DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 398 033 RC 020 689

AUTHOR Rasberry, Gary WilliamTITLE Science and Magic: A Lesson in Photosynthesis.PUB DATE 95

NOTE 27p.; In: Experience and the Curriculum; see RC 020

678.

PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)(120) Creative Works (Literature,Drama,Fine Arts)(030)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Cognitive Style; *Educational Experience;

*Educational Philosophy; Essays; ExperientialLearning; Foreign Countries; *NontraditionalEducation; Outdoor Education; *Personal Narratives;Photosynthesis; Reminiscence; *Science Education;Teaching Experience; *Teaching Methods

IDENTIFIEKS *Educational Diversity; Educational Imagery; Merlinthe Magician

ABSTRACTThis essay--an example of narrative inquiry--draws on

a fictional account of Merlyn the Magician acting as tutor to youngKing Arthur to illuminate the author's own experices as a studentand teacher. Those experiences are starkly contrasted in method andintent. On the one hand, stern Mr. Thompson with his white lab coat,map of the leaf, and pointer taught objectivity along withphotosynthesis in seventh-grade science lab. In contrast, SunshipEarth, a wildly creative outdoor education program, used fantasy androle playing to immerse fifth-graders in the concepts ofphotosynthesis as part of an ecologically based program structured ona holistic, deep connection with the earth and nature. Yet in the

end, the reconstruction of the educational values in these twodramatically different modes of instruction reveals that multipleviews are part of the world, to be accepted, even embraced. There aremany ways to learn; the differences should not be unwelcome. Manyunanswered questions persist about the magical process ofphotosynthesis, and only the magic of imagination prevails. (TD)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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2

U.S

DE

PA

RT

ME

NT

OF

ED

UC

AT

ION

Dei

ce o

r E

duca

tiona

l Res

earc

h an

dIm

prov

emen

t

ED

UC

AT

ION

AL

RE

SO

UR

CE

SIN

FO

RM

AT

ION

CE

NT

ER

(E

RIC

)

LIT

nis

docu

men

t haS

bee

n re

prod

uced

as

rece

ived

Irom

the

pers

on o

ror

gani

zatio

nor

igin

atin

g it

CI M

iner

cha

nges

hav

e be

enm

ade

to im

prov

e

repr

Odu

ctio

n Q

ualit

y

Poi

nts

ol v

iew

or

opin

ions

sta

ted

in I

his

docu

.

mer

it do

not

nec

essa

rily

repr

esen

t offi

cial

OE

RI p

ositi

on o

r po

hcy

PE

RM

ISS

ION

TO

RE

PR

OD

UC

E A

ND

DIS

SE

MIN

AT

E T

HIS

MA

TE

RIA

LH

AS

BE

EN

G

TO

TH

E E

DU

CA

TIO

NA

L R

ES

OU

RC

ES

INF

OR

MA

TIO

N C

EN

TE

R (

ER

IC)

BE

ST

CO

PY

AV

AIL

AB

LE

Cha

pter

12

SC

IEN

CE

AN

D M

AG

IC:

A L

ES

SO

N IN

PH

OT

OS

YN

TH

ES

IS

gary

will

iam

ras

berr

y

Gar

y w

illia

m r

asbe

rry

is a

doc

tora

l stu

dent

at t

heC

entr

e fo

r th

e St

udy

of C

urri

culu

m a

nd I

nstr

uctio

n,U

nive

rsity

of

Bri

tish

of C

olum

bia.

As

a po

et a

nd p

eda-

gogu

e, h

e is

par

ticul

arly

inte

rest

ed in

the

way

s th

at w

eus

e w

ords

to w

rite

our

Sel

ves

into

bei

ng. I

n a

past

life

,he

wor

ked

as a

n ea

rth

educ

ator

hel

ping

peo

ple

to li

vem

ore

light

ly o

n th

e ea

rth.

(G

ary

can

still

des

crib

e an

dde

fine

sto

mat

a an

d gu

ard

cells

if s

omeo

ne p

oint

s to

them

on

a G

iant

Lea

f.)

In th

is c

hapt

er, g

ary

give

s a

beau

tiful

exa

mpl

e of

narr

ativ

e en

quir

y at

wor

k. H

e dr

aws

on a

fic

tiona

lac

coun

t of

Mer

lyn

the

Mag

icia

n ac

ting

as tu

tor

to th

eyo

ung

Kin

g A

rthu

r to

illu

min

ate

his

own

expe

rien

ces

as a

stu

dent

and

teac

her.

Tho

se e

xper

ienc

es a

re s

tark

lyco

ntra

sted

in m

etho

d an

d in

tent

, yet

in th

e en

d, e

ven

asga

ry r

econ

stru

cts

the

educ

atio

nal v

alue

s in

two

dra-

mat

ical

ly d

iffe

rent

mod

es o

f in

stru

ctio

n, h

e fi

nds

that

man

y un

answ

ered

que

stio

ns p

ersi

st a

nd o

nly

the

mag

ic o

f im

agin

atio

n pr

evai

ls.

To

lear

n. T

hat i

s th

e on

ly th

ing

that

nev

er f

ails

.

Mer

lyn

the

Mag

icia

n

193

3

194

Cha

pter

12

Fro

m G

rad

Sch

ool t

o G

rade

Sch

ool:

Fal

ling

(Bac

kwar

ds)

into

Adv

entu

re

Lat

ely,

my

life

has

been

red

uced

to th

e bl

ue p

hosp

hor

glow

of th

ew

ord

proc

esso

r on

the

fina

l dri

ve to

fin

ishi

ng a

gra

duat

ede

gree

.C

ompl

ete

with

mou

ntai

ns o

f ci

tatio

ns, a

n en

dles

s se

ries

of r

evi-

sion

s, to

o m

uch

coff

ee, a

nd n

ot e

noug

h sl

eep,

the

acad

emic

life

has

begu

n to

wei

gh h

eavi

ly. I

'm in

nee

d of

a g

ood

dist

ract

ion,

a r

easo

n-ab

le r

easo

n fo

r fu

rthe

r pr

ocra

stin

atio

n. M

y so

ck d

raw

ers

are

alre

ady

orga

nize

d, m

y bo

oks

and

feco

rds

are

arra

nged

in a

lpha

betic

alor

der,

and

the

cat's

nai

ls a

re c

lippe

d. I

t's p

ouri

ng r

ain,

so

any

kind

of o

ut-

door

exe

rcis

e is

out

of

the

ques

tion.

With

no

part

icul

ar p

lace

to g

o,I

unpl

ug m

ysel

f fr

om th

e m

ainf

ram

e an

d w

ande

r do

wn

toth

e ba

se-

men

t.B

efor

e lo

ng, I

'm o

peni

ng o

ld b

oxes

fill

ed w

ith H

otW

heel

san

dho

ckey

sw

eate

rs, a

long

with

oth

er lo

ng f

orgo

tten

part

s of

my

past

.I

fall

into

a b

ox o

f sc

hool

mem

orab

ilia

and

find

Mr.

Tho

mps

onbu

r-

ied

in a

pile

of

repo

rt c

ards

and

red

rib

bons

, pho

togr

aphs

,boy

sco

utba

dges

, and

aba

ndon

ed a

rt p

roje

cts.

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

nam

eis

prin

ted

clea

rly

on th

e fr

ont p

age

of a

wel

l-w

orn

docu

men

t.T

he la

bre

port

is o

rgan

ized

and

tidy

, the

han

dwri

ting

fore

ign

and

fam

iliar

; Iop

en th

e as

sign

men

t to

a co

mpl

ex a

ndam

ateu

rish

dra

win

g of

a le

af,

care

fully

col

oure

d an

d la

belle

d (I

mus

t hav

e us

ed e

very

pen

cil

cray

on I

ow

ned

that

yea

r in

Gra

deSe

ven)

. As

if b

y m

agic

, I f

ind

mys

elf

drif

ting

back

to a

noth

er, a

lmos

t for

gotte

n pa

rt o

f m

y yo

ung

acad

emic

life

. (C

lean

ing

the

base

men

t is

fun.

)

A L

esso

n in

Pho

tosy

nthe

sis:

The

Mr.

Tho

mps

on S

tory

Is it

my

imag

inat

ion

or is

Mr.

Tho

mps

on s

tari

ng s

trai

ght a

tm

e?

He

does

n't s

ay a

nyth

ing

so I

gue

ss it

was

just

a f

alse

alar

m. S

till,

Ife

el m

y fa

ce f

lush

, and

the

lab

stoo

l I'm

sitt

ing

onsu

dden

ly f

eels

hard

and

unc

omfo

rtab

le. T

his

room

fee

ls d

iffe

rent

fro

mal

l the

othe

rs. F

rom

whe

re I

'm s

ittin

gin

the

back

row

clo

sest

to th

edo

or

I ca

n se

e ro

ws

of s

moo

th, b

lack

cou

nter

tops

that

run

in s

harp

lines

acr

oss

the

clas

sroo

m. M

ost o

f us

hav

e ou

r ow

nsi

nks,

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic19

5

com

plet

e w

ith h

ot a

nd c

old

runn

ing

wat

er. S

tran

ge v

alve

s an

dno

zzle

s st

ick

out a

t odd

ang

les.

Chr

omed

and

shi

ny, t

hey

rem

ind

me

of s

cien

ce f

ictio

n st

orie

s I'v

e re

ad. (

We'

ve b

een

war

ned

not t

oto

uch

the

oran

ge v

alve

s.)

The

roo

m is

ver

y w

ide

from

sid

e to

sid

e, w

hich

som

ehow

mak

esou

r te

ache

r se

em la

rger

than

life

. The

cla

ss g

oes

sile

nt a

nd a

ll ey

esar

e on

Mr.

Tho

mps

on. G

rade

Sev

en s

cien

ce is

ser

ious

bus

ines

s an

dM

r. T

hom

pson

, with

his

trad

emar

k cr

ew c

ut a

nd w

hite

lab

coat

,be

lieve

s in

a n

o-no

nsen

se a

ppro

ach

to r

evea

ling

the

syst

emat

ictr

uths

of

scie

nce.

"All

righ

t, cl

ass,

ope

n yo

ur n

oteb

ooks

and

cop

y th

is n

ote

onph

otos

ynth

esis

fro

m th

e bo

ard.

Mak

e su

re y

ou le

ave

room

on

the

oppo

site

pag

e fo

r a

sche

mat

ic d

iagr

am o

f th

e le

af w

hich

you

will

be

resp

onsi

ble

for

draw

ing

and

fully

labe

lling

."T

he c

halk

boar

d sw

ims

with

term

s, s

ome

of th

em u

nder

lined

inre

d sq

uigg

ly li

nes

to e

mph

asiz

e th

eir

impo

rtan

ce. I

fee

l ove

r-w

helm

ed a

nd th

rille

d at

the

sam

e tim

e. E

very

thin

g se

ems

so im

por-

tant

and

sci

entif

ic. M

r. T

hom

pson

is b

ent o

n m

akin

g su

re w

e w

illre

mem

ber

mito

chon

dria

, gua

rd c

ells

, sto

mat

a, a

nd c

hlor

ophy

ll fo

rth

e re

st o

f ou

r liv

es. T

he n

ote

on th

e bo

ard

we

are

all b

usy

copy

ing

dow

n di

sapp

ears

mom

enta

rily

as

Mr.

Tho

mps

on, u

sing

his

woo

den

poin

ter

with

the

hook

on

the

end,

pul

ls d

own

a la

rge,

col

ourf

ul d

ia-

gram

of

the

leaf

; it's

on

one

of th

ose

stra

nge

roll-

ups

that

han

g on

met

al c

lips

abov

e th

e ch

alkb

oard

. I'v

e se

en m

aps

befo

re, b

ut s

eein

gth

is h

uge

leaf

with

bill

ions

of

colo

urfu

l par

ts r

eally

cat

ches

me

off

guar

d. I

won

der

if a

nyon

e el

se is

as

surp

rise

d as

me?

Mr.

