By Mike Roberts , McNaughton News Service
Oak Ridge High School science teacher Stan Iverson tells his students to look beyond the almighty grade.
“It's not the grade, but what you understand, and you can only truly understand if you engage,” he said.
Rather than forcing his students to remain tethered to a classroom, Iverson has them planting trees in charred forests, counting bugs in Sierra streams and measuring shade canopy in pine forests.
For eight years, his highly acclaimed Watershed Environmental Summit has put students in the field doing actionable research for understaffed environmental agencies responsible for the health of Northern California rivers and forests.
To recognize him for his efforts, the California League of High Schools has named Iverson one of 10 regional “Educators of the Year.” One of the 10 will be named state Educator of the Year in January.
Iverson, 51, dubs his teaching approach “service learning.” His principal, Steven Weir, puts it more simply: Iverson preaches learning by doing.
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