July 6, 2022
In the last four blog posts, I have described who I am, why I think science education is important, and the status of science education in the U.S. So, now what? What can I do about this issue to improve science education, most importantly, for those students who do not show an interest or aptitude in the sciences? How can I make sure that no one ever again says, “I hated Chemistry in high school”?
I have three major ideas, although I am sure that there are other good ideas out there. I had a fourth, but that’s another blog post.
Clearing houses: science ed. content and upcoming decisions
The first idea is really two, lumped together for their similarity in structure. Both are websites that provide information to people interested in science education. One website will be a one-stop shop for all of the amazing science education content that is available online. There is a tremendous amount of material. If a parent is looking for science enrichment classes, experiences, virtual education, games, etc., it’s out there. It’s just really hard to find what one specifically wants when it’s not listed anywhere in an organized way. The website I envision will provide that organization.
The second website addresses the issue of countering louder anti-science voices at board of education meetings. This website will be a continuously updated, one-stop shop listing all the upcoming meetings regarding science education decisions. That way, someone who knows they want to speak up for better science education in their community will know when to show up at meetings.
Top Gun Academy
The next activity I am planning harkens back to my days as a Navy training analyst. Some, perhaps most of you have seen the movie, “Top Gun.” (The old one. The new one just came out, and I have not seen it.) There is an actual Top Gun command in the Navy (although that’s not its official name), and its purpose is to train the trainers. They accept the best aviators in the fleet, train them in up-to-date tactics, then send them back out to the squadrons to train others.
I would like to see a similar program for teachers. I realize there is already a tremendous amount of professional development for teachers, and too little time to take advantage of those offerings. In a previous post, I mentioned that one of the things most public school K-12 teachers don’t have is enough time being mentored by more experienced teachers. I plan on developing a summer enrichment program in which master science teachers, the ones that grab every student’s attention, mentor other science teachers, while also providing enrichment classes to students struggling with science. Developing this and making it happen is not easy, and not easily scalable, but I think it’s a worthwhile effort.
Personal activity: writing about scientists
The last activity I will discuss today is more of a personal project, rather than one associated with Science is Elemental. Each year since November, 2012, I have participated (and won, meaning I hit 50,000 words!) in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo.org). The tag line in 2012 was “30 days, 50,000 words, no excuses.” The idea is to write a novel (in this case, defined as at least 50,000 words) in just 30 days. For this upcoming November 2022 NaNoWriMo, I intend to write a novel about a female scientist. For those who don’t know about her, check out Caroline Herschel, astronomer.
There is so much I could say, and need to say about each of these efforts that I will write later posts about each, separately. In the meantime, I welcome your comments on these ideas, or any others you may have.
Available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported, downloaded from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/F-14-Tomcat-by-Northrop-Grumman_fig1_337590484