Getting Involved In Science Education
So, my nephew is attending the same junior high school that I did 20 years ago, and I discovered some of my old teachers are still teaching! That's very surreal, since they weren't fresh out of college back when I was a student. But, even more importantly, I'm way more fired up about science and education than I was as a 12-year-old.
I had the opportunity to introduce my nephew to a few neat things and concepts while he was out here for the holidays, including things like "just because it's in print, doesn't mean it's true - the media is out to sell copies and doesn't always fact-check (or outright lies), so don't believe everything you hear just because Someone Said So".
There was so much more I wanted to introduce to him, but we just didn't have the time. If I was still living at home, I'd do things like, be "caught" watching some awesome program or listening to some cool podcast or song, that I could turn him onto just because his "cool auntie" likes it (that's how I got him hooked on Firefly). But since I can't do that, I'm doing the next best thing, and that's writing to his school's science department to recommend some science resources that are hopefully attractive to kids.
I plan to cc his parents & grandparents in on this too, in order to enlist their aid. He has also been allowed to get his own email address this year (FINALLY!), so I also have plans to forward him YouTube links with cool stuff (he LOVES YouTube, but had to be introduced to it by friends since his mom & grandparents wouldn't let him get on the internet until his other grandparents bought him his own netbook and now they *have* to let him, but with major parental supervision).
So, anyway, here's the letter I'm planning to send, with all the identifying information stripped. Feel free to use it yourself, either in full or as inspiration, and if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.
Hi there, I am an alumnus and I am very interested in the future of science education. My nephew is now attending your school, 20 years after me, and I would like to make some recommendations for possible science-based materials to be used, either in the classroom or as recommendations for the students to follow up on their own time. Please take a look through the following resources and consider adding them to the curriculum:
~ Brian Dunning's In Fact (www.skeptoid.com/infact.php)
~ Brian Dunning's Here Be Dragons (http://herebedragonsmovie.com/)
~ NASA's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/NASA)
~ Anything by Neil deGrasse Tyson (http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/) or as a guest speaker
~ Anything by Phil Plait (http://www.badastronomy.com/index.html) or as a guest speaker
~ 13 episodes of Cosmos free on Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/cosmos)
~ cool science videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/JorethInnkeeper#grid/user/549CDB87504A506B to start with)
~ Mr. Wizard's teachers DVDs (http://www.mrwizardstudios.com/forteachers.htm)
~ Anything by Bill Nye, but the music videos are great (http://www.youtube.com/user/NyeTunes)
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/activities.html
http://www.teachengineering.org/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/engineering/
http://www.middleweb.com/mw/aaResources.html
http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/
http://www.awim.org/teachers/
I wouldn't doubt if you already know some or all of these sources, but just in case, I'd like to bring them to your attention if you don't.
~An Interested Adult Family Member Passionate About Science Education
I had the opportunity to introduce my nephew to a few neat things and concepts while he was out here for the holidays, including things like "just because it's in print, doesn't mean it's true - the media is out to sell copies and doesn't always fact-check (or outright lies), so don't believe everything you hear just because Someone Said So".
There was so much more I wanted to introduce to him, but we just didn't have the time. If I was still living at home, I'd do things like, be "caught" watching some awesome program or listening to some cool podcast or song, that I could turn him onto just because his "cool auntie" likes it (that's how I got him hooked on Firefly). But since I can't do that, I'm doing the next best thing, and that's writing to his school's science department to recommend some science resources that are hopefully attractive to kids.
I plan to cc his parents & grandparents in on this too, in order to enlist their aid. He has also been allowed to get his own email address this year (FINALLY!), so I also have plans to forward him YouTube links with cool stuff (he LOVES YouTube, but had to be introduced to it by friends since his mom & grandparents wouldn't let him get on the internet until his other grandparents bought him his own netbook and now they *have* to let him, but with major parental supervision).
So, anyway, here's the letter I'm planning to send, with all the identifying information stripped. Feel free to use it yourself, either in full or as inspiration, and if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.
Hi there, I am an alumnus and I am very interested in the future of science education. My nephew is now attending your school, 20 years after me, and I would like to make some recommendations for possible science-based materials to be used, either in the classroom or as recommendations for the students to follow up on their own time. Please take a look through the following resources and consider adding them to the curriculum:
~ Brian Dunning's In Fact (www.skeptoid.com/infact.php)
~ Brian Dunning's Here Be Dragons (http://herebedragonsmovie.com/)
~ NASA's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/NASA)
~ Anything by Neil deGrasse Tyson (http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/) or as a guest speaker
~ Anything by Phil Plait (http://www.badastronomy.com/index.html) or as a guest speaker
~ 13 episodes of Cosmos free on Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/cosmos)
~ cool science videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/JorethInnkeeper#grid/user/549CDB87504A506B to start with)
~ Mr. Wizard's teachers DVDs (http://www.mrwizardstudios.com/forteachers.htm)
~ Anything by Bill Nye, but the music videos are great (http://www.youtube.com/user/NyeTunes)
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/activities.html
http://www.teachengineering.org/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/engineering/
http://www.middleweb.com/mw/aaResources.html
http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/
http://www.awim.org/teachers/
I wouldn't doubt if you already know some or all of these sources, but just in case, I'd like to bring them to your attention if you don't.
~An Interested Adult Family Member Passionate About Science Education