Tho

mp-

son

has

a lo

ok o

f vi

ctor

y on

his

fac

e; it

's n

ot a

sm

ile r

eally

, mor

elik

e a

twis

ted

grin

."I

exp

ect e

ach

and

ever

y on

e of

you

to k

now

the

nam

es o

f al

l the

wor

king

par

ts o

f th

e le

af a

s th

ey r

elat

e to

the

proc

ess

of p

hoto

syn-

thes

is. A

s I

men

tione

d, y

ou w

ill b

e co

mpl

etin

g yo

ur o

wn

sche

mat

icof

the

leaf

and

it s

houl

d ap

pear

exa

ctly

as

it do

es h

ere,

acc

urat

ely

labe

lled

and

colo

ured

."A

slig

ht r

ippl

e br

eaks

out

and

turn

s in

to a

wav

e as

it m

oves

acro

ss th

e se

a of

hea

ds in

fro

nt o

f m

e. T

he "

map

of

the

leaf

' fill

s m

ew

ith a

n un

easy

ple

asur

e; th

e de

tail

is s

o co

mpl

ex. C

ount

less

arr

ows

lead

to th

e m

any

part

s of

the

leaf

. Alm

ost e

very

ava

ilabl

e sp

ace

ista

ken

up w

ith lo

ng, m

yste

riou

s-so

undi

ng te

rms.

I'm

dra

wn

to th

e5

196

Map

ter

12

mys

tery

but

afr

aid

I'll n

ever

be

able

to m

ake

my

leaf

look

like

som

ethi

ng M

r. T

hom

pson

wou

ld a

ppro

ve o

f."Y

ou w

ill n

eed

to k

now

this

info

rmat

ion

in o

rder

to p

erfo

rm th

ecl

ass

expe

rim

ent n

ext w

eek.

If

you

have

rea

d ah

ead,

you

will

alre

ady

know

that

we

will

be

cove

ring

leav

es w

ith f

oil,

to s

ee w

hat

occu

rs in

the

abse

nce

of s

unlig

ht."

The

sna

ppin

g so

und

of th

e am

azin

g le

af b

eing

rol

led

back

up

into

its r

estin

g pl

ace

sign

als

the

end

of s

cien

ce c

lass

. The

re is

a s

udde

nfr

enzy

of

activ

ity a

s th

irty

Gra

de S

even

stu

dent

s sc

ram

ble

for

the

door

. Phy

s. E

d. is

Per

iod

Six

and

phot

osyn

thes

is is

quic

kly

left

behi

nd.

The

ste

ady

rain

out

side

rem

ains

the

only

con

stan

t as

I co

ntin

ue to

rifl

e th

roug

h th

e re

st o

f th

e co

nten

ts o

f th

e bo

x. E

very

thin

g el

se is

up f

or g

rabs

. My

life

is a

sw

irl o

f m

emor

ies,

fact

s an

d fi

ctio

ns. F

or-

gotte

n an

d in

vent

ed. T

here

's n

o tu

rnin

g ba

ck.

Pand

ora'

s bo

x ha

sal

read

y be

en o

pene

d an

d I'm

in n

o po

sitio

n to

clo

se th

e lid

and

slip

back

ups

tair

s to

the

safe

ty o

f gr

ad s

choo

l. G

rade

Sch

ool i

s on

ly a

skip

aw

ay a

nd I

'm le

ft to

wan

der

the

halls

wai

ting

for

the

rece

ssbe

ll to

rin

g.A

s it

turn

s ou

t, th

e pa

rtic

ular

mem

orie

s un

cove

red

on th

is m

ost

rece

nt b

asem

ent e

xcav

atio

nar

est

ubbo

rnan

dno

ten

tirel

yus

er-f

rien

dly.

The

nea

tly la

belle

d le

af d

raw

s m

e in

to a

rem

embe

red

wor

ld, p

arts

of

whi

ch I

am

qui

te h

appy

to h

ave

forg

otte

n. S

ure,

Im

ade

it th

roug

h G

rade

Sev

en s

cien

ce. I

'm h

oldi

ng c

oncr

ete

proo

f:M

r. T

hom

pson

app

rove

d of

my

lab

repo

rt (

and

my

leaf

). B

ut th

ere'

sso

met

hing

mor

e to

my

dis-

ease

than

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

obs

essi

onw

ith le

af te

rmin

olog

y. (

Cle

anin

g th

e ba

sem

ent i

s tr

icky

.)

in th

e N

ame

of S

cien

ce: L

earn

ing

to b

e O

bjec

tive

In m

y ba

sem

ent e

xplo

ratio

ns, I

've

stum

bled

on

to s

omet

hing

,tr

ippe

d ov

er a

big

wor

d. O

bjec

tivity

. Yes

, I th

ink

I le

arne

d ho

w to

be o

bjec

tive

in M

r. T

hom

pson

's s

cien

ce c

lass

. Mr.

Tho

mps

on w

as a

stri

ct a

nd s

erio

us m

anth

e fi

rst t

each

er I

eve

r ha

d w

ho in

sist

ed o

nw

eari

ng a

whi

te la

b co

at to

cla

ss. H

e be

lieve

d in

dis

cipl

ine

and

hard

wor

k. I

'm th

ankf

ul f

or th

e m

any

wor

k ha

bits

Mr.

Tho

mps

on h

elpe

dm

e es

tabl

ish.

res

sons

lear

ned

in h

is c

lass

stil

l ser

ve m

e w

ell.

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic19

7

Now

, how

ever

, I r

efle

ct b

ack

on s

ome

of th

ose

scho

olin

g ex

peri

-en

ces

with

a c

erta

in a

mou

nt o

f re

sent

men

t as

I re

call

bein

g to

ld th

atan

y us

e of

per

sona

l pro

noun

s w

as u

nacc

epta

ble.

It s

eem

ed a

n in

no-

cent

gam

e ba

ck th

en: I

was

trai

ned

to w

rite

in a

sty

le th

at a

void

edth

e us

..: o

f "I

" or

"m

e" o

r "m

y" a

s I

prep

ared

rep

orts

and

obs

erva

-tio

ns f

or s

cien

ce c

lass

. I c

an't

reca

ll ho

w s

tran

ge th

is p

roce

dure

mus

t hav

e fe

lt in

itial

lytr

ying

to m

ake

my

repo

rts

appe

ar a

sth

ough

I w

eren

't th

ere.

I h

ave

clea

rer

mem

orie

s of

hig

h sc

hool

,fr

om s

cien

ce a

s w

ell a

s fr

om m

any

othe

r su

bjec

ts, w

here

the

chal

-le

nge

was

to m

ake

my

wor

k ap

pear

mor

e of

fici

al, m

cie

acad

emic

,m

ore

acce

ptab

le b

y m

y te

ache

rs. I

sup

pose

som

ewhe

re a

long

the

line

I st

oppe

d th

inki

ng a

bout

"T

he c

ase

of th

e M

issi

ng I

's."

In

fact

,I

lear

ned

how

to s

urgi

cally

rem

ove

any

and

all f

irst

-per

son

pro-

noun

s w

ith c

linic

al e

ffic

ienc

y.Fo

r m

e, th

e m

ore

seri

ous

repe

rcus

sion

of

losi

ng m

y "I

's"

was

agr

adua

l los

s of

iden

tity.

I c

ame

to b

elie

ve th

ere

was

a m

yste

riou

san

d po

wer

ful f

orce

that

pos

sess

ed th

e ri

ght a

nsw

ers,

a f

orce

that

decl

ared

itse

lf in

the

nam

e of

obj

ectiv

ity. A

s lo

ng a

s I

alig

ned

mys

elf

with

The

For

ce, I

was

saf

e. I

hid

beh

ind

the

"Roy

al W

e" a

ndst

ayed

ther

e fo

r al

mos

t tw

o de

cade

s.I

supp

ose

I ca

n't h

old

Mr.

Tho

mps

on e

ntir

ely

resp

onsi

ble

for

my

appr

entic

eshi

p in

obj

ectiv

ity; h

e ju

st h

appe

ned

to r

epre

sent

the

firs

tex

posu

re to

the

Pron

oun

Polic

e I

can

rem

embe

r. T

he p

roce

ss li

kely

star

ted

muc

h ea

rlie

r an

d th

en b

ecam

e fo

rmal

ized

and

ritu

aliz

ed a

s I

prog

ress

ed th

roug

h hi

gh s

choo

l, an

d ev

entu

ally

com

plet

ed a

nun

derg

radu

ate

degr

ee in

sci

ence

. (C

lean

ing

the

base

men

t is

hard

wor

k.)

I ca

me

dow

n he

re f

or a

bre

ak f

rom

sch

ool a

nd n

ow I

fee

l lik

e I'm

serv

ing

a de

tent

ion.

Eno

ugh.

I s

houl

d ha

ve g

one

for

a ru

n in

the

rain

. But

, if

Mr.

Tho

mps

on c

an b

e un

cove

red,

I'm

sur

e he

can

just

as e

asily

be

buri

ed a

gain

. I s

hove

the

repo

rt (

I go

t a B

+)

back

in th

ebo

x. I

'm ju

st a

bout

to c

lose

the

lid w

hen

I fi

nd s

omet

hing

els

e th

atlo

oks

prom

isin

g (a

nd a

lot s

afer

than

pho

tosy

nthe

sis)

. P.'s

an

old

copy

of

The

Sw

ord

and

the

Ston

e. (

Forg

et c

lean

ing

the

base

men

t.)

7

198

Cha

pter

12

The

War

t's L

esso

ns: M

agic

al L

earn

ing

Adv

entu

res

Lik

e A

lice

in W

onde

rlan

d on

an

extr

acur

ricu

lar

fiel

d tr

ip, I

wan

-de

r do

wn

the

hall

from

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

sci

ence

cla

ss a

nd in

to th

eca

stle

whe

re th

e W

art i

s so

on to

bec

ome

Kin

g A

rthu

r. T

he W

art i

s a

likab

le b

oy w

ho m

oves

thro

ugh

child

hood

und

er th

e tu

tela

ge o

fM

erly

n th

e M

agic

ian.

Lik

e m

any

boys

his

age

, the

War

t has

a s

pir-

ited

zest

for

life

, and

for

lear

ning

. He

is p

layf

ul a

nd a

dven

turo

us,

two

adm

irab

le tr

aits

that

hel

p hi

m o

n hi

s jo

urne

y se

ekin

gkn

owl-

edge

and

trut

h. A

t the

sam

e tim

e, th

e W

art p

osse

sses

a h

ealth

ysk

eptic

ism

whe

n it

com

es to

cla

ssro

oms

and

form

al le

sson

s an

d le

c-tu

res. "S

hall

we

go o

ut?"

ask

ed M

erly

n. "

I th

ink

it is

abo

l4 ti

me

we

bega

nou

r le

sson

s."

The

War

t's h

eart

san

k at

this

..

."I

f on

ly,"

thou

ght t

he W

art,

"I d

idno

t hav

e to

go

into

a s

tuff

y cl

assr

oom

, but

cou

ld ta

ke o

ff m

y cl

othe

san

d sw

im in

the

moa

t ..

. Iw

ish

I w

as a

fis

h,"

said

the

War

t ..

.T

heW

art f

ound

he

had

no c

loth

es o

n. H

e fo

und

that

he

had

tum

bled

off

the

draw

-bri

dge,

land

ing

with

a s

mac

k on

his

sid

e in

the

wat

er. H

efo

und

that

the

moa

t and

the

brid

ge h

ad g

row

n hu

ndre

ds o

f tim

es b

ig-

ger.

He,

kne

w th

at h

e w

as tu

rnin

g in

to a

fis

h. "

Oh,

Mer

lyn,

" cr

ied

the

War

t. "P

leas

e co

me

too.

"

"Jus

t thi

s on

ce,"

sai

d a

larg

e an

d so

lem

n te

nch

besi

de h

is e

ar, "

I w

illco

me.

But

in th

e fu

ture

you

will

hav

e to

go

by y

ours

elf.

Edu

catio

nis

expe

rien

ce, a

nd th

e es

senc

e of

exp

erie

nce

is s

elf-

relia

nce.

" (W

hite

,19

38, p

. 52)

It b

ecom

es c

lear

in th

e st

ory

that

the

War

t is

wel

l aw

are

of th

eim

port

ance

of

getti

ng h

imse

lf a

pro

per

"edd

icat

ion"

(to

use

the

wor

d of

his

fos

ter

fath

er).

