At a time when education systems, parents and teachers are being upended by Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) throughout our country, we felt it especially important to feature a science teacher from Minnesota (MN), Fred Berg.
Located just Southwest of Minneapolis is the spirited middle school, Prairie West, which is carrying on with lessons and sustaining a sense of stability with an underlying current of fear and grief among its community.
Fred grew up in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, “home of the Centaurs”, he proudly adds. Fred landed his first teaching position at Fort Irwin Middle School in California where he met his wife. They moved to Mankato, MN while she finished her master’s degree at University of Minnesota. Mankato is a vibrant college town, home of Minnesota State University where Fred volunteered as the Pole Vault coach. “We found Mankato to be a great place to settle down and become part of the community.”
Vaulting into Science
Fred teaches grades 7th – 12th Biology and grades 5th – 9th General Science. “I absolutely loved my science classes, and I wanted others to experience the vast information of all things in science. Fred said, "I'm enthusiastic about coaching pole vaulting, which involves a lot of physics, and local colleges and high schools needed coaches for this track and field event."
Shape of Life
Fred reached out to us requesting a copy set of our DVD’s (remember those?), which had gone missing from a recent move to their new school.
“I found the Shape of Life video series and bought the set. It fit perfectly into my seventh-grade life science curriculum. We examined and dissected many of the animals featured in the videos and watched the genetic sequencing of DNA which fit well into our genetics unit as well,” said Fred. He frequently shares sponges and cnidarians videos with his students.
Personally, Fred loves “all sorts of molluscks (bivalves, squid / octopus, gastropods). My students and I are particularly drawn to Reading a Shells Story about the blind scientist, Geerat Vermeij.
(Needless to say, we sent off one of the few remaining DVD sets as soon as we heard from Fred).
Care for Conservation
Prairie West Middle School prides itself on having its own Conservation Club. “We found the movie ‘Kiss the Ground’ and it served as an important inspiration to our own ability to initiate prairie restoration efforts,” said Fred.
“We removed invasive species and prepared for a burn and a reseeding to establish a healthy prairie for our student to study and experience,” shared Fred.
Prairie West Middle School’s Conservation Club has also tasked themselves with a recycling initiative that raises money to support their prairie restoration project.
Fred believes his greatest challenge is getting students to “unplug and get outside to explore
real living things. This is where establishing prairie restoration and recycling initiatives helps. It engages students in a way that makes them feel empowered,” he said.
Standing Strong for Minnesota
Despite brutally cold temperatures and fear, protestors, teachers and school officials in Minnesota stand at high alert in protecting their students from ICE. Attendance of students of color has dropped to pandemic-era levels. Through all of this, there is a vast network of volunteers providing food, rides, and protection to students of color and their families. We’re standing with you all.
