Taking Bearings

“I don’t believe I can really do without teaching.” — Richard P. Feynman

I have always taken pride in the development of high-quality, accessible educational resources for students at the middle school, high school, AP, and early undergraduate levels. It is there that we can foster a life-long interest in science.

But I also always wanted to teach high school physics. For me it was the course the truly opened my eyes to how the world works, and it was key to understanding all other sciences, the importance of scientific advances to advances in technology, and the integration of science with the arts (especially with regard to the properties of light, pigments, and the nature of materials).

I wanted to both repay and pass on the gifts my teachers had entrusted as well as experience the thrill of see a dawning of awareness of the grandeur of science in young eyes.

To be able to teach I needed a teaching certification, and so I earned an M.Ed. (awarded with academic honors) specializing in science education and obtained other needed licensing certifications.

Holding  a baccalaureate degree with concentrations in physics, chemistry, and molecular biology, I was required to take additional graduate-level courses in areas of science I had not previously studied. Accordingly, I concentrated on geoscience courses. My graduate work in education, per se, focused on creating curriculum and classroom environments that encouraged women and students from traditionally marginalized communities to pursue careers in science and engineering.

After graduating, for two years, I then taught AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and other science, math, and technology courses at schools in poor and underserved urban areas in the Mobile County Public School system and other parts of Alabama. While a certified teacher, I was also an active member of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). My teaching evaluations were consistently in the highest percentiles. Much more importantly, however, my experiences with my students rank among my fondest professional and personal memories.

I greatly valued my time as a classroom teacher. In addition to being personally rewarding, it sharpened the skills I needed to become a more effective science communicator and curriculum developer

I still count the time I devoted to classroom teach to be among the most rewarding experiences of my life. The time invested was also incredibly rewarding in terms of writing and producing science and factual media for non-scientist audiences.

One of the most enjoyable experiences while teaching came from developing media technology programs to serve students outside the AP/college pipeline. In addition to teaching some journalism practice and ethics, a closed-circuit televised morning news show for our school that I started allowed a range of students to show off their talents, sharpen their writing skills, and exploring facets of science and technology via the rush of producing a daily news broadcast.

Our morning news theme song?

The Youngbloods’ Get Together.  It worked.

I learned Rap and Hip Hop, and my students learned (and loved) my “retro” rock.