It i

s al

so e

vide

nt th

at h

e ha

s qu

ickl

yle

arne

d to

dis

tingu

ish

his

own

natu

ral d

esir

e to

lear

n an

d gr

ow f

rom

his

relic

tant

acc

epta

nce

of b

eing

sch

oole

d. I

t isn

't th

at th

e W

art i

s a

diff

icul

t stu

dent

; on

the

cont

rary

, he

is a

goo

d ki

d. (

Just

like

I w

as in

scho

ol.)

He

is m

otiv

ated

and

eag

er to

lear

n ne

w th

ings

. It s

eem

s,ho

wev

er, t

hat t

he le

sson

s th

e W

art w

ants

mos

t to

lear

n oc

cur

in li

fe,

not i

n th

e cl

assr

oom

. 8

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic19

9

The

War

t's e

duca

tion

entr

uste

d to

Mer

lyn,

a w

ise

old

wiz

ard,

who

has

mos

t lik

ely

won

num

erou

s T

each

er-o

f-th

e-Y

ear

Aw

ards

thro

ugho

ut h

is il

lust

riou

s ca

reer

. Des

pite

his

not

ed a

bilit

y, h

owev

er,

the

fam

iliar

situ

atio

n st

ill o

ccur

s in

whi

ch M

erly

n's

cred

entia

ls a

san

edu

cato

r ar

e in

spec

ted

and

ques

tione

d by

a c

once

rned

par

ent.

Inth

e sc

ene

that

fol

low

s, th

e W

art e

xcite

dly

intr

oduc

es h

is f

oste

rfa

ther

to th

e m

an h

e ho

pes

will

bec

ome

his

new

teac

her.

"Oh

sir,

" sa

id th

e W

art.

"I h

ave

been

on

that

Que

st y

ou s

aid

for

atu

tor,

and

I h

ave

foun

d hi

m. P

leas

e, h

e is

this

gen

tlem

an h

ere,

and

he

is c

alle

d M

erly

n."

[The

War

t's g

uard

ian,

wan

ting

him

to h

ave

only

the

best

of

"edd

ica-

tion,

" th

en r

espo

nds]

"O

ught

to h

ave

som

e te

stim

onia

ls y

ou k

now

,"sa

id S

ir E

ctor

dou

btfu

lly. "

It's

usu

al."

'Tes

ttmon

ials

," s

aid

Mer

lyn,

hol

ding

out

his

han

d. I

nsta

ntly

ther

ew

ere

som

ellia

vy ta

blet

s in

it, s

igne

d by

Ari

stot

le, a

par

chm

ent

sign

ed b

y H

ecat

e, a

nd s

ome

type

wri

tten

dupl

icat

es s

igne

d by

the

Mas

ter

of T

rini

ty. (

Whi

te, 1

938,

p. 4

5)

To

witn

ess

the

ques

tioni

ng o

f M

erly

n's

repu

tatio

n, d

espi

te h

isim

pres

sive

list

of

cred

entia

ls, b

ring

s hu

mou

r to

my

ofte

n in

secu

rem

usin

gs o

ver

whe

ther

or

not I

will

eve

r be

wel

l eno

ugh

qual

ifie

d to

teac

h. (

Des

pite

the

fact

that

I h

ave

been

teac

hing

now

for

ove

r te

nye

ars.

) I

also

see

it a

s qu

ite a

won

derf

ul f

eat f

or a

stu

dent

to b

e ab

leto

cho

ose

his

or h

er o

wn

teac

her.

As

luck

wou

ld h

ave

it, th

e W

art

and

Mer

lyn

are

unite

d an

d se

t out

on

a jo

urne

y of

mag

ical

lear

ning

adve

ntur

es. T

oget

her,

they

are

abl

e to

for

ge th

eir

own

bran

d of

educ

atio

n an

d tr

ansc

end

the

limiti

ng a

nd n

arro

w v

iew

that

oft

ense

para

tes

life

and

lear

ning

. As

wel

l as

beco

min

g a

fish

to e

xplo

reth

e m

yste

ries

of

the

unde

rwat

er w

orld

, the

War

t als

o tu

rns

into

an

owl t

o di

scov

er th

e be

auty

of

flig

ht, a

nd a

sna

ke to

lear

n th

e an

cien

tst

orie

s an

d le

gend

s. H

e se

ts o

ut o

n ad

vent

ures

that

lead

to a

mee

ting

with

Rob

in H

ood

to le

arn

of b

rave

ry, h

umili

ty, a

nd c

oura

ge. H

eal

so v

isits

a g

odde

ss a

nd is

pre

sent

ed w

ith "

The

Dre

am o

f th

eT

rees

" an

d "T

he D

ream

of

the

'one

s" in

ord

er to

exp

erie

nce

the

won

der

and

awe

of C

reat

ion.

The

se p

ower

ful f

ield

trip

s th

e W

art e

xper

ienc

es a

s pa

rt o

f hi

ssc

hool

ing

coul

d ha

rdly

be

cons

ider

ed e

xtra

curr

icul

ar. O

f co

urse

,

200

Cha

pter

12

the

War

t als

o re

ads

and

wri

tes

and

lear

ns h

is L

atin

,al

ong

with

all

ofhi

s ot

her

less

ons.

The

love

and

res

pect

for

lear

ning

that

he

and

Mer

-

lyn

shar

e is

inde

ed p

ower

ful.

"The

bes

t thi

ng f

or d

istu

rban

ces

of th

esp

irit,

" re

plie

d M

erly

n,be

ginn

ing

to p

uff

and

blow

, "is

to le

arn.

Tha

t is

the

only

thin

g th

at

neve

r fa

ils. Y

ou m

ay g

row

old

and

trem

blin

g in

you

r an

atom

ies,

you

may

lie

awak

e at

nig

ht li

sten

ing

toth

e di

sord

er o

f yo

ur v

eins

, you

may

mis

s yo

ur o

nly

love

and

lose

you

r m

oney

s to

a m

onst

er, y

oum

ay s

ee th

e w

orld

abo

ut y

oude

vast

ated

by

evil

luna

tics,

or

know

your

hon

our

tram

pled

in th

e se

wer

sof

bas

er m

inds

. The

re is

the

only

thin

g fo

r it

then

to le

arn.

Lea

rn w

hy th

e w

orld

wag

san

d w

hat

wag

s it.

Tha

t is

the

only

thin

g w

hich

the

poor

min

d ca

n ne

ver

exha

ust,

neve

r al

iena

te, n

ever

be

tort

ured

by,

nev

erfe

ar o

r di

stru

st,

and

neve

r dr

eam

of

regr

ettin

g. L

earn

ing

isth

e th

ing

for

you.

"(W

hite

, 193

8, p

. 254

)

The

sto

ry (

the

War

t's a

s w

ell a

s m

y ow

n) g

ets

mor

eco

mpl

icat

ed

as it

pro

gres

ses.

The

plot

s th

icke

n, y

et a

lrea

dy I

see

m to

hav

est

raye

d to

o fa

r fr

om c

hlor

ophy

ll an

d th

epr

oduc

tion

of c

arbo

hy-

drat

es b

y gr

een

plan

ts. I

bad

e fa

rew

ell t

oM

r. T

hom

pson

at t

he e

nd

of G

rade

Sev

en (

I m

oved

to a

new

sch

ool)

.L

ife

(and

lear

ning

) co

n-tin

ued

and

I su

ccee

ded

thro

ugh

a se

ries

of

pare

nt-p

leas

ing

grad

ua-

tion

cere

mon

ies.

Eve

ntua

lly, I

fou

nd m

y w

ayba

ck to

the

wor

ld o

fw

hite

lab

coat

s as

an

unde

rgra

duat

e sc

ienc

est

uden

t in

univ

ersi

ty.

The

tim

e ca

me

for

the

War

t to

mov

e on

as

wel

l. H

e gr

ew u

p an

dm

atur

ed, a

nd h

is le

sson

s w

ith M

erly

n ca

me

to a

clos

e. E

vent

ually

,he

"gr

adua

ted"

and

mov

ed o

n to

the

next

phas

e of

his

life

. Unl

ike

my

unev

entf

ul p

artin

g w

ithM

r. T

hom

pson

, the

War

t is

deep

ly s

ad-

dene

d by

the

know

ledg

e th

at M

erly

n w

ill n

olo

nger

be

his

teac

her

and

com

pani

on in

lear

ning

. He

turn

s to

othe

r re

aliti

es w

hich

he

mus

t now

fac

e an

d la

men

ts th

e fa

ctth

at th

e ad

vent

ures

and

joys

he

expe

rien

ced

as M

erly

n's

stud

ent w

ere

alm

ost t

oogo

od to

be

true

.H

e fe

els

that

som

ehow

he

mus

t now

acc

ept

wha

teve

r ne

w f

ate

befa

lls h

im a

s a

resu

lt of

his

pri

vile

ged

past

.

"Wel

l, I

am a

Cin

dere

lla n

ow,"

he

said

to h

imse

lf. "

Eve

nif

I h

ad th

e

best

of

it fo

r so

me

mys

teri

ous

reas

on u

p to

the

pres

ent t

ime

in o

ured

ucat

ion,

now

I m

ust p

ay f

or a

ll m

y pa

st p

leas

ures

and

for

seei

ng

all t

hose

del

ight

ful d

rago

ns, w

itche

s, u

nico

rns,

cam

eleo

pard

s an

d

1 0

Scie

nce

and

Mag

ic20

1

such

like

..

.N

ever

min

d, I

hav

e ha

d a

good

tim

e w

hile

it la

sted

, and

it is

not

suc

h ba

d fu

n be

ing

a C

inde

rella

, whe

n yo

u ca

n do

it in

aki

tche

n w

hich

has

a f

ire-

plac

e bi

g en

ough

to r

oast

an

ox."

(W

hite

,19

38, p

. 249

)

The

War

t exp

erie

nces

his

con

voca

tion

as th

ough

it w

ere

a tr

ial.

He

awai

ts th

e ne

xt p

hase

of

his

educ

atio

n as

one

aw

aits

a v

erdi

ct to

be h

ande

d do

wn.

He

appe

ars

quite

will

ing

to g

ive

up h

is in

noce

nce,

as th

ough

ther

e ar

e no

oth

er p

ossi

bilit

ies.

Edu

catio

n, a

t lea

st f

or th

e W

art a

nd m

e, s

eem

ed to

be

a pr

oces

sth

at b

ecam

e pr

ogre

ssiv

ely

mor

e se

riou

s an

d m

ore

diff

icul

t; th

eso

oner

we

acce

pted

this

not

ion,

the

bette

r. M

aybe

that

's w

hy I

foun

d M

r. T

hom

pson

's c

lass

so

thre

aten

ing.

Sci

ence

bec

ame

som

e-th

ing

that

took

pla

ce o

nly

in a

sci

ence

roo

man

d in

my

Gra

deSe

ven

expe

rien

ceby

som

eone

who

wor

e a

lab

coat

, by

som

eone

who

was

ste

rn a

nd s

erio

us. G

one

wer

e th

e da

ys w

hen

we

wen

t out

to th

e fi

eld

beyo

nd th

e sc

hool

yard

for

sci

ence

cla

ss. I

n G

rade

Seve

n, I

lear

ned

to p

erfo

rm a

ser

ies

of s

cien

tific

man

oeuv

res

acco

rdin

g to

a n

ewer

and

str

icte

r se

t of

rule

s.H

ow is

it w

e le

arn

to b

e lik

e th

e W

art?

Wha

t cau

ses

us to

ass

ume

that

our

edu

catio

n m

ust b

e pa

infu

l in

orde

r to

be

satis

fact

ory?

Whe

ndo

we

begi

n to

dis

mis

s th

e fu

n th

ings

as

dist

ract

ions

to r

eal e

duca

-tio

n, ta

king

par

t in

them

onl

y w

ith a

cer

tain

am

ount

of

guilt

, as

wel

las

an

unsp

oken

und

erst

andi

ng th

at w

e w

ill p

ay f

or o

ur p

leas

ure

late

r? W

here

do

we

get t

he n

otio

n th

at it

is im

port

ant t

o gr

ow u

pan

d ou

t of

our

past

exp

erie

nces

, ins

tead

of

lear

ning

to u

se th

em a

ssp

ring

boar

ds to

new

exp

erie

nces

or

as s

afet

y ne

ts to

fal

l bac

k on

whe

n ne

eded

?A

ll th

ese

ques

tions

fro

m ju

st o

ne b

ox. I

'm b

egin

ning

to u

nder

-st

and

why

the

War

t's s

tory

has

sur

face

d. T

here

are

man

y m

ore

ques

tions

to b

e as

ked,

and

man

y m

ore

less

ons

to b

e le

arne

d. I

t'slik

ely

not a

coi

ncid

ence

that

the

War

t and

Mer

lyn

and

Mr.

