Long-time science teacher and CVN “Science Cowboy” column-writer Mark Fontenot is ending his tenure at the Haines School after 26 years.
“I did some growing up in west Texas and thought cowboys were the coolest,” Fontenot said. “I’m a wannabe cowboy. I’m a cowboy without a horse.”
The second-longest serving teacher in the district, Fontenot said in his resignation letter he’s seen teachers burn out but remain in the job.
“I think we’ve all had teachers that have stayed behind when they lost the passion,” Fontenot said. “It’s a shame for students not to have a teacher that wakes up excited to come to school. I don’t feel burned out. I feel like I’m doing a good job but I do want to quit before I become a dinosaur.”
In two and a half decades, Fontenot’s seen many changes. Gender bias, he said, has changed for the better.
“Even 26 years ago it seemed clearer that females thought science and technology wasn’t what they were supposed to be doing,” Fontenot said. “I’ve been glad to see that gender bias disappear.”
A self-described “tech Luddite,” he’s concerned about how much the Internet, screen time and digital learning has invaded the classroom.
“When I first got here, when assigned a research project, students went to the library and checked out books. That’s pretty unusual now. People’s ability to read for understanding or to learn something by reading it has dropped off for all of us.”
Due to the ease and speed of a Google search, Fontenot said, students often don’t drill deep enough or question online sources. Instead they’re fed information via algorithm, which also feeds the human tendency toward confirmation bias.
“You tend to find what you want instead of finding the truth,” Fontenot said. “It’s set up to give you what you want and what you’re likely to click on more. Field trips are the antidotes to that. You go outside. No one brings their computer.”
He said small class sizes allowed him to form meaningful relationships with students and the valley’s outdoor learning opportunities kept him in Haines. When he landed his job in Haines, he thought he was in for a temporary adventure.
“I thought I’d get a job and get the Alaska bug out of my system and then go back to my real career. That didn’t happen,” Fontenot said. “I never regretted it even though I never made the money I could have made. I’ve been rewarded with a much richer life. Teachers like to imagine we shape the future and I think there is some truth to it.”
“This is the only full-time science teaching job I’ve had,” Fontenot told the CVN. “I made a career out of it. I haven’t ever wanted to be anywhere else. I feel like it’s one of the best places you could be a science teacher.”
He said a proud moment came when he was invited to Cornell after his former student Chandler Kemp graduated in the top 1% of his class.
They invited a teacher who was influential to them to tour the university and look at the research they’re doing,” Fontenot said. “I was really honored when Chandler chose me.”
Kemp graduated from Haines School in 2008 and went on to earn a Masters of Science in energy resource engineering. He said this week whether or not a student wanted to pursue science as a career, Fontenot made science relatable and interesting for everyone.
“His approach to it, of really celebrating and understanding the processes or the concepts behind what he was teaching made it really fun for me and sort of guided my approach to learning ever since,” Kemp said. “I felt he was a really great teacher for me, but also for the whole student body. He was able to connect with everybody in my class.”
Fontenot said he believes the critical thinking that science teaches, as well as a basic understanding of the laws of the universe are useful to everyone.
“Everyone should have some basic awareness of how things work and how we fit into the big picture,” Fontenot said. “I think anyone that’s going to be an intelligent part of the votership needs to have that background. And it’s part of being human, to want to know why we’re here.”
Fontenot said he will remain in Haines after retirement. He and wife Becky plan to travel when pandemic restrictions ease. In the meantime, he plans to tinker on his collection of old cars that don’t run, continue being a “wannabe inventor” and spend time outdoors.
He said he’ll continue to write Science Cowboy as long as questions keep coming.