Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
BESSEMER RESIDENT Steven Kellogg talks to a class of Bessemer sixth graders about sled dogs Wednesday at the Washington Elementary School. Kellogg and his neighbor Terry Krysak demonstrated how to harness the dogs and took their team for a short trip around the school parking lot as part of a lesson plan the students are completing on the Iditarod sled dog race currently underway in Alaska. Judy Palmateer provided the photo.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Bessemer - With the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicking off this weekend, Bessemer sixth graders are once again incorporating the famous Alaskan race into their curriculum.
Steven Kellogg and his team of sled dogs visited Washington Elementary School to give the kids a first-hand experience of mushing.
He brought three of his dogs - Split, Layla and Moon - to the school Wednesday, showing the students how the dogs are harnessed to the sled and demonstrating the mushing commands during a brief circuit behind the school.
Sixth grade teacher Mark Mettler credits former sixth grade teacher Barb Malmberg for starting the Iditarod-related lesson plans with the kids.
The lessons provide the students an opportunity to learn a variety of subjects through the race, including the geography of the course; calculating the mean, median and mode for the distances between each of the race's checkpoints; and the history of the race and competitors.
The students also each pick a musher they follow through the competition.
Along with teaching the various subjects, focusing on the sled dog race also gives the students a bit of a break from the ordinary lesson plans.
Kellogg, a Bessemer resident, said it was the third year he has brought his dogs to the school.
The demonstrations started after some of the district's teachers saw him and his neighbor, Terry Kryshak, running the dogs on the Iron Belle Trail.
"They saw us at the trail and gave us a call," Kellogg said.
Kellogg has been running dogs for roughly 10 years, taking them on runs of anywhere from 1.5-3 miles.
"We don't push the dogs real hard," he said.
Kryshak, who was also lending a hand Wednesday, said the sport is also a workout for the mushers as it often requires running and pushing the sled rather than simply riding it - especially when the sled is sunk down instead of riding on top of the snow.
Kryskak, who also serves on the Bessemer City Council, joked mushing was good preparation for council meetings.
The 1,000-mile Iditarod is expected to take competitors nine days to complete, according to the Associated Press.
