09 - 2007.pdf - Kahal Joseph

By Nadine Dabby
The Exploratorium is one of the few places
that I know of where children and adults
alike are encouraged to touch and play
with everything. Even the water fountain is a lesson
waiting to be discovered (when you drink the
water music plays, but when you let the water
run it doesn’t, that is because it was wired so that
the fountain drinker completes the low-voltage
electrical circuit that powers the music).
Founded in the 1960s, the San Francisco science
museum was designed to educate people about science
by encouraging them to seek out the reasons
why the phenomena on display works. In essence,
that is science—the creative process of asking questions
about the world around you and finding ways
to test your explanations. And that is the one thing
most K-12 schools fail to convey: the idea of being
in a room full of ideas and objects and thoughts and
allowing ones imagination to run wild.
In fact, thanks to recent legislation, such as the
No Child Left Behind Act, teachers across America
are forced to spend most of their time teaching
toward the standardized tests that determine their
funding. Couple this with the size of classes, the
load of 5 classes a day, the low pay and the already
dire funding prospects and it is easy to see why
America is losing ground to China and India in
terms of developing the next generation of scientists
and idea makers.
For the last two summers I have had the privilege
of visiting the Exploratorium as a summer fellow
and participant of the museum’s Teacher Institute,
whose mission is to teach teachers to bring the
hands-on, engaging exhibits and ideas into the
classroom (on a shoe-string budget). I have had the
experience of spending time with 30-40 teachers
and seeing the effort that the good ones put into
their work. And this is what I have to say to you,
the parent:
One of the most shocking things I have discovered
is that not only are teachers without a scientific
On Education
background (beyond high school-level biology)
thrust into positions where they must teach math
and science, but these teachers are sometimes
forced to teach outdated material (that is factually
incorrect) because the state standardized tests have
not been updated in years.
Don’t trust your school system with your children’s
education. Studies have shown that the most
successful students are the ones whose parents are
involved in their education by either creating an
environment in which science or literature or politics
is discussed in the home or by parents who make
sure their kids are getting a complete education.
Most teachers are very good people with good
intentions who just may not have the time or
resources to combat this problem. That is why I
encourage you to get involved in your kids’
schools, get involved in the community. You may
find that this activity will teach you a thing or two.
Congratulations to
Rabbi Haim & Edna Ovadia on
The occasion of their son Ariel’s
Forth coming Marriage to Esther
Rivka and Albert Gad
And family
SEPTEMBER 2007 9 / THE SHOFAR