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Northeast Times – July 29, 2004
Science with SpongeBob
By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer
The marine world may be an infinitely complex and fragile environment, but Philadelphia public school teacher Sharon Ehrlich still breaks it down effectively, even for the youngest of her students.
To her, it's all about finding common ground with the kids - or in this case, common water. And nothing seems to bring pupils of all grades together like one particular yellow, squishy, animated undersea character.
Because of his broad appeal even among many teens and adults, Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants has become Ehrlich's not-so-secret teaching device as an instructor in the popular Science in the Summer program, sponsored annually in libraries throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania by the locally based pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.
With oceanography as this year's chosen topic for Philadelphia County, the SpongeBob tie-in was virtually a no-brainer. And it's a prime example of how the folks running Science in the Summer continue to make learning fun for youths at a time of year when a classroom is the last place any of them likely hoped they'd be.
By the time the final rounds of this summer's installment reach their conclusion this week, the program will have topped 70,000 in total student participation since its inaugural year in 1987.
Recently, a group of second- and third-graders got the full, fun experience in four, 45-minute sessions at Bushrod Library in Castor Gardens, courtesy of Ehrlich, who teaches science full-time during the school year at Edison-Fareira High in Feltonville.
They learned that though the SpongeBob series uses a lot of real scientific terminology to describe its fictitious deep-sea creatures, real life is rarely similar to what they see on TV.
"Today I'm talking about sponges and corals, sea stars and mollusks, small snails and clams," Ehrlich explained minutes before the 15 or so students streamed into the room. "And most of those are characters on the show. It's set in the ocean."
With magnifying glasses and micro-viewers on the desks in front of them and oversized safety goggles resting on each of their faces, the children's eyes lighted up as Ehrlich passed around various samples of sea life.
The sponge looked nothing like SpongeBob. It was roundish and mustard-colored, not square-shaped and bright yellow. And though the starfish - which isn't really a fish at all but rather an echinoderm - did look like SpongeBob's buddy Patrick in shape, the real thing had no eyes or mouth like its cartoon counterpart.
Another TV falsehood is the man-eating giant clam. No matter how big clams get, Ehrlich said while holding up a normal-sized clamshell, they still eat the same thing - plankton.
In fact, many of the creatures studied by the children that day eat the same tiny marine organisms. That's why the instructor chose "plankton" as the password of the day. Each student had to whisper into Ehrlich's ear as they passed through the door at the start of class.
Similarly, the Science in the Summer program in many respects is like a password for the youths into a sometimes-overlooked area of learning.
Besides oceanography, Philadelphia-area students this year studied bioscience, paleontology, physical science/electricity and simple machines. Each county in the region was assigned one of the topics.
In the city alone, more than 50 libraries served as host sites, accommodating about 15 students each in a class for second- and third-graders and a class for fourth- to sixth-graders.
Ehrlich, a 19-year veteran of the public school system, has taught Science in the Summer for the last 10 years. The grade-school students are a welcome departure for her from the older ones she has in the fall, winter and spring.
"The kids are terrific. All of the kids are there to learn," she said. "They're excited about life. If we could bottle their energy and give it to adults, it would be a real positive world."
The kids aren't the only ones excited about the program. Some parents envision it as a first step for their children into a lifetime of learning, or maybe even a high-paying career like a doctor or engineer.
On top of that, the program is totally free.
"I like to take them to all of the things the library has," said Edith White, whose sons Jawon and Eric both took part in the class for younger learners. Her daughter Chanelle, meanwhile, was in with the older group. She wants to be a surgeon someday.
"It's a good opportunity, and I think all the kids in the neighborhood should go to the library more."
The program, which will return to branch libraries throughout the region next spring, cannot replace in-school learning, Ehrlich said. But it's a great complement.
"It's an enrichment program," she said. "It enriches what they learn in school. Bits of it are part of the (school) curriculum. A lot of times, teachers in the classroom, they don't have a lot of time and space to support this equipment." **
For more information about the Science in the Summer program, call 215-686-5372 or visit www.scienceinthesummer.com
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com
Reprinted with permission from Northeast Times.
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