First Day in Costa Rica: Teachable Moments

Over the years I've heard the term "teachable moment" many times. Of course, when you are in a formal classroom, all the time you spend with students should be just that. When traveling with students much time is spent just getting around - in and out of the airport, onto a bus or other vehicle, in and out of a restaraunt, etc. Teachable moments come up when you least expect them but they do come up frequently, especially when your topic is the environment.

So there we were, making our way through Atlanta's Hartsfield airport, when what should crop up but endangered species. No, not romping through the hallways or out on the tarmac, but right there in the display cases. Since this airport is an international arrival point, the Fish and Wildlife Service had on display products made from animals that they had confiscated from incoming passengers. One whole case displayed polar bear products (the polar bear was recently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act), another showed leopard skins, one showed woven garments made from the wool of a rare Himalayan antelope while yet another showed caviar and products from endangered sturgeon.

We didn't have much time to dwell on these displays, and my students were scattered throughout the airport trying to get something to eat during our quick connection time; we only had about 30 minutes on the ground between flights. I asked a few students near me to check them out - next week in class we'll be talking about the CITES treaty - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

- Chuck