Well!! (Second Post of the Day)

I did a Google search on myself tonight - I wanted to see just how easily my blog came up (I was glad to see it didn't until the 7th page of hits. I'm not quite so worried about privacy now.)

But.... I did find something interesting. I clicked on a few links to papers I have published in research journals. That was fun - seeing where in the world they have gone and who is reading them was a bit of a kick. (Cool!! Chinese! Korean! Spanish!! Dutch!) A few of them have been assigned as coursework reading at Ohio State University and a couple of other universities. Cool again! (Reading college students' papers commenting on my work was interesting!)

But what really intrigued me was that I found an author named John Gilbert had published a gargantuan, 7 pound book called Science Education - Major Themes in Education and included a paper I had written. "Hmmmm... didn't know he had used my work like that, but I guess I am okay with it," I thought. 

So, I thought I might order a copy for myself to have and enjoy - how often are you included in a book by an author of that caliber?  And I clicked on over to Amazon.com, did a search for the book, and discovered.... 

THE BOOK COSTS $1665.00!!

 Yep, folks, you read that right!! And, it's already out of print! (Hey, not to worry! You can get a used copy on the secondary market for the bargain price of $999!!)

Part of me is flattered to be included as Gilbert has drawn from a world-wide list of respected researchers and authors. Pretty neat to be considered for the book, let alone be IN it. And part of me is frustrated because, once you publish in a research journal, you never make a dime, even when a book, which includes YOUR work, goes for such an astronomical sum of money.

Here's the info blurb about Gilbert's book from Amazon.com. Pretty lofty and highbrow, eh?? 

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Education in, about, and through the sciences - physics, chemistry, biology, earth science--has grown rapidly in the last 150 years. Starting from the twin bases of an elective provision for those likely to become scientists and engineers of informal provision for the general populace, it has evolved into a core component of compulsory education across the globe. Above this rises an edifice of provision at university level and beyond, both formal and informal. This expansion has been justified by the number of decisions in democratic societies, and that it increasingly impinges on the personal lives of individuals.

This collection of papers drawn from a world-wide literature and reflecting diverse cultural traditions provides a resource for scholars seeking to unravel the historical trajectories of the complexities of science education. The papers reprinted in this set enable researchers to understand the nature of current provisions in the field, and to identify the likely future directions of development. 

About the Author
John K. Gilbert is Professor of Education at the University of Reading. He recently received the prestigious "Distinguished Contribution to Science Education Through Research Award" from the US based National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), which is the key professional organization for science education research worldwide - he is only the fourth non-US citizen to receive this award.

Isn't She Lovely?

Miss Adelaide in her blessing dress. Makes me think of that Stevie Wonder song that he wrote when he had a daughter (hence the title of this post!)

Love you, missy!!

S'Mores Successful in Solar Ovens!

We did it! My students studied the properties of heat, looked at the three basic designs for solar ovens, then designed and built their own out of materials brought from home. To test them, we tried to roast marshmallows in them.

And the ovens worked! Every single one of them.

It took a long time, and some kids even tried a "sun dance" to see if that didn't speed up the process a bit. But in the end, all five of the ovens they designed made soft, gooey marshmallows which were PERFECT with the graham crackers and Hershey bars I provided.

What a fun way to spend a sunny Friday afternoon and end the school week!

Happy Birthday, Braden!

Happy Birthday, Braden! I can't believe you are two!! Love you!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It's Historian, Dear, NOT Paparazzi!

You gotta love kids who take their responsibilities seriously! And today, one gal in my room took the cake for doing just that - going above and beyond to ensure she did a good job.

She is serving as this week's class historian. That means that, if we have a guest speaker, do something out of the ordinary, or whatever, her job is to get my camera and take photos of the event. Then at the end of our 2-3 years together, I burn the children a CD of photos that chronicle our time together. Unfortunately, my historian turned into the paparazzi this afternoon!

Detective McKee came today in connection with the Chocolate Logic Mystery we have been doing. He spoke to us about fingerprinting (and even brought his tools and powder!), alibis, interviewing witnesses, how a lie detector works... in short, TONS of stuff!

And throughout his presentation, our little historian was hard at work. Now, normally, 4-5 live action photos and one group picture are sufficient. But this gal kept the flash popping - she walked around the room, took shots from a variety of places, did close ups, got pictures of each detective tool.... Finally, I gave her a thumbs up and mouthed, "I think that's enough" to her. She misunderstood, saw the thumbs up, and thought I was encouraging her to do more!! 66 pictures later, I finally got her to stop.

"I do photography in 4H," she proudly told me. "I know you need to take a lot of pictures to get good ones."

And I have to admit, she DID get some great shots!

Birthday Boy/Natural Teacher!

Curt came to my class to speak about Brazil on Friday. He is a natural teacher - yet he tells me he isn't really comfortable teaching little kids. Curt seized so many good teaching moments and built on them during his visit. (I've had many guest speakers, and most miss those opportunities!)

Since his birthday was the following day, I baked him a treat of brownies as a surprise and my class sang to him.

Of course we celebrated at home, too, on Sunday evening with Pooma (who shares his birthday) and Grandma!

Happy Birthday, Curt!!