Integrated Lessons in Geology and History

Over the Memorial Day weekend, my family along with a group of friends headed to south-central Idaho to the City of Rocks.  The remote location was impressive by the enormous geological features, changing weather patterns and historical significance of California-bound emigrants.

The geology of the Reserve which is managed by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation under an agreement with the National Park Service is distinctive and spectacular.  We camped under Bread Loaves a unique granite formation some 3 billion years old and towering close to 600 feet.  Lucky for us we had a geologist willing to teach us such terms like ash-flow tuffs, arches, crevasses, potholes, granite and vines.  She even took us to a prehistoric (Pleistocene period) packrat midden.

In addition to the impressive geological features, the history of this region was spectacular. We witnessed on Camp Rock - a notable geological feature - historical signatures written in axle grease by emigrants traveling the California Trail between 1843 and 1869.  In 1852 some 52,000 people passed through City of Rocks on the way to California goldfields.

What I thought constituted as a simple weekend getaway turned out to be an integrated lesson in Idaho geology and history.  As described in the City of Rocks literature:

“the timeless scenery of City of Rocks is broad and expansive yet accessible and intimate. People develop a personal relationship with this landscape as evidenced by pioneer journals and comments from modern-day visitors”.

Recently I picked up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell Outliers, where he describes the concept behind continued year round learning.  This I believe strengthens the idea of integrated learning.  In the Chris Langan chapter, Gladwell describes that some parents believe in concreted cultivation - families putting in a few solid months of learning during the summer (Gladwell continues to discuss year round education and the benefits it has on children...but that's another blog).  The idea of concreted cultivation was evident during the ride home and even into this week, we continue to discuss what was learned and the significance it has on our landscape, culture and history.  This has since lead to discussion about our upcoming summer travels (local and beyond) and how we feel optimist about our future.

What are your summer plans, do you subscribe to integrated learning, what are your thoughts on concreted cultivation?