "The Aims of Education", he warns against teaching inert ideas and stresses that learning follows a rhythmic pattern beginning with romance, moving into precision and ending with generalization". I am constantly looking for ways to keep the romance of learning alive. It is a personal goal to create the sense of a first time discovery for each subsequent set of students. I have found when kids feel they are involved in a personally connected adventure, genuine learning is the outcome. Whitehead rightly denounced the "gloomy educational dullard" who destroys wonder.

I also teach speech in our local high school. We have won our state's drama, debate and forensics (DDF) tournament for the last seven years. (1996 through 2003) A notable moment occurred in the 2001 National DDF semifinals when two of my students placed 13th in the nation. I also teach classic pantomime to children of all ages and have had the opportunity to talk with world famous mime, Marcel Marceau.

I enjoy classical music and often listen to Mozart in my classroom and at home. Some of My favorite composers are:
· Anton Dvorak: Recommend Symphony No. 9, From the New World, written in 1893
· George Frideric Handel: The Messiah
· Felix Mendelssohn: Elijah

PARTNER STATEMENT

Through the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/NSTA Outstanding Environmental Educator Award Chair, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) stated, "John Donaldson recognizes that teaching about the environment is complex. He repeatedly plans, acts, observes and reflects about his teaching and student's learning. He consistently makes decisions that encompass his ability to apply knowledge about students, science content, curriculum, instruction, and assessment in his work. His "A Sense of Place" project reflects his stated commitment that, "Gathering scientific data and having accurate information are the first steps in having your perceptions heard. Not everyone will become an environmental advocate going toe to toe with big issues, but everyone can have an educated perspective on the environment helping them to make good personal decisions. " John Donaldson uses the environment as a context for learning to provide real life connections to abstractions that appear in books. Sustainability of his teaching is found in exporting its benefits beyond the individual students. He has, in many instances moved beyond class borders to build bridges to colleagues and members of the community. As an Outstanding Environmental Educator, John Donaldson not only cares about the environment, but works to sustain and protect it."

Jack Padalino
President, Paul F. Brandwein Institute
Chair, SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/NSTA Outstanding Environmental Educator Award