Friday, November 04, 2005

Another update on the SCSC

This is the last day of the South Carolina Science Council conference. As usual, I'm tired and just about ready to get home and get back to my regular life, and yet...

This was a very productive conference. I came with my department head, and another teacher in the building. Together, we planned out our days to maximize our time. We made sure that no workshop went uncovered if we needed to find out more about the topic. We were at workshops on content, labs, and the new science standards from the state. We also took time to check out the exhibits, and find out what's new in the technology.

I had new responsibilities, as I will be issued my certification soon for Chemistry & Physics, and need to touch base with the professional organizations, expand my knowledge base, and, frankly, get all the help that I can before I start teaching those subjects next year.

Last night, as you can see from the photos below, we also took the time to relax and enjoy the local sights. While I was there, I had an interesting conversation with Dr. Jeff Goldstein, the Center Director, National Center for Space, Earth, and Flight Science Education. He and I discussed Bill Nye's Keynote address, which touched on the need to teach students the difference between science, which is testable, and theories in religion and philosophy, which are not. We spent some time wrestling with how to approach the subject, and the role of the professional organizations in addressing the issue, admittedly a touchy and polarizing subject in many communities.



Dr. Goldstein will be the featured speaker today at the closing meeting of the conference. I'll take some notes, and post when I return home.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Home school

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Achievements

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Anonymous said...

Home school

HI

After a good read on blogs like this I like to leave little tips on goal setting. You know, the things you used to dream of when you were young, or even now.

A lot of research has shown that only those who set goals are likely to achieve their dreams.

When is the last time you really sat down and wrote a few short term and long term goals down?

What? It's been that long!

A new year is coming. You could do the same things you did this year and achieve the same results you did with your life dreams last year…

…or you could visit Effective Goal Setting and read all the FREE information on setting goals and getting what you want out of life

OR

you could just piddle on through life hoping for the best, like most people do.

Which will it be?

You really can have a lot more of everything than you do now. All you gotta do is know what you want and have a plan.

Have a GREAT New Year!

Anonymous said...

, we are a group of 11 chemistry students at the University of Florida and discovered your blog feed while completing a project that required a list of feeds related to used lab equipment. The content here isn't exactly what is needed for our project but it was refreshing to find your post Another update on the SCSC today. After sifting through blogs all week, our team wanted to let you know we'll be adding your feed to our used lab equipment site as a recommended resource. Keep up the great blog. Our lab team will be reading it regularly!!