Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
I've been bad about posting, though I do read my friends' LJs. This occasion was enough to kick me in the tail and get me to post.
Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging about the achievements of women in science and technology.
Rather than posting about someone who made an earth-shattering discovery or designed a tool that transformed the world, I've decided to speak more personally. June Stasun taught science at Willoughby Middle School in the 1980s. I believe she has since retired, but I don't know where she is now.
Miss Stasun was, on the surface, the kind of teacher that early adolescent monsters love to tear apart. She was obese and wore what looked like men's clothes. But her love of science and of teaching got through to us. After a couple of months in her classroom, all but the most school-resistant kids loved her. She was funny, patient, and had a knack for finding the right explanation whenever somebody didn't get a concept the first time.
She made no apologies for her non-"girly" interests like ham radio, which made me love her all the more. Not that she was defensive about them; she simply presented them as normal. I was already an unabashed nerd with a love of science and science fiction. Middle school is a tough time to be a nonconformist, and it was inspiring to see an adult woman outside my family who cared about the things I did.
I don't recall now whether it was Miss Stasun who invited me to join the model rocket club, but I don't think I would have stayed if she hadn't been the adviser. It was just her, me, and twenty or so boys. She made even the most routine launch of the most basic model exciting. She made us take safety precautions seriously without frightening us. And, though I shudder at the thought of supervising that many middle school kids with explosive propellants, she did it all with a smile.
Thank you, Miss Stasun, wherever you are.
Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging about the achievements of women in science and technology.
Rather than posting about someone who made an earth-shattering discovery or designed a tool that transformed the world, I've decided to speak more personally. June Stasun taught science at Willoughby Middle School in the 1980s. I believe she has since retired, but I don't know where she is now.
Miss Stasun was, on the surface, the kind of teacher that early adolescent monsters love to tear apart. She was obese and wore what looked like men's clothes. But her love of science and of teaching got through to us. After a couple of months in her classroom, all but the most school-resistant kids loved her. She was funny, patient, and had a knack for finding the right explanation whenever somebody didn't get a concept the first time.
She made no apologies for her non-"girly" interests like ham radio, which made me love her all the more. Not that she was defensive about them; she simply presented them as normal. I was already an unabashed nerd with a love of science and science fiction. Middle school is a tough time to be a nonconformist, and it was inspiring to see an adult woman outside my family who cared about the things I did.
I don't recall now whether it was Miss Stasun who invited me to join the model rocket club, but I don't think I would have stayed if she hadn't been the adviser. It was just her, me, and twenty or so boys. She made even the most routine launch of the most basic model exciting. She made us take safety precautions seriously without frightening us. And, though I shudder at the thought of supervising that many middle school kids with explosive propellants, she did it all with a smile.
Thank you, Miss Stasun, wherever you are.