Post by title1parent on May 26, 2010 21:36:13 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=383138&src=76
Still Middle School teacher reels in students with fishing club
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald 5/26/10
It's not often talk of sliplines and sinkers, Fatheads or shiners and the art of casting find their way into the classroom, but Still Middle School science teacher Mark Kubal found a method to make it happen.
An avid outdoorsman, Kubal found a successful way to introduce students to his favorite pastime 13 years ago when he started his after-school fishing club. Membership has grown each year, reaching 35 this year, and has become more diverse as more girls have joined.
"Fishing has always been a very safe, healthy thing for me to do to ground myself, replace all frustrations, reconnect with my source and put my life into perspective," Kubal said. "I have this belief of giving back to what inspires you, so I give back to what inspires me by having a fishing club for kids."
This season's group meets after school every other Wednesday and will compete for prizes in a total of four area fishing derbies Saturday mornings.
Members such as Kyle Miller, who won the first derby held at Naperville's Willow Ridge Pond, learn not only how to set the line and reel in a big one, but also to be better stewards of the environment and teammates.
"Saturday mornings give kids a chance to reconnect with families and it's nice to see the parents come out and spend the quality time," Kubal said. "There's also the friendship and cooperation that comes with working with people you may not choose to work with in a structured setting like a classroom. All of that is forgotten once you get out there in the water."
Kylie Chevelier also hauled in a largemouth bass that any angler would be jealous of during a recent derby. And she did it with the help of some friends she may not otherwise have known.
"It's cool because I wouldn't have learned some of this otherwise, and I've never a caught a big fish before," she said. "But when you do, everyone gets excited, wants to help you get it in, and it's fun."
Throughout the course of the club, Kubal has some of his well-known fisherman friends join the club. ESPN columnist and radio and television show host Chauncey Niziol was this season's first guest. He and Kubal met several years ago and Niziol said he has admired Kubal's dedication to the club ever since.
"Growing up, I wasn't ever the most thin or athletic guy so I wasn't getting my teeth kicked in on the football field or running around the baseball diamond," Niziol said.
"But I loved to fish, man, and if my school had a fishing club, that would have given me all I needed to have as much school pride as anyone on any of those other teams. So you've got to admire this special little thing (Kubal)'s got going on here."
Still Middle School teacher reels in students with fishing club
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald 5/26/10
It's not often talk of sliplines and sinkers, Fatheads or shiners and the art of casting find their way into the classroom, but Still Middle School science teacher Mark Kubal found a method to make it happen.
An avid outdoorsman, Kubal found a successful way to introduce students to his favorite pastime 13 years ago when he started his after-school fishing club. Membership has grown each year, reaching 35 this year, and has become more diverse as more girls have joined.
"Fishing has always been a very safe, healthy thing for me to do to ground myself, replace all frustrations, reconnect with my source and put my life into perspective," Kubal said. "I have this belief of giving back to what inspires you, so I give back to what inspires me by having a fishing club for kids."
This season's group meets after school every other Wednesday and will compete for prizes in a total of four area fishing derbies Saturday mornings.
Members such as Kyle Miller, who won the first derby held at Naperville's Willow Ridge Pond, learn not only how to set the line and reel in a big one, but also to be better stewards of the environment and teammates.
"Saturday mornings give kids a chance to reconnect with families and it's nice to see the parents come out and spend the quality time," Kubal said. "There's also the friendship and cooperation that comes with working with people you may not choose to work with in a structured setting like a classroom. All of that is forgotten once you get out there in the water."
Kylie Chevelier also hauled in a largemouth bass that any angler would be jealous of during a recent derby. And she did it with the help of some friends she may not otherwise have known.
"It's cool because I wouldn't have learned some of this otherwise, and I've never a caught a big fish before," she said. "But when you do, everyone gets excited, wants to help you get it in, and it's fun."
Throughout the course of the club, Kubal has some of his well-known fisherman friends join the club. ESPN columnist and radio and television show host Chauncey Niziol was this season's first guest. He and Kubal met several years ago and Niziol said he has admired Kubal's dedication to the club ever since.
"Growing up, I wasn't ever the most thin or athletic guy so I wasn't getting my teeth kicked in on the football field or running around the baseball diamond," Niziol said.
"But I loved to fish, man, and if my school had a fishing club, that would have given me all I needed to have as much school pride as anyone on any of those other teams. So you've got to admire this special little thing (Kubal)'s got going on here."