The air is thin and oxygen-deprived, the perimeter pitch black. The walls of the underground mine are damp, the air heavy and cold. It’s hard to imagine the existence of sunlight.
One hand clings to the yellow hard hat you made fun of just minutes ago. Now it offers protection, your only protection hundreds of miles down in the cave.
Outdoor experiences like these really allow for appreciation of geology, and Dr. Kathryn Stanton, City College geology professor, does just that for her students. Stanton plans a mandatory field trip so students can see geology at work in cave mines.
Her passion for geology is not only reflected in field trips, but through her insightful PowerPoint lectures, quirky anecdotes, and interesting experiments.
“I explain things in a manner that I find useful,” Stanton says. “I make comparisons, or use food analogies.”
You can find Stanton’s classroom in Mohr Hall, as you turn a hall corner next to a wall covered with glass shelves exhibiting rocks, smooth outer surfaces and clear purple crystalline interiors, fossils and bones. Twenty eight students in red, hard plastic chairs sit rustling notebook papers, food wrappers and cell phones.
Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack.
The sound of Stanton’s heels resonate as she moves toward the wide rectangular desk, a red aluminum water bottle in one hand, and teaching materials in the other. Gray slacks cover short boot-like heels. Dark lavender peeks underneath a black cardigan. Light, cherry-blond hair worn short, surrounds black rimmed glasses; blue eyes and thin pink lips rest on fair, lightly freckled skin.
She begins the class period with a quiz. Hand movements, walking back and forth and pointing the red laser to trends on graphs or graphics help students remain engaged.
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Leah Drury, a liberal arts major enrolled in Stanton’s earth science class last semester, describes Stanton as “structured, and challenging, in a good sense.” Drury says, “The PowerPoints are very helpful, as well as her enthusiasm about the material.”
Stanton’s first career in interior design led her down the path to her true passion in geology. Enrollment in college during her mid-20s rewarded her with a PhD in paleontology, from UC Davis, and a dream job at City College.
“If you teach at a UC or a CSU, there is always a research component, and I like doing research, but I love teaching,” says Stanton, as she explained her excitement of being offered the position while she was wrapping up her dissertation in 2004. At a community college Stanton says she can focus on teaching students.
“It’s about the teaching, the instructors here. They are here to be teachers,” Stanton says.
Stanton’s dissertation work was studying the chemical composition of dinosaur teeth. She extracted data involving physiological growth and diet. Six years of hard, yet rewarding research, produced new published discoveries, wrapped neatly in a book with a dark-textured, hard cover with golden block letters.
She says her desire to explore the world of geology came in part from her parents, especially her dad who would take the family on weekend outdoor trips.
“He was an outdoor kinda dude. He would take us rafting, hiking and camping,” Stanton says.
She says her exposure to natural beauty enhanced her appreciation of science and she yearned to learn more by studying geology.
“It is really fun to know something about the earth around you,” says Stanton about the message she intends to send students. “It allows you to look around the world and have more of an in-depth knowledge, which to me, makes the world a more interesting place.”
