SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — Angler or not, just about anyone would prefer casting a line to doing classwork.
"I think my favorite activity was the casting station. I thought it was really fun and something new to try," said Schuylkill Haven junior Sara Grace Minnig.
Learning how to fish was just one of the lessons taught to students from Schuylkill Haven Area High School.
The biology class gathered at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds for class, the end of a unit where the kids raised rainbow trout. The main objective of this hands-on lesson learning an appreciation for the great outdoors.
"You can only do so much in the classroom with textbooks. You have to put your hands on and actually see in real life what it's like instead of simulation, coming out here and putting your hands on, actually stocking the fish in the stream, looking around and seeing what the environment is like; it's very good for the learning experience," said senior Shane Pothering.
Members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and representatives from Cabela's stood in as teachers.
Even biology teacher Kay Schwenk contends that outside and out of the classroom can be the best way to learn.
"I just love how the students feel excited out here. Some of these students have never touched a fishing rod before, have never had a shovel to plant seedlings, have never shot a bow to try archery, have hiked in the woods like they will with Porcupine Pat," said Schwenk. "It's wonderful to see their excitement, their expressions, to appreciate all that nature has to offer."
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