Wednesday, October 8

from Sputnik to 2061

The modern era of science education can be bracketed by two space events. On the left side of the timeline was the launch of Sputnik. Less than two feet in diameter, this man-made satellite shook the world in October of 1957. At the right-hand end of our timeline is the July return of Halley's Comet in 2061, the year in which the famous AAAS reform is to have reached fruition. What an astonishing amount of time falls between these two events. An online calculator revealed that there will be 37,918 days between the two. While we might recognize that this covers more than a century, when reduced to days the time seems unimaginable.

Over such a considerable span of time, one would expect that great improvements in science education would have occurred. Even with incremental changes, the passage of years should reveal advances that would be worth celebrating. At what point in the stream of time would we expect to dip in to observe the improvements? Surely not just a few years after Sputnik's orbit even though that was an era of profound activity. Perhaps the halfway point would be the right moment, exactly 18,959 days after Sputnik's flight and exactly 18,959 days prior to Halley's closest approach to our planet. Wouldn't that be a wondrous time to see how far we've come?

The sad news is that this midway point coincides with the start of the next school year -- August 31, 2009 to be exact. It's a Monday, one week before Labor Day. School will probably be in session. For the more fortunate children, they may experience some science that day. But wouldn't one think we would have made greater advances by now? The theme of this spring's science education research conference is Grand Challenges and Great Opportunities in Science Education.
So I suppose, all hope is not lost. The grand challenges remain and the great opportunity sits between now and the next school year. One question is what would be required to make genuine progress that is more than a slogan.

Years ago I was taught a trick to find the center of gravity for a long stick. I start with my index fingers at opposite ends and gradually slide them toward the center. When one finger is sufficiently centralized, the unbalanced weight allows the further out finger to slide in. Eventually, my fingers will meet at the center and that pivot point is where everything hangs in the balance. The talk I'm imagining would have the title "Between Sputnik's Launch and Halley's Return: Grand Challenges at the Crossroads." Perhaps others will be startled by how fast time has gone by and how little progress has been made. Not that 2061 is a magical date. But since modern science education reform is halfway to that way-station, it seems imperative to renew our commitments.

1 comment:

Adam said...

holy Jesus! I just did that stick trick today in class. We were studying center of mass.
More forward looking: the piece of information about this upcoming halfway point should find mention in an upcoming conference presentation.
I wonder if this date in August should get special recognition. A Xroads theme?