Tho

mp-

son

shar

e th

e sa

me

box.

Dis

cipl

ine

and

seri

ousn

ess

are

the

back

-dr

op to

the

Mr.

Tho

mps

on s

tory

; adv

entu

re a

nd m

agic

are

the

elem

ents

in th

e W

art's

sto

ry. T

he f

act t

hat t

he tw

o st

orie

s se

em s

odi

ffer

ent f

rom

one

ano

ther

is a

lso

wha

t tha

ws

them

toge

ther

as

Ibe

gin

to s

tory

and

re-

stor

y m

y ed

ucat

iona

l exp

erie

nces

. I c

an't

imag

ine

Mr.

Tho

mps

on a

s th

e W

art'

s tu

tor,

just

as

I fi

nd it

dif

ficu

ltto

imag

ine

Mer

lyn

as m

y G

rade

Sev

en s

cien

ce te

ache

r. T

here

is,

LI

202

Cha

pter

12

how

ever

, muc

h to

be

gain

ed f

rom

imag

inin

g so

me

of th

e po

ssib

ili-

ties

that

mig

ht s

tem

fro

m a

mar

riag

e of

plo

t and

cha

ract

er in

bot

h of

thes

e tw

o st

orie

s. H

ow w

ould

Mer

lyn

have

taug

ht p

hoto

synt

hesi

s?W

ith s

ome

pom

p an

d ce

rem

ony,

Mer

lyn

decr

eed,

"T

he b

est t

hing

for

dist

urba

nces

of

the

spir

it is

to le

arnt

o le

arn

why

the

wor

ldw

ags

and

wha

t wag

s it.

" W

hat w

ould

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

fam

ous

spee

ch o

n le

arni

ng h

ave

been

? H

ow w

ould

the

War

t hav

e ha

ndle

dsi

tting

on

one

of th

ose

hard

and

unc

omfo

rtab

le s

tool

s in

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

sci

ence

roo

m?

How

wou

ld I

hav

e re

acte

d to

bec

omin

gan

ow

l to

lear

n ab

out f

light

? I

cair

y th

ese

ques

tions

with

me

as I

cont

inue

to r

efle

ct o

n ex

peri

ence

s th

at h

ave

infl

ueni

xd m

y le

arni

ngan

d, in

turn

, my

teac

hing

.

The

Adv

entu

res

of T

each

ing:

Life

at t

he O

utdo

or S

choo

l

My

firs

t tea

chin

g jo

b w

as f

ar f

rom

the

clas

sroo

m. I

bec

ame

anen

viro

nmen

tal r

esou

rce

teac

her,

and

, eve

ntua

lly, t

he p

rogr

am d

irec

-to

r of

a la

rge,

out

door

edu

catio

n ce

ntre

. We

offe

red

wee

k-lo

ng r

esi-

dent

ial p

rogr

ams

to s

choo

l gro

ups

that

ran

ged

in s

ize

from

six

ty to

one

hund

red

and

thir

ty s

tude

nts

per

wee

k. W

e w

orke

d cl

osel

y w

itha

grou

p ca

lled

the

Inst

itute

for

Ear

th E

duca

tion

(Van

Mat

re, 1

990)

.T

hey

wer

e a

nonp

rofi

t org

aniz

atio

n w

hich

des

igne

d an

d di

ssem

i-na

ted

spec

ializ

ed, e

colo

gica

lly b

ased

pro

gram

s st

ruct

ured

on

aho

listic

, (1

) co

nnec

tion

with

the

eart

h an

d its

life

. Our

cen

tre,

inco

njun

ctio

n w

ith o

ur a

ffili

ated

sch

ool b

oard

, bec

ame

heav

ilyin

volv

ed in

pilo

ting

Ear

th E

duca

tion

prog

ram

s de

sign

ed to

hel

ppe

ople

cf

all a

ges

live

mor

e ha

rmon

ious

ly a

nd jo

yous

ly w

ith th

ena

tura

l wor

ld. A

dec

isio

n w

as m

ade

to im

plem

ent S

unsh

ip E

arth

,an

inte

nsiv

e re

side

ntia

l pro

gram

des

igne

d fo

r tw

elve

- an

d th

irte

en-

year

-old

s (V

an M

atre

, 197

9).

The

nam

e Su

nshi

p E

arth

cam

e fr

om B

uckm

inst

er F

ulle

r's n

otio

nof

the

eart

h as

a s

elf-

cont

aine

d ve

ssel

trav

ellin

g th

roug

h sp

ace,

asp

aces

hip

pow

ered

by

the

ener

gy o

f th

e su

n. T

he g

oals

of

the

pro-

gram

incl

uded

pro

vidi

ng a

n un

ders

tand

ing

of h

ow th

e pl

anet

fun

c-tio

ns in

an

ecol

ogic

al s

ense

, nur

turi

ng d

eep

feel

ings

for

the

natu

ral

wor

ld a

nd a

ll its

life

, and

cra

ftin

g a

lifes

tyle

mor

e ha

rmon

ious

with

the

eart

h an

d al

l its

pas

seng

ers

(Van

Mat

re, 1

990)

. All

of th

is to

ok

12

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic20

3

plac

e ag

ains

t a w

ild a

nd w

onde

rful

bac

kdro

p of

cre

ativ

ity. T

he k

ids

liter

ally

live

d th

e pr

ogra

m a

s th

ey b

ecam

e pa

ssen

gers

abo

ard

our

Suns

hip

Ear

th in

ord

er to

bet

ter

unde

rsta

nd it

s de

licat

e op

erat

ing

prin

cipl

es. I

t was

a c

aref

ully

cra

fted

pro

gram

: eve

ry a

ctiv

ityev

ery

deta

ilfoc

used

on

our

role

s as

pas

seng

ers

and

crew

abo

ard

the

Suns

hip.

Eve

ry f

acet

of

the

prog

ram

sup

port

ed th

e or

igin

algo

als

of p

rovi

ding

bet

ter

unde

rsta

ndin

gs, n

urtu

ring

fee

lings

and

deve

lopi

ng a

life

styl

e m

ore

in tu

ne w

ith th

e ea

rth

and

its li

fe. O

urin

vita

tion

to th

e st

uden

ts w

as, "

Hey

, we'

re o

n a

suns

hip!

How

doe

sit

wor

k an

d fe

el?

We'

re b

oth

its p

asse

nger

s an

d its

cre

w. W

hat d

oes

this

mea

n fo

r yo

u?"

(Van

Mat

re, 1

979,

p. 3

6). M

uch

atte

ntio

n w

asgi

ven

to e

ven

the

mos

t min

ute

deta

il in

ord

er to

cap

ture

the

fanc

yan

d th

e im

agin

atio

n of

the

kids

and

teac

hers

, and

to m

ake

the

lear

n-in

g of

abs

trac

t eco

logi

cal c

once

pts

mor

e co

ncre

te f

or th

e le

arne

rs.

All

of th

e pr

ogra

m's

obj

ectiv

es tr

ansl

ated

to a

won

derf

ul a

ndun

usua

l lea

rnin

g en

viro

nmen

t. V

isito

rs w

alki

ng a

roun

d th

e ce

ntre

,un

fam

iliar

with

the

Suns

hip

Ear

th p

rogr

am, m

ight

fee

l as

thou

ghth

ey h

ad s

tum

bled

upo

n an

othe

r pl

anet

. The

woo

ds w

ere

fille

d w

ithm

any

stra

nge

sigh

ts: c

ostu

med

teac

hers

and

stu

dent

s ro

le-p

laye

d in

orde

r to

lear

n of

the

stor

y of

life

on

the

plan

et. T

hey

wer

e bu

syex

plor

ing

"The

Sev

en S

ecre

ts o

f L

ife,

" ac

cord

ing

to th

e fo

rmul

a"E

C-D

C-I

C-A

." T

hese

are

the

seve

n ke

y op

erat

ing

prin

cipl

esth

eke

y ec

olog

ical

con

cept

stha

t gov

ern

life

on o

ur S

unsh

ip: e

nerg

yfl

ow (

E),

the

cycl

ing

of m

ater

ials

(C

), d

iver

sity

(D

), c

omm

unity

(C),

the

inte

rrel

atio

nshi

ps o

f liv

ing

thin

gs (

I), c

hang

e (C

), a

nd a

dap-

tatio

n (A

). T

he k

ids

lear

ned

abou

t EC

-DC

-IC

-A o

n "C

once

pt P

aths

"by

wea

ving

thei

r w

ay th

roug

h th

e w

oods

. The

re w

ere

thre

e di

ffer

-en

t con

cept

pat

hs, e

ach

one

hous

ing

five

con

cept

sta

tions

. Kid

sbe

cam

e an

imal

s in

a f

ood

chai

n as

they

vis

ited

"Mr.

Sun

's R

esta

u-ra

nt"

to le

arn

abou

t ene

rgy

flow

, or

clou

ds in

"T

he S

un's

Buc

ket

Bri

gade

" to

take

par

t in

the

eart

h's

grea

t wat

er c

ycle

. The

y w

ere

bird

s in

"T

ools

and

Tas

ks"

to e

xper

ienc

e ho

w a

bea

k is

a to

ol th

at is

spec

ially

ada

pted

for

per

form

ing

cert

ain

task

s, o

r m

olec

ule

mes

sen-

gers

vis

iting

the

"Foo

d Fa

ctor

y" to

lear

n ho

w s

unlig

ht is

cap

ture

dby

gre

en p

lant

s an

d tu

rned

into

foo

d. I

t was

an

impr

essi

ve p

rogr

amto

see

in a

ctio

n.

13

204

Cha

pter

12

Ano

ther

Les

son

in P

hoto

synt

hesi

s: T

he G

iant

Lea

f

[Som

ewhe

re in

a s

unlit

for

est

..

"Yea

h, I

thin

k it'

s ov

er th

is w

ay. W

ho h

as th

e m

ap a

nyw

ay?"

The

sun

filt

ers

thro

ugh

the

tree

s an

d sp

lash

es o

n to

the

trai

l in

fron

t of

us a

s w

e w

ind

our

way

alo

ng th

e fo

rest

pat

h. A

sho

ut,

"Kev

in k

now

s w

here

we'

re g

oing

!" b

reak

s th

roug

h th

e co

llage

of

voic

es, a

ll la

ught

er a

nd c

ompl

aint

s an

d qu

estio

ns a

nd c

omm

otio

n.O

ur li

ttle

grou

p m

akes

its

way

up

a sh

ort,

stee

p hi

ll w

ith a

sur

-pr

isin

g am

ount

of

enth

usia

sm. I

'm r

ealiz

ing

that

it's

bee

n an

inte

nse

mor

ning

whe

n m

y th

ough

ts a

re in

terr

upte

d by

an

impo

sing

set

of

sign

s. "

Kee

p O

ut!

Aut

hori

zed

Pers

onne

l Onl

y. T

op S

ecre

t." B

yno

w, t

he k

ids

know

som

ethi

ng is

up

and

they

look

to m

e fo

r so

me

kind

of

hint

of

wha

t's to

com

e. T

he s

tude

nts

and

I ex

chan

ge g

lanc

eslo

oks

that

say

that

I k

now

that

they

kno

w th

at I

kno

w th

at a

ll of

this

is p

art t

ruth

, par

t fic

tion,

par

t fan

tasy

. I b

elie

ve it

is a

n un

spo-

ken

bit o

f m

adne

ss th

at b

ring

s us

her

e an

d pr

opel

s us

on

this

mag

i-ca

l lea

rnin

g ad

vent

ure

toge

ther

.I

scan

the

hori

zon

with

a w

orri

ed lo

ok a

nd th

en b

egin

ner

vous

lygl

anci

ng to

my

left

and

to m

y ri

ght.

