A Whole New World of Science with Kerri Shannon!
November 2011
For this month’s spotlight, we’re introducing a community member that we admire for their commitment science education: Kerri Shannon. Summers spent observing the natural world around her gave Kerri an appreciation for “learning more about the way things work,” that has carried over into her career. As a naturalist at the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, Kerri spends every day working with kids and helping them discover the marine and terrestrial species hidden in the salt marshes of the San Francisco Bay.
Usually we think it’s a bad thing for kids to run out of books to read during the summer months, but for Kerri Shannon, it was a stroke of luck. As a kid, Shannon spent her summers living on her grandparent’s boat off the coast of Catalina Island in Southern California. After she read through all of her books, she spent her time fishing, bird-watching, and checking out the natural world around the islands.
Before working with the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, Kerri spent over ten years as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher in the San Leandro and Castro Valley public schools. As a teacher, she felt the pressure to teach towards standardized tests focused on math and language arts, even though she believes in the importance of a science curriculum in elementary classrooms.
In addition to the time spent on her grandparent’s boat, Kerri credits her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Kilmer for her enthusiasm towards science. Ms. Kilmer brought exciting science lessons into her classroom multiple times a week and got students interested in the natural world.
With the background of her own education and her time spent as a teacher, Kerri now brings science into the lives of more students on a daily basis by providing amazing, hands-on opportunities at the Shoreline Interpretive Center.
And after teaching all day, Kerri never neglects to bring science to her own children. Her family keeps a nature journal in which everyone records observations, notes, and drawings about interesting tidbits they see and hear.
Although Kerri is teaching science, her own joy and appreciation of natural processes allow her to give much more than factoids and formulas to her students. Her excitement and inspired, hands-on lessons teach kids the joys of discovering new things in the world around them.
One of Kerri’s favorite activities as the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center is a mud lab where kids use microscopes to discover that “salt marsh’s mud – which at first seems like a stinky, sticky mess of ‘nothing’ – is a vital part of the food web.” While Kerri is showing kids a whole new set of organisms in the mud, she is also teaching them to seek the unexpected through science, ask lots of questions, and to be curious about the natural world. And that lesson will last long after their day at the shoreline is over!
Kerri is now Volunteer Coordinator at Community Technology Network in San Francisco. Find out more about this organization here.