Editor’s Note: The following story is part of a series featuring Oakland University courses offered in the 2009 Summer Semester. It is designed to highlight diverse opportunities for students to continue their education year round. For more information, visit
www.oakland.edu/summer.
By Amanda Benjamin, student writer
“EST 643: Integrating Beekeeping Across the Curriculum,” taught by Dyanne Tracy is being offered to graduate students for three or four credits July 19-23 at the Central Michigan University Biological Station on Beaver Island.
The purpose of the class is to integrate issues related to bees into any K-20 classroom curriculum while aligning with local, state and national standards. Topics include honey bee biology and habitats, beehive management and safety, pest management, the importance of honey bees to the human food system, natural environment and culture.
“I learned how much there is to keeping bees,” said Doug Holem, a high school science teacher from Saginaw. “There’s much more to it than putting a hive in your backyard.”
According to Holem, Tracy uses bees to get kids excited about nature and science. He takes classes on field trips to see the two hives at Hartley Outdoor Education Center. “We have kids visit this farm and now bees are a topic,” Holem said.
The students learned about safety, how to use specialized equipment and bee biology. They worked with the bees, dissected hives and looked for eggs, larva and honey. They also studied strategies to teach about bees and integrate beekeeping into many different subjects such as science, social studies and math, said Jane Levy, an elementary teacher in Ann Arbor.
“I was teaching kids about bees, but never had live experience,” Levy said. She said Tracy made sure the course was run as a perfect example of how to do hands-on science in a classroom.
“I believe, as a teacher, that you learn by doing,” said Steven Phillips. As a K-12 principal at Waldron, Phillips went into science classes and taught about honey bees last year. He was a recreational beekeeper for a number of years prior to the class and was self-studied. Phillips and his wife, Kattia Cabrera, decided to take the class together to get trained and update their education about beekeeping.
“I thought it’d be a cool thing to study and share with kids,” said Kris Rohrbeck, a high school science teacher from Almont. She continued to say she had no idea there were so many tie-ins with teaching and that no one felt left out or like it didn’t apply. “We all learned a great deal personally.”
“It was amazing to see how bees really work together to keep their hive alive,” said Wendy Weigand, Raywigans Nursery and Garden Center owner in Macomb. “If the world worked as well as bees do, we wouldn’t be in this economic crisis right now.”
Levy said she was most interested in the intense bee biology. “There are individual bees, but really the hive acts and responds like it was an animal or organism,” she said.
Jason Keeler teaches zoology in Marion and tied what he learned into that class. He said that the bees are a catch, a motivation to get kids interested about the other stuff.
“Bees are an integral part of our food system, our culture,” said Linda Schweitzer, OU associate professor of chemistry. She took the class to become a beekeeper and tend the four hives on campus located in the reserves behind the golf course. She has taken students to the hives where she talked about sustainability issues and how the bees cooperate. “Our nutrition is a problem. From a health standpoint, schools are starting to grow gardens for food,” Schweitzer said.
All the teachers in the class received a grant to start their own apiary, the place where bees live. If not, they would’ve had to pay thousands of dollars, Jenkins said. He teamed up with another student to put bee hives together at Madison Heights Nature Center. “It made the opportunity possible for most of us.”
“There is a lot of negative stigma associated with bees and beekeeping. This will start educating young people in the right state of mind,” Jenkins said. “It’s breaking down these barriers in school districts.”
“I’m one of the very lucky teachers to have this on my school site,” Rohrbeck said of the apiary that was built with the grant money. She said the students love the bees, and the school board and administration have been extremely supportive.
Along with learning about beekeeping, Beaver Island is another attraction for the class, according to Levy. “You’re on the most beautiful beach on the island.” Rohrbeck was so pleased with the island, she has already been back to do an independent study and now hopes to do a yearly pilgrimage there.
The class really benefits from its instructor, according to Phillips. Tracy is not a traditional teacher because she likes the students to get involved and ask questions. She also acts as a support system, Weigand said.
“Dr. Tracy is such an amazing educator. She really made the class come to life,” Rohrbeck said. “She’s on fire in this subject and you can’t help but catch the fever, so to speak.”
The class meets 8:30-12 p.m. and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, as well as 5-8 p.m. on July 19 and occasional web meetings between July 28 and August 18. For more information, visit
www.oakland.edu/MITSHAPE/index.htm.
Current students may register for this class online at
https://blitz.sys.oakland.edu. Guest students interested in taking this course should follow the undergraduate or graduate link on
this page.