The

kid

s pi

ck u

p on

this

act

ion

and

whe

ther

they

are

inte

rest

ed in

hum

ouri

ng m

e or

fio

t, _?

spon

d to

my

unsp

oken

urg

ency

by

gath

erin

g ar

ound

in a

tigh

t litt

le c

ircl

e. I

mot

ion

with

my

eyes

to a

sig

n th

at s

ays

"Foo

d Fa

ctor

y" (

Van

Mat

re, 1

979)

and

beg

in to

mov

e ca

utio

usly

dow

n a

narr

ow p

ath

that

curv

es s

low

ly a

nd d

isap

pear

s up

ahe

ad. T

hey

don'

t nee

d to

be

told

to f

ollo

w. W

ithin

thir

ty s

econ

ds w

e ro

und

a be

nd th

at ta

kes

us in

betw

een

a se

t of

impo

sing

pin

es, a

nd C

hris

spo

ts a

larg

e ca

ve-l

ike

stru

ctur

e w

ith a

low

, rou

nded

pro

file

. It i

s co

vere

d in

gre

en c

anva

san

d ca

mou

flag

e an

d ha

s a

tube

-lik

e tu

nnel

for

an

entr

ance

."W

hat t

ii t.

heck

is it

?""O

nly

the

mos

t im

port

ant t

hing

on

our

plan

et,"

I s

ay in

a lo

wer

edvo

ice.

"It

's a

gia

nt le

af. A

foo

d fa

ctor

y."

Wha

t do

my

eyes

tell

them

? St

ill u

sing

my

top-

secr

et v

oice

, I le

tth

em k

now

that

we'

re g

oing

to g

et th

e in

side

sto

ry o

n ho

w w

e ge

tou

r en

ergy

fro

m th

e su

n."Y

ou a

re a

ll go

ing

to g

et a

cha

nce

to g

o in

side

the

food

fac

tory

tofi

nd o

ut h

ow s

unlig

ht e

nerg

y is

turn

ed in

to s

ugar

s, o

r ca

rboh

y-dr

ates

, the

foo

d th

at w

e ne

ed to

sta

y al

ive;

the

prob

lem

is th

at n

o14

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic20

5

one

real

ly k

now

s ex

actly

how

it's

don

e. T

his

is a

ver

y im

port

ant

mis

sion

and

you

mus

t all

swea

r to

sec

recy

.""I

t's n

ot r

eally

a le

af, I

can

see

the

canv

as."

Ah

yes,

it's

Jam

es a

gain

, sta

ting

the

obvi

ous.

He'

s be

en m

akin

gsu

re th

e gr

oup

does

n't g

et f

oole

d by

any

of

this

bec

omin

g-a-

clou

dor

goi

ng-i

nto-

a-gi

ant-

leaf

stu

ff. A

fter

we

fini

sh o

ur s

ecre

t oat

h, I

expl

ain

that

onl

y ha

lf th

e gr

oup

can

go in

side

the

leaf

at o

ne ti

me,

and

that

pos

sibl

y Ja

mes

cou

ld le

ad th

e fi

rst m

issi

on.

"Whi

le th

e fi

rst g

roup

is in

side

the

leaf

, the

res

t of

you

have

an

impo

rtan

t job

. You

are

goi

ng to

be

'Mol

ecul

e M

esse

nger

s.' Y

ou'll

deliv

er th

e in

gred

ient

s th

at th

e le

af n

eeds

to w

ork

its m

agic

."W

e w

alk

over

to a

n ar

ea lo

okin

g lik

e a

bus

stop

with

a s

ign

that

read

s M

olec

ule

Mes

seng

er W

aitin

g A

rea.

I p

ull o

ut th

ree

pouc

hes

labe

lled

"AIR

," "

WA

TE

R,"

and

"SU

NL

IGH

T."

"The

gro

up in

side

the

leaf

will

be

com

mun

icat

ing

with

the

'Chl

orop

hyll

Con

trol

Cen

tre'

and

will

be

aski

ng f

or th

ese

ingr

edi-

ents

. Whe

n yo

u m

esse

nger

s he

ar s

omeo

ne c

all f

or a

n in

gred

ient

,ru

n ov

er to

the

leaf

with

the

corr

ect p

ouch

and

han

d in

one

of

the

enve

lope

s fr

om in

side

the

pouc

h. T

hen

retu

rn im

med

iate

ly to

the

Mes

seng

er W

aitin

g A

rea.

""S

o w

hat a

re w

e su

ppos

ed to

do

in th

e le

af a

nyho

w?"

Tha

t's I

an. H

is s

elf-

proc

laim

ed ti

tle is

juni

or e

xecu

tive

in c

harg

eof

rol

e cl

arif

icat

ion

and

job

desc

ript

ions

. He

wan

ts to

mak

e su

reev

eryo

ne in

the

grou

p kn

ows

exac

tly w

hat i

s ex

pect

ed o

f th

em a

t all

times

. I g

ive

him

the

over

-the

-sho

ulde

r gl

ance

alo

ng w

ith a

nac

com

pany

ing

shif

ty-e

yed

star

e. H

e dr

ifts

a li

ttle

clos

er, u

nder

-st

andi

ng th

at th

is is

pri

vile

ged

info

rmat

ion.

The

res

t of

the

grou

pea

vesd

rops

."L

iste

n,"

I ex

plai

n, "

I ha

ven'

t act

ually

bee

n in

side

the

leaf

mys

elf.

Wha

t I'v

e to

ld y

ou s

o fa

r is

wha

t eve

ryon

e kn

ows

abou

t the

food

fac

tory

. Sci

entis

ts k

now

wha

t goe

s in

to th

e le

af a

nd th

ey k

now

wha

t com

es o

ut o

f th

e le

af, b

ut n

obod

y ac

tual

ly k

now

s ex

actly

wha

tgo

es o

n in

side

the

leaf

itse

lf. C

arbo

n di

oxid

e an

d w

ater

go

in a

ndsu

nlig

ht is

aro

w,t1

, too

; the

n, a

fter

a w

hile

, sug

ars

are

prod

uced

and

,ev

entu

ally

, we

eat t

hem

in s

ome

form

or

othe

r. B

ut w

hat h

appe

nsin

side

the

leaf

is th

e re

al m

yste

ryth

at's

why

you

're b

eing

sen

t in

ther

e: to

fin

d ou

t how

the

mys

teri

ous

proc

ess

of p

hoto

synt

hesi

sw

orks

."

206

Cha

pter

12

In a

slig

htly

qui

eter

voi

ce, I

tell

them

that

they

are

goi

ng to

be

"chl

oros

pies

." "

You

'll n

eed

thes

e gr

een

helm

ets

to h

elp

cam

oufl

age

you

so th

at y

ou a

re b

ette

r ab

le to

spy

on

the

chlo

roph

yll."

A b

arra

ge o

f co

mm

ents

bre

aks

the

sile

nce

of th

e fo

rest

."I

'm n

ot w

eari

ng th

is s

tupi

d he

lmet

, it'l

l wre

ck m

y ha

ir."

"Coo

l; it

look

s da

rk in

ther

e."

"I'm

goi

ng f

irst

!""W

hen'

s lu

nch?

""L

ike

I sa

id, I

won

't be

goi

ng in

side

the

leaf

mys

elf

sinc

e I

don'

tha

ve th

e pr

oper

cle

aran

ce, s

o yo

u're

on

your

ow

n. T

he m

esse

nger

sw

ill b

e pa

ssin

g th

e ca

rbon

dio

xide

mol

ecul

es a

nd th

e su

nlig

ht in

the

enve

lope

s th

roug

h th

e w

alls

of

the

leaf

. Wat

er w

ill a

lso

ente

r in

the

sam

e w

ay it

doe

s in

a r

eal f

ood

fact

oryu

pth

roug

h th

e st

em.

Rem

embe

r, o

nly

the

chlo

rosp

ies

have

sec

urity

cle

aran

ce s

o th

em

esse

nger

s w

ill h

ave

to w

ait o

utsi

de. Y

ou'll

rec

eive

fur

ther

inst

ruc-

tions

onc

e yo

u ar

e in

side

the

fact

ory.

Goo

d lu

ck, e

very

body

."T

he f

irst

gro

up o

f ch

loro

spie

s di

sapp

ear

into

the

leaf

. Thi

ngs

seem

to b

e ru

nnin

g sm

ooth

ly. I

was

n't b

eing

qui

tetr

uthf

ul a

bout

not h

avin

g be

en in

side

the

leaf

mys

elf.

I h

ave

secu

rity

cle

aran

cein

the

off-

hour

s an

d, in

fac

t, I

know

exa

ctly

wha

t the

y'll

find

in th

ere.

I ca

n pi

ctur

e it

now

as

I st

and

quie

tly w

ith th

e m

olec

ule

mes

seng

ers

at th

e w

aitin

g ar

ea. J

ulia

was

rig

ht, i

t is

dark

in th

ere,

and

as

thei

rey

es a

djus

t, th

ey w

ill b

e gr

eete

d by

a n

umbe

r of

sign

s. O

ne s

ign

rem

inds

them

of

thei

r pl

edge

to s

ecre

cy w

hile

ano

ther

iden

tifie

s a

larg

e gr

een

box

with

a s

lot i

n th

e to

p as

the

"Sup

er S

ecre

t Chl

oro-

phyl

l Box

." A

noth

er s

ign

sim

ply

says

, "A

wai

t Fur

ther

Ins

truc

-tio

ns."

The

thre

e of

them

will

hav

e ju

st a

bout

che

cked

the

who

lepl

ace

out,

whe

n a

voic

e w

ill s

peak

to th

em f

rom

a tu

be ly

ing

on th

efl

oor. "A

ttent

ion.

Atte

ntio

n. C

an y

ou h

ear

me?

Thi

s is

Chl

orop

hyll

Con

trol

."I

alw

ays

take

ple

asur

e im

agin

ing

the

look

on

thei

r fa

ces

whe

nth

is v

oice

com

es r

eson

atin

g th

roug

h th

e le

af. T

he s

peak

ing

tube

lead

s ou

t of

the

back

of

the

leaf

and

run

s un

obtr

usiv

ely

into

the

woo

ds w

here

a v

olun

teer

par

ent i

s hi

ding

beh

ind

som

e bu

shes

ash

ort d

ista

nce

away

. The

voi

ce b

egin

s."T

hank

s fo

r co

min

g to

wor

k on

the

prod

uctio

n lin

e at

the

food

fact

ory.

You

vill

ipav

e to

fol

low

my

inst

ruct

ions

car

eful

ly, O

K?

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic20

7

Now

, her

e in

the

food

fac

tory

we

need

som

e im

port

ant i

ngre

dien

tsin

ord

er to

mak

e fo

od-e

nerg

y, o

rca

rboh

ydra

tes.

Tog

ethe

r, c

all t

o

the

mol

ecul

e m

esse

nger

s fo

r th

efi

rst i

mpo

rtan

t ing

redi

ent,

AIR

.

Rea

dy?

One

, tw

o, th

ree:

AIR

!!!"

I'm s

napp

ed o

ut o

f m

y lit

tle d

aydr

eam

by a

sud

den

scra

mbl

ing

ofm

olec

ule

mes

seng

ers.

The

AIR

mes

seng

ersp

rint

s of

f to

the

leaf

,de

liver

s hi

s pa

ckag

e, a

n en

velo

peco

ntai

ning

two

ping

-pon

g ba

lls

one

mar

ked

carb

onan

d on

e m

arke

d ox

ygen

atta

ched

toge

ther

by v

elcr

o. T

hing

s sh

ould

beg

in to

"coo

k" in

the

leaf

rig

ht a

bout

DO

W.

"Tel

l me

whe

n yo

u've

got

it,"

the

Con

trol

Cen

tre

voic

e dr

ones

.

"Wha

t do

you

find

in th

e en

velo

pe?

[pau

se f

or th

e ki

ds' r

espo

nse]

Tha

t's c

arbo

n di

oxid

eC f

or c

arbo

n,02

for

oxy

gen.

At t

he f

ood

fact

ory

we

get o

ur c

arbo

n di

oxid

edi

rect

ly f

rom

the

air.

"

"OK

, cal

l for

the

seco

nd im

port

ant

ingr

edie

nt, W

AT

ER

. ..

