Science Teacher of the Week

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Greenwood School's high school science teacher Diane Krug really likes to get her students close to nature and to animals. She's our Teacher of the Week.

Her classroom isn't the typical classroom and Diane Krug isn't the typical teacher.  With a rat named Talula on her shoulder, she walks around her class teaching her students. She has all sorts of a animals in her classroom. 

"The students get to hold them when they work if they wish. It's calming and it also teaches them responsibility and it's a learning tool."

There's Talula the rat, Batman the mouse, a rabbit hopping around under the desk, and in cages there are turtles and snakes. Krug pulls out a snake from it's cage and says, "This is Rita May. She's a ball python and we've had her for 19 years."

Krug hands the snake to one of her students who seems to like holding a snake so close. Another student gently strokes Rita May. 

The students are all very hands on whether it's holding a live snake or checking out the shell of a turtle. 

For students, the best part of the class is when they get to leave the classroom and get out in nature. 

"It's application. Students are actually doing environmental science. They are not just looking at it in a book," said Krug. 

The students actually made the trails which lead to a stream in the wetlands behind the school.      

"We get to come out here and feel the air; learn what's around us instead of sitting in class and reading about it we're actually seeing stuff that's in our book," said student Kelly Murphy.

Another student Jillian Chamberlain adds, "It's a great learning experience. You get first hand experience with plant life."

The students in Ms. Krug's class are not only getting an education, they're learning about their environment.

First Coast News received several nominations about Ms. Krug for Teacher of the Week.  One person wrote, "She captivates all of her students with her knowledge and her love for her students and for animals."

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