.G

ot it

?

Gre

at. W

hat's

in th

e en

velo

pe?

[pau

se]

Tha

t's h

ydro

gen,

H2,

and

oxyg

en, 0

, the

par

ts th

atm

ake

up w

ater

. Now

list

en v

ery

care

fully

.Pu

ll of

f th

e ca

rbon

, C, f

rom

the

carb

ondi

oxid

e an

d pu

ll of

f th

ehy

drog

en, H

2, f

rom

the

wat

er. T

ry to

stic

kth

e ca

rbon

, the

hyd

ro-

gen,

and

the

sing

le o

xyge

nba

ll to

geth

er to

mak

e a

carb

ohyd

rate

,th

e fo

od e

nerg

y fo

r al

l lif

e. T

he th

ree

balls

sho

uld

all s

tick

toge

ther

like

links

in a

cha

in. H

ow a

re y

oudo

ing?

"

By

now

the

wat

er a

nd th

e ai

r m

esse

nger

sha

ve d

one

thei

r jo

b an

d

we'

re a

ll st

andi

ng a

roun

d ch

attin

g."W

hen

do I

get

togo

?" G

ail i

s th

e SU

NL

IGH

T m

esse

nger

and

she

is

not t

oo h

appy

abo

ut n

ot b

eing

calle

d."I

'm n

ot s

ure,

" I

repl

y ca

lmly

. "L

et's

just

wai

t a b

it lo

nger

, som

e-th

ing

defi

nite

ly s

eem

s to

be

goin

g on

inth

ere.

"

"Wha

t's w

rong

?" C

hlor

ophy

ll C

ontr

olas

ks, s

ound

ing

som

ewha

tal

arm

ed. "

You

hav

e th

e hy

drog

en a

nd o

xyge

nst

uck

toge

ther

, but

the

carb

on w

on't

stic

k to

the

hydr

ogen

?"I

can'

t rea

lly te

ll G

ail t

hat I

do

know

exac

tly w

hat's

goi

ng o

nin

side

the

leaf

. The

y ar

e tr

ying

to f

it a

roun

d pe

g in

to a

squ

are

hole

righ

t abo

ut n

ow. T

hat i

s, th

e pl

acem

ent

of th

e ve

lcro

str

ips

on th

epi

ng-p

ong

balls

(I

mea

n m

olec

ules

)is

suc

h th

at it

is im

poss

ible

toat

tach

the

carb

on m

olec

ule

to th

e hy

drog

enm

olec

ule

no m

atte

rw

hat m

ark

you

got o

n yo

ur la

stsc

ienc

e te

st. (

I'm n

ot w

orri

edth

ough

; nat

ure

will

pro

vide

the

solu

tion.

)17

208

Cha

pter

12

"Thi

s is

impo

ssib

le!"

"How

do

they

exp

ect u

s to

do

this

?" J

ulia

and

Nic

ole

cry

foul

."S

omet

hing

mus

t be

mis

sing

." T

he C

hlor

ophy

ll C

ontr

ol s

peak

sw

ith th

e vo

ice

of r

easo

n. "

OK

then

, cal

l for

SU

NL

IGH

T. N

ow, u

sing

the

sunl

ight

, try

to s

tick

the

carb

on a

nd h

ydro

gen

toge

ther

. Got

it?

Con

grat

ulat

ions

! Y

ou'v

e ju

st c

ompl

eted

the

proc

ess

know

n as

pho

-to

synt

hesi

s. T

hat's

the

proc

ess

that

take

s w

ater

, air

, and

sun

light

and

mak

es e

nerg

y-ri

ch f

ood

for

all l

ife.

Jus

t put

you

r co

mpl

eted

carb

ohyd

rate

into

the

box

and

your

wor

k sh

ift i

s ov

er. O

ops

ther

e's

one

last

thin

g yo

u ne

ed to

do.

Pus

h yo

ur le

ftov

er o

xyge

n(0

2) o

ut th

e 'O

xyge

n E

xit T

ube.

' Wel

l, th

anks

for

hel

ping

out

on

the

prod

uctio

n lin

e he

re a

t the

Foo

d Fa

ctor

y. Y

ou c

an g

o ou

t now

.T

his

is C

hlor

ophy

ll C

ontr

ol C

entr

e si

gnin

g of

f."

Julia

, Nic

ole,

and

Bri

an e

mer

ge w

ith s

hiel

ded

eyes

fro

m th

e gi

ant

leaf

; the

y lo

ok li

ke c

eleb

ritie

s w

ho h

ave

just

fin

ishe

d a

pres

s co

n-fe

renc

e. I

rec

ogni

ze m

y ow

n vo

ice

aski

ng th

e fi

rst q

uest

ion.

"Wel

l, w

hat h

appe

nedd

id y

ou f

ind

out t

he s

ecre

t?"

I'mdr

owne

d ou

t by

othe

r ur

gent

que

ries

."H

ow h

ot is

it in

ther

e?"

"Whe

re's

the

suga

r?"

"Wha

t too

k yo

u so

long

?""W

e co

uldn

't br

ing

the

suga

r ou

t bec

ause

we

had

to le

ave

it in

this

spe

cial

top-

secr

et b

ox, a

nd y

eah,

it w

as b

oilin

g in

ther

e,"

says

Bri

an.

A li

ttle

disa

ppoi

nted

at n

ot g

ettin

g th

e in

form

atio

n I

was

hop

ing

for,

I s

ugge

st th

e M

olec

ule

Mes

seng

ers

switc

h ro

les

with

the

Chl

o-ro

spie

s an

d w

e tr

y th

e w

hole

thin

g ag

ain.

The

stu

dent

s ad

d th

eir

new

ly a

cqui

red

info

rmat

ion

abou

t the

con

-ce

pt o

f en

ergy

flo

w to

thei

r pa

sspo

rts.

The

y al

so d

raw

and

desc

ribe

othe

r ex

ampl

es th

at e

xist

aro

und

us h

ere

in th

e fo

rest

.A

t the

end

of

it al

l, th

e el

usiv

e in

ner

wor

king

s of

pho

tosy

nthe

sis

still

rem

ain

a se

cret

. It s

eem

s th

at p

hoto

synt

hesi

s re

ally

is p

art m

ys-

tery

and

may

rem

ain

so f

or q

uite

som

e tim

e, d

espi

tede

term

ined

effo

rts

on o

ur p

art.

"I g

uess

we

shou

ldn'

t fee

l bad

ly,"

I te

ll th

em.

"Eve

n th

e m

ost b

rilli

ant w

omen

and

men

in s

cien

ce d

on't

know

exac

tly h

ow th

e pr

oces

s w

orks

." (

Not

eve

n M

r. T

hom

pson

, I'm

thin

king

to m

ysel

f.1 18

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic20

9

Not

hing

Up

My

Sle

eve:

A C

lose

r Lo

ok a

t Mag

ic

It's

dif

ficu

lt, th

ough

not

ent

irel

y im

poss

ible

, to

envi

sion

Mr.

Tho

Mps

on a

s a

mol

ecul

e m

esse

nger

. Som

e of

the

Suns

hip

Ear

thac

tiviti

es m

ight

hav

e ru

ffle

d hi

s w

hite

lab

coat

, but

I d

on't

thin

k he

wou

ld h

ave

disa

gree

d w

ith th

e ed

ucat

iona

l obj

ectiv

es o

f th

is p

artic

-ul

ar E

arth

Edu

catio

n pr

ogra

m.

Wha

t sor

t of

fram

e or

goa

ls d

id w

e ha

ve in

min

d? F

irst

, lik

e a

sur-

veyo

r, w

e w

ante

d t-

cas

t a p

oint

of

refe

renc

e fo

r ea

ch o

f ou

r le

arn-

erst

o co

nvey

som

ethi

ng a

bout

thei

r pl

ace

in th

e un

iver

se. W

eho

ped

to e

stab

lish

this

sen

se o

f pl

ace

fore

ver

in th

eir

unde

rsta

nd-

ings

, or

perh

aps

mor

e ac

cura

tely

in th

eir

feel

ings

, for

we

wan

ted

itto

bec

ome

embe

dded

insi

de th

em, w

here

it w

ould

be

a co

ntin

ued

sour

ce o

f aw

aren

ess

abou

t who

and

wha

t the

y w

ere.

Sec

ond,

like

afr

iend

ly w

izar

d, w

e w

ante

d to

con

vey

to th

em a

fee

ling

for

life'

sw

ondr

ous

mys

teri

esth

e aw

esom

e, y

et jo

yous

, sys

tem

s in

whi

chth

ey a

re b

ound

up

with

eve

ry o

ther

livi

ng th

ing

on e

arth

. And

we

hope

d th

at th

is r

ecog

nitio

n of

mir

acul

ous

inte

rrel

atio

nshi

p w

ould

beco

me

a m

enta

l tou

chst

one

agai

nst w

hich

they

cou

ld f

orev

er c

heck

thei

r ac

tions

. (V

an M

atre

, 197

9, p

. xvi

)

I ha

ve b

een

quic

k to

poi

nt to

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

(la

ck o

f) m

agic

inco

nvey

ing

the

won

drou

s m

yste

ries

of

life

on o

ur p

lane

t. I

have

bee

nju

st a

s qu

ick

to a

lign

mys

elf

peda

gogi

cally

with

Mer

lyn:

a "

frie

ndly

'wiz

ard

[con

veyi

ng to

his

stu

dent

s] a

fee

ling

for

life'

s w

ondr

ous

mys

teri

esth

e aw

esom

e, y

et jo

yous

, sys

tem

s in

whi

ch th

eyar

ebo

und

up w

ith e

very

oth

er li

ving

thin

g on

ear

th"

(Van

Mat

re, 1

979,

p. x

vi).

Lik

e th

e W

art,

I w

ould

hav

e pr

efer

red

to b

ecom

e a

fish

rath

er th

an to

dis

sect

one

. But

mag

ic, a

s it

turn

s ou

t, is

not

all

that

it's

crac

ked

up to

be.

As

an e

duca

tor,

com

mitt

ed to

con

nect

ing

unde

rsta

ndin

gs w

ith f

eelin

gs, I

stu

mbl

ed a

nd (

even

tual

ly)

trip

ped

over

mag

ic o

n m

ore

than

one

occ

asio

n. I

now

won

der

whe

ther

my

purs

uit o

f m

agic

was

n't a

lso

a ki

nd o

f re

actio

nary

run

ning

-aw

ayfr

om M

r. T

hom

pson

.A

fter

enj

oyin

g m

uch

succ

ess

with

pro

gram

s lik

e Su

nshi

p E

arth

and

disc

over

ing

the

delig

hts

of te

achi

ng a

nd le

arni

ngas

thou

ghth

ey w

ere

part

of

an a

dven

ture

, lik

e W

art,

I w

onde

red,

"M

ust I

now

pay

for

all m

y pa

st p

leas

ures

?" F

or te

achi

ng a

ll th

ose

wei

rd a

ndw

onde

rful

act

iviti

es. F

or b

ecom

ing

a sq

uirr

el to

fin

d ou

t how

,

210

Cha

pter

12

anim

als

mus

t sol

ve p

robl

ems

and

adap

t to

find

foo

d. F

or b

ecom

ing

a cl

oud

in o

rder

to ta

ke p

art

in th

e ea

rth'

s gr

eat w

ater

cyc

le. F

orgo

ing

insi

de a

gia

nt le

af to

dis

cove

rth

e m

yste

ry o

f ph

otos

ynth

esis

.Fo

r ro

amin

g th

roug

h th

e da

nger

ous

fore

sts

of K

ing

Snoy

d's

king

dom

to f

ind

out a

bout

the

inte

rrel

atio

nshi

psof

livi

ng th

ings

.Fo

r sh

rink

ing

dow

n to

the

size

of

a bu

g to

exp

lore

the

wor

ld f

rom

a

new

per

spec

tive.

Sure

ly th

ese

activ

ities

wer

e ki

d's

stuf

f, r

ight

?It

was

a lo

t of

fun

doin

g al

l tho

se c

razy

thin

gs, b

utth

at's

not

how

rea

l lea

rnin

g ta

kes

plac

e. I

s it?

The

Sun

ship

Ear

th p

rogr

am w

as ju

st a

dive

rsio

n fr

omre

gula

r sc

hool

. Was

n't i

t?I

got t

o be

out

side

to e

xplo

re a

ndad

vent

ure

with

kid

s. T

oget

her

we

lear

ned

the

stor

yof

how

life

wor

ks o

n ou

r pl

anet

. So

why

did

I f

eel l

ike

the

War

t at t

heen

d of

it

allw

aitin

g to

"gr

adua

te"

to m

ore

seri

ous

lear

ning

?W

hat w

ent

wro

ng?

Was

I tr

ying

too

hard

to w

ear

Mer

lyn'

s cl

oak?

I w

ante

dth

e ki

dsto

hav

e ex

peri

ence

s lik

e th

ose

of th

e W

art's

,bu

t in

fact

I a

m n

ot a

mag

icia

n. C

reat

ing

mag

ical

lear

ning

adve

ntur

es is

har

d w

ork.

It

invo

lves

pay

ing

clos

e at

tent

ion

to e

very

det

ail.

Perh

aps

part

of th

e

illus

ory

qual

ity o

f m

agic

is th

at th

ings

app

eara

sif

by

mag

icw

ith th

e w

ave

of a

wan

d. C

lose

r sc

rutin

y, h

owev

er, u

sual

lyre

veal

s

the

deta

il, th

e pr

ecis

ionc

aref

ul a

nd c

alcu

late

dreq

uire

d to

mak

e

the

mag

ic. (

In th

e en

d, D

orot

hy m

eets

the

man

beh

ind

the

curt

ain

who

doe

sn't

seem

like

muc

h of

a w

izar

d at

all.

)

I do

n't m

ean

to s

trip

aw

ay th

e m

agic

by

look

ing

at it

too

clos

ely.

I am

sim

ply

awar

e th

at c

reat

ing

a gi

ant l

eaf

for

a gr

oup

of k

ids

tost

umbl

e up

on, a

s if

by

acci

dent

as if

by

mag

icou

t the

rein

the

fore

st in

ord

er to

lear

n th

e in

tric

acie

s of

pho

tosy

nthe

sis

requ

ires

agr

eat d

eal o

f w

ork.

So

do M

r. T

hom

pson

's c

aref

ully

cra

fted

less

onpl

ans.

The

gia

nt le

af, i

t see

ms,

req

uire

s a

caut

iona

ryno

te s

imila

r to

the

one

give

n M

r. T

hom

pson

's s

cien

ce la

b: "

Don

't to

uch

the

oran

geva

lves

and

don

't fo

rget

to c

lose

the

door

to th

e le

af o

n yo

ur w

ayou

t. Is th

e m

agic

of

the

Food

Fac

tory

mis

lead

ing?

Doe

s th

etr

ansl

a-

tion

from

mol

ecul

es to

vel

croe

d pi

ng-p

ong

balls

cla

rify

or

conf

use

conc

eptu

al u

nder

stan

ding

? Is

the

trip

insi

deth

e le

af a

n in

vita

tion

to,

or a

dis

tort

ion

of, f

urth

er le

arni

ng?

Is le

arni

nglo

st in

the

exci

tem

ent

of th

e m

olec

ule

mes

seng

er-t

o-ch

loro

spy

exch

ange

? C

an a

pro

cess

20

11

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic21

1

as c

ompl

ex a

s ph

otos

ynth

esis

be

sim

plif

ied

to a

dis

embo

died

voi

ce(C

hlor

ophy

ll C

ontr

ol C

entr

e) p

rovi

ding

a s

et o

f in

stru

ctio

ns to

aha

ndfu

l of

kids

hud

dled

in th

e da

rk?

Yes

? N

o? M

aybe

? So

rt o

f? I

tde

pend

s? W

hy?

Why

not

?Su

rely

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

pla

stic

ized

map

of

the

leaf

is a

lso

a di

s-to

rtio

ntor

n-fr

om a

tree

and

left

to f

lap

abov

e th

e ch

alkb

oard

in a

seri

es o

f un

natu

ral c

olou

rs. M

y ca

paci

ty to

mem

oriz

e th

e va

riou

spa

rts

of th

e le

af a

nd th

e co

untle

ss te

rms

invo

lved

in p

hoto

synt

hesi

sdi

d lit

tle to

con

vey

the

won

der

of s

uch

a pr

oces

s. I

sn't

Mr.

Tho

mp-

son

sim

ply

anot

her

(dis

embo

died

) vo

ice

prov

idin

g a

set o

f in

stru

c-tio

ns to

a h

andf

ul o

f ki

ds h

uddl

ed (

in th

e da

rk)

behi

nd d

esks

?T

he a

nsw

ers

will

not

be

pinn

ed d

own

like

part

s of

a f

rog

in th

ispa

rtic

ular

ref

lect

ion.

I fe

el li

ke C

alvi

n (o

f C

alvi

n an

d H

obbe

sfa

me)

, who

, in

one

part

icul

ar e

piso

de, b

egin

s to

exp

erie

nce

life

from

a "

neo-

cubi

st p

ersp

ectiv

e."

Spar

ked

by a

deb

ate

with

his

fath

er, C

alvi

n be

gins

to s

ee b

oth

side

s of

eve

ryth

ing;

mul

tiple

vie

ws

prov

ide

too

muc

h in

form

atio

n; c

haos

rul

es a

s hi

s w

orld

fra

ctur

esin

to u

nrec

ogni

zabl

e fr

agm

ents

. Cal

vin

reso

lves

the

prob

lem

quic

kly,

as

only

Cal

vin

can,

then

turn

s to

his

fat

her

and

says

,"Y

ou're

stil

l wro

ng, D

ad."

Mr.

Tho

mps

on M

eets

the

Gia

nt L

eaf:

The

Man

y F

aces

of P

hoto

synt

hesi

s

Alth

ough

I a

dmir

e C

alvi

n's

styl

e, m

y ta

sk d

oes

not s

eem

qui

te a

ssi

mpl

e. A

t the

sam

e tim

e, I

am

not

nec

essa

rily

atte

mpt

ing

to r

esol

vean

ythi

ng, o

r pr

ove

anyo

ne w

rong

. Mul

tiple

vie

ws

are

part

of

my

(cha

otic

) w

orld

; I tr

y to

acc

ept t

hem

, eve

n em

brac

e th

em.

The

re a

re a

lot o

f w

ays

to le

arn

abou

t pho

tosy

nthe

sis.

My

expe

ri-

ence

s w

ith th

e pr

oces

s, a

s a

stud

ent a

nd e

vent

ually

as

a te

ache

r, c

er-

tain

ly r

epre

sent

two

very

dif

fere

nt p

ossi

bilit

ies;

in h

inds

ight

, the

sedi

ffer

ence

s do

n't s

eem

at a

ll ba

d. I

n fa

ct, i

t's a

luxu

ry to

be

able

tore

flec

t on

the

uniq

ue a

nd c

ontr

astin

g ap

proa

ches

to th

e te

achi

ng a

ndle

arni

ng o

f su

ch a

mag

ical

pro

cess

.In

my

scho

olin

g, I

hap

pene

d to

fir

st le

arn

abou

t pho

tosy

nthe

sis

from

the

conf

ines

of

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

cla

ssro

om, w

here

sun

light

was

con

spic

uous

ly a

bsen

t fro

m th

e w

hole

pro

cess

. I le

arne

d pa

rtly

out o

f fe

ar, p

artly

out

of

fasc

inat

ion.

I w

as in

timid

ated

by

21

22

212

Cha

pter

12

Mr.

Tho

mps

on's

app

aren

tly c

old

exte

rior

; I f

eltc

ompe

lled

to le

arn

and

mem

oriz

e th

e m

ultit

ude

of f

acts

that

he

pres

ente

d in

str

ict f

ash-

ion.

I w

as a

goo

d ki

d in

sch

ool,

impe

lled

to .)

leas

e pa

rent

s,te

ache

rs,

and

peer

s. I

f th

e as

sign

men

t was

to d

raw

and

mem

oriz

e ev

er: p

art

of th

e le

af, t

hen

I w

ould

do

exac

tly th

at. Y

et, I

was

also

intr

igu:

',I b

y

the

larg

e an

d m

yste

riou

s sc

hem

atic

dia

gram

of th

e le

af w

ith it

sco

mpl

ex c

ircu

itry.

May

be th

e pl

astic

rol

l-do

wn

char

t was

sim

ply

anot

her

kind

of

mag

ical

gia

nt le

af.

I m

ust a

lso

adm

it th

at th

ere

was

som

ethi

ngco

mpe

lling

abo

utM

r. T

hom

pson

's s

tyle

. Per

haps

it w

ashi

s w

hite

lab

coat

and

his

poin

ter.

Or

may

be it

was

how

ser

ious

and

scie

ntif

ic h

e m

ade

ever

y-th

ing

seem

. He

was

the

livin

g im

age

of th

esc

ient

ific

met

hoda

nim

pres

sive

and

str

ikin

g m

odel

for

a k

id ju

st o

utof

ele

men

tary

scho

ol. O

ur c

lass

was

hel

d in

a r

eal s

cien

ce r

oom

asp

ecia

l pla

cede

sign

ated

for

exp

erim

ents

of

all k

inds

; it w

as f

illed

with

gla

ss d

is-

play

cas

es th

at c

onta

ined

bea

kers

and

test

tube

s an

d al

l man

ner

of

labo

rato

ry s

uppl

ies.

With

Mr.

Tho

mps

on, s

cien

ce (

and

phot

osyn

thes

is)

seem

edim

pres

sive

and

off

icia

l; he

bro

ught

the

scie

ntif

icm

etho

d to

life

.M

r. T

hom

pson

hel

ped

to la

y th

e fo

unda

tion

upon

whi

ch th

e re

st o

f

my

scie

ntif

ic in

quir

y in

scho

ols

wou

ld b

e co

nstr

ucte

d. A

t the

end

of

Gra

de S

even

, I c

ould

n't i

mag

ine

phot

osyn

thes

issp

elle

d an

y ot

her

way

. But

wha

t wou

ld h

ave

happ

ened

if th

e pr

oces

sha

d be

en th

e ot

her

way

aro

und?

Wha

t if

I ha

dcr

awle

d in

side

the

gian

t lea

fas

the

War

t mig

ht h

avea

s a

chlo

rosp

y in

Gra

de F

ive

befo

re a

rriv

ing

inM

r. T

hom

pson

's G

rade

Sev

en s

cien

ce c

lass

? W

hat

if I

had

lear

ned

abou

t pho

tosy

nthe

sist

he c

aptu

ring

of

sunl

ight

ene

rgy

by g

reen

plan

tsby

wan

deri

ng a

nd e

xplo

ring

in a

ric

h, g

reen

fore

st w

here

the

proc

ess

was

taki

ng p

lace

11 a

roun

d m

e? W

hat i

f I

had

been

intr

oduc

ed to

pho

tosy

nthe

sis

by a

per

son

in s

hort

san

d a

T-s

hirt

inst

ead

of a

whi

te la

b co

at?

(By

som

eone

I th

ough

t was

cool

, not

scie

ntif

ic.)

Wha

t if

I ha

d be

en a

ble

to h

andl

e th

e"m

olec

ules

" an

dth

en p

ush

an e

xtra

oxy

gen

mol

ecul

e ou

t of

the

leaf

, giv

ing

me

aco

ncre

te m

emor

y of

gre

en p

lant

s re

leas

ing

oxyg

en?

Wha

t wou

ld it

have

fel

t lik

e to

hav

e be

en a

twel

ve-y

ear-

old

mes

sing

aro

und

insi

de

a da

rk, c

ave-

like

stru

ctur

e,an

d su

dden

ly h

ave

a vo

ice

spea

k to

me

from

out

of

now

here

? W

hat i

f?

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic21

3

And

how

wou

ld M

r. T

hom

pson

hav

e re

acte

d to

the

Gia

nt L

eaf?

Wou

ld h

e ha

ve e

ager

ly c

raw

led

insi

de?

Wha

t wou

ld th

e m

ap o

f th

ele

af h

e un

veile

d so

impr

essi

vely

in th

e cl

assr

oom

hav

e lo

oked

like

to m

e an

d m

y cl

assm

ates

aft

er h

avin

g be

en c

hlor

ospi

es?

Wou

ld I

have

bee

n in

tinid

ated

or

bore

d? W

ould

I h

ave

been

com

plet

ely

turn

ed o

ff b

y th

e m

ap o

f th

e le

af a

fter

hav

ing

been

insi

de o

ne, o

rw

ould

I h

ave

been

mor

e cu

riou

s to

exp

lore

the

com

plex

par

ts o

f th

ele

af b

ecau

se o

f th

at f

act?

How

wou

ld I

hav

e fe

lt ab

out M

r. T

hom

p-so

n's

phot

osyn

thes

is e

xper

imen

t, pe

rfor

med

in h

is w

indo

wle

ssro

omin

whi

ch w

e at

tem

pted

to d

isco

ver

wha

t hap

pens

to a

leaf

whe

n it

is c

over

ed in

foi

lhav

ing

alre

ady

wal

ked

thro

ugh

asu

n-sp

lash

ed f

ores

t to

the

gian

t lea

f in

Gra

de F

ive.

I'm n

ot s

ure

wha

t par

t of

my

Gra

de S

even

exp

erie

nce

led

me

tow

ant t

o te

ach

phot

osyn

thes

is in

the

way

that

I d

id. M

r. T

hom

pson

prov

ided

the

piec

es to

the

proc

ess

of c

aptu

ring

sun

light

ene

rgy

with

out r

egar

d fo

r th

e bi

gger

pic

ture

of

how

life

on

the

plan

etw

orks

. May

be th

at c

ame

in a

late

r un

it th

at w

e ne

ver

got t

o. I

don

'tth

ink

so. M

y m

emor

ies

of th

ose

piec

es ta

ught

to u

s by

Mr.

Tho

mp-

son

are

shar

p, li

ke th

ose

part

s of

the

leaf

that

sto

od o

ut in

"liv

ing"

colo

ur a

t the

fro

nt o

f th

e ro

om. I

can

inco

rpor

ate

the

piec

es in

to th

ebr

oade

r pi

ctur

e of

life

I n

ow p

osse

ss, t

hank

s to

the

gian

t lea

f an

d th

eSu

nshi

p E

arth

pro

gram

.O

f co

urse

, I'm

no

long

er a

stu

dent

of

Mr.

Tho

mps

on. I

'm a

teac

hera

col

leag

ue o

f hi

s in

a s

ense

. We

both

put

our

eff

orts

tow

ard

help

ing

kids

lear

n ab

out s

cien

ce in

the

way

s w

e sa

w f

it at

the

time.

We

shar

e m

uch

in c

omm

on a

s a

resu

lt. I

t wou

ld b

e in

ter-

estin

g to

talk

sho

p w

ith M

r. T

hom

pson

toda

yto

disc

uss

our

prac

-tic

es, o

ur b

elie

fs, o

ur th

ough

ts o

n w

hy w

e do

wha

t we

do.

Exp

erie

nce

into

Sto

ry:

Live

s R

emem

bere

d an

d (R

e)in

vent

ed

The

nar

rativ

es I

hav

e to

ld u

p to

this

poi

nt m

ust b

e ta

ken

for

wha

tth

ey a

re: s

tori

es. F

rom

the

dam

pnes

s of

my

base

men

t, I

have

atte

mpt

ed to

wri

te m

ysel

f ou

t of

the

box,

on

to th

e pa

ge, i

nto

exis

t-en

ce. T

he w

ord

proc

esso

r se

ems

not o

nly

an a

ppro

pria

te to

ol, b

utal

so a

n ex

celle

nt m

etap

hor

with

whi

ch to

hel

p m

e so

rt o

ut th

eth

ough

ts th

at tu

mbl

e fo

rth

look

ing

for

plac

es to

land

.

23

214

Cha

pter

12

Wor

ds. T

he s

igns

and

sym

bols

, the

cod

es I

use

to in

vent

and

rein

vent

mys

elf.

Wor

ds. P

roce

ssed

. Wor

ds. S

orte

d, s

crub

bed,

san

i-tiz

ed, s

ubje

cted

to f

ilter

s, b

oth

kind

and

har

sh. W

ords

. Rem

em-

bere

d, f

orgo

tten,

mad

e up

, man

ufac

ture

d, m

anag

ed, m

ake-

belie

ve.

My

wor

ds f

all o

n to

the

page

and

bui

ld s

tori

es f

rom

sen

tenc

es th

atco

nflic

t and

con

trad

ict o

ne a

noth

er. D

idn'

t I s

ay th

at M

r. T

hom

p-so

n's

whi

te la

b co

at a

nd s

peci

aliz

ed s

cien

ce r

oom

mig

ht h

ave

been

prob

lem

atic

in a

liena

ting

me

from

my

own

lear

ning

? (O

nly

to w

on-

der

if th

ey d

idn'

t als

o ap

peal

to m

y ne

wly

for

min

g sc

ient

ific

sen

si-

bilit

y.)

In w

ritin

g an

d re

mem

beri

ng, I

am

eng

aged

in a

pro

cess

that

is a

s m

uch

abou

t sel

f-co

nstr

uctio

n as

sel

f-di

scov

ery.

I se

em to

hav

e co

me

full

circ

le f

rom

my

Gra

de S

even

lab

repo

rt.

(Or

have

I?)

Mr.

Tho

mps

on w

ante

d st

ruct

ure,

ord

er. S

cien

ce w

assp

elle

d us

ing

uppe

r-ca

se. I

was

dis

cour

aged

fro

m c

loud

ing

the

resu

lts w

ith m

y ow

n "I

." T

oday

, I r

esis

t the

pul

l of

orde

r in

my

wri

t-in

g, y

et m

y st

orie

s re

mai

n ne

at a

nd ti

dy.

If th

ings

get

too

mes

sy, I

can

alw

ays

put t

hem

bac

k in

the

box,

clo

seth

e lid

. I p

ush

agai

nst

conv

entio

n, in

terr

ogat

e M

r. T

hom

pson

's a

ttem

pts

to to

ilet-

trai

n m

ein

to o

bjec

tivity

. Yet

, I n

ow q

uest

ion

my

own

inte

ntio

ns a

s a

stor

y-m

aker

. Am

I b

eing

too

subj

ectiv

e? I

build

my

life

with

, in,

and

thro

ugh

wor

ds. I

pai

nt s

tori

es u

sing

col

ours

of

my

own

choo

s-in

g. M

y in

tent

ions

are

goo

d; I

str

ive

to f

ind

sens

e, to

mak

e m

eani

ngof

my

life

expe

rien

ces,

but

the

sear

ch f

or T

ruth

, the

life

as

it w

asre

ally

live

d, is

a m

isle

adin

g on

e. T

he li

fe I

(ha

ve)

live(

d)is

the

one

I m

ake

up. I

am

cau

ght u

p in

lang

uage

, in

wor

d-m

akin

g, c

onst

antly

stri

ving

to c

reat

e th

e w

orld

.I

once

wor

ried

abo

ut lo

sing

my

iden

tity

unde

r M

r. T

hom

pson

'sre

solv

e to

rem

ove

all p

erso

nal p

rono

uns;

now

, I s

trug

gle

over

whi

ch "

I" is

me.

Mer

lyn

said

, "T

o le

arn.

Tha

t is

the

only

thin

g th

atne

ver

fails

." C

urre

ntly

in G

rade

Tw

enty

-fou

r,I

cont

inue

to c

ele-

brat

e m

y ow

n w

ays

of le

arni

ng a

nd k

now

ing.

And

thro

ugh

it al

l, I

cont

inue

to w

ord

my

wor

ldas

if b

y m

agic

. Mer

lyn

wou

ld b

eim

pres

sed.

24

Sci

ence

and

Mag

ic21

5

Thi

s is

Chl

omph

yll C

ontr

olS

igni

ng O

ff:A

Fin

al R

efle

ctio

n

All

of th

is r

efle

ctin

g ha

she

lped

me

to m

ake

expl

icit

wha

tw

ason

ce b

urie

d an

d ta

cit (

like

the

box

in th

eba

sem

ent)

. I d

isco

vere

dpa

rts

of m

e th

at e

mer

ged

thro

ugh

my

prac

tice,

of

whi

ch I

am

bot

hpr

oud

and

emba

rras

sed.

I s

till w

onde

r ab

out M

r. T

hom

pson

. Iw

on-

der

wha

t st i

ries

he

mig

ht te

ll ab

out t

he c

lass

es h

eon

ce ta

ught

. Iw

onde

r w

hat s

tori

esm

y fo

rmer

cla

ssm

ates

mig

ht te

ll. D

o th

eyev

enre

mem

ber

Mr.

Tho

mps

on?

Perh

aps

they

hav

e fo

rgot

ten

abou

t the

map

of

the

leaf

. May

be p

hoto

synt

hesi

s on

lyri

ngs

a fa

int b

ell w

hen

itap

pear

s on

Jeo

pard

y: "

All

righ

t, co

ntes

tant

s,th

is o

ne f

or$1

0,00

0.00

... A

nsw

er: T

he p

rodu

ctio

n of

com

plex

org

anic

mat

e-ri

als

from

car

bon

diox

ide,

wat

er, a

nd in

orga

nic

salts

, usi

ngsu

nlig

htas

the

sour

ce o

f en

ergy

and

with

the

aid

ofch

loro

phyl

l and

ass

oci-

ated

pig

men

ts. Q

uest

ion:

Wha

t is

phot

osyn

thes

is?"

Pers

onal

ly, I

don

't fe

el c

heat

ed f

or n

otha

ving

had

the

oppo

rtu-

nity

to b

e a

mol

ecul

em

esse

nger

as

a tw

elve

-yea

r-ol

d. L

ike

the

War

t, I

seem

to h

ave

"had

the

best

of

itfo

r so

me

mys

teri

ous

rea-

son.

" Ju

st o

ver

a de

cade

aft

erle

avin

g M

r. T

hom

pson

's c

lass

room

, Iw

as c

raw

ling

arou

nd in

side

the

gian

t lea

f. I

was

bus

y m

akin

g su

reth

e m

olec

ules

wer

e in

ord

er, t

hein

stru

ctio

nal s

igns

inpl

ace,

and

that

the

voic

e fo

rC

hlor

ophy

ll C

ontr

ol w

as o

ut o

f si

ght a

ndre

ady

togo

. I w

as o

ut in

the

natu

ral w

orld

, sur

roun

ded

by li

ving

thin

gs, a

ndby

kid

s, a

nd w

e w

ere

lear

ning

toge

ther

. I'm

not

sur

e it

wou

ld h

ave

fit M

r. T

hom

pson

's v

isio

n of

the

scie

ntif

ic m

etho

d bu

t it

cert

ainl

yw

as a

n ex

peri

men

t.

Perh

aps

in s

ome

stra

nge

way

I w

as d

oing

it f

or M

r. T

hom

pson

.N

ot in

spi

te o

f hi

m, b

ut b

ecau

se o

f him

. I a

m a

pro

duct

of

all o

fm

yco

mbi

ned

expe

rien

ces.

Whe

ther

itw

as M

r. T

hom

pson

's w

hite

lab

coat

, his

poi

nter

, his

map

of

the

leaf

, his

adh

eren

ce to

sci

entif

icpr

inci

ples

,,1

whe

ther

it w

as c

raw

ling

arou

nd in

side

of

the

gian

tle

af a

s a

chlo

rosp

y, I

will

alw

ays

thin

k of

pho

tosy

nthe

sis

asa

mag

i-ca

l pro

cess

.

^

216

Cha

pter

12

Ref

eren

ces

Van

Mat

re, S

. (19

79).

Sun

ship

eart

h: A

n ac

clim

atiz

atio

n pr

ogra

mfo

r

outd

oor

lear

ning

. Mar

tinsv

ille,

IN: A

mer

ican

Cam

ping

Ass

ocia

tion.

Van

Mat

re, S

. (19

90).

Ear

thed

ucat

ion:

A n

ew b

egin

ning

.W

arre

nvill

e,

IL: T

he I

nstit

ute

for

Ear

thE

duca

tion.

Whi

te, T

. H. (

1938

). T

he s

wor

din

the

ston

e. L

ondo

n an

dG

lasg

ow:

Col

lins

Cle

ar-T

ype

Pres

s.

2627