Senor Parrot's Perch

As I was perusing stories around the internet I found in the Baltimore Sun a report that the perennial teacher shortage was easing. Apparently this always occurs at a downturn in the economy.

All is not well, however. The article states that there are still significant shortages of teachers

of special education, math, chemistry, physics and foreign language teachers. The state has designated those as shortage areas in its report released Friday.

Colleges and public schools have been working hard recently to produce more math and science teachers, said John Smeallie, acting deputy superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education. Wiseman said College Park produced about 25 math and science teachers last year; that is expected to nearly double this year.

Still, two years ago, College Park produced one physics teacher and last year only two.

Wiseman noted that science teachers must complete all of the courses in their major as well as a full set of education courses. “That is a lot of work to do,” she said, given they will earn significantly less than their peers who go work in a lab or do research.

This is bad news. As the number of engineers and science grads increases in our major competitors for the future, India and China, our basic educational infrastructure is falling behind in its ability to provide a substantial science based curriculum to our children. We will undoubtedly lose our technical edge as a result.

I’m wondering more and more if the strategy that works for home schoolers would also work for in-school schooled (is that the opposite of home schooled!?) students. That is, that they have to learn it at home and within volunteer groups of students with similar interests.

I love science, and I like books that encourage that same interest in others. Over at Planet Esme she provides these reviews of�some interesting science-related kids’ books and some more of her recommendations and comparisons of�additional books that deal� with animal life cycles. She reviews This is Your LIfe Cycle With Special Guest Dahlia the Dragonfly by Heather Lynn Miller and illustrated by Michael Chesworth; Trout are Made of Trees by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Kate Endle; and Houdini the Magic Caterpillar by Janet Pederson

She follows up with a long list of reasons why Chicago should replace New York as the publishing hub of America. I buy most all of them, and In her reasoning she mentions Wisconsin twice. As everyone who lives here in Wisconsin knows, just being near this beautiful state is reason enough, and Madison’s only about 150 miles away, a two hour hop, skip, and a jump from a full day of fun for us northern neighbors.

A while ago I decided to get a LEGO Mindstorms NXTrobot to build with my kids. I thought that, more than just a fun toy, building a robot would excite an interest in science and open a doorway to all sorts of explorations.

So far, I’ve been right on. Anticipating getting an actual robot was the first fun thing. And reading about all that robots was just like adding more caffeine to their coffee.

Our first stop was the local library. There we either checked out the books on the shelf, or special ordered interesting books from other branches. Our local library system in Madison had an excellent variety for a broad range of developmental abilities, ages, and experience.

Those written for the youngest children, ages 9 and down, were pretty much the same, addressing what a robot really is, how they are used, sensors and actuators, artificial intelligence and robotic learning,� and programming, albeit, at a very elementary level that even a small child could understand.

The books at this level were:

• It Could Still Be a Robot (Rookie Read-About Science) by Allan Fowler (ISBN 0516204319 – Very elementary, and suitable for reading even to my 5-year old
• Robots (Kaleidoscope:Technology) by Darcy Lockman (ISBN 0761410473) – for a bit older kids, first though 3rd grade, but good even as a starter for older kids as an introduction to what more mature books will cover. It presents a wide range of uses.
• Robotics (Life in the Future) by Mark Beyer – Like Robots, above, for kids 2nd through 4th grade, illustrating lots of uses and concepts.

These three formed a sort of a first wave, the most basic introduction. They were definitely worth reading and worked well to prime the pump, but they weren’t as deep as I needed to go for my older daughter.

For myself, these books gave me a foundation for asking my daughters questions to help guide their attention and thought, and to prepare them for understanding the technological challenges and pave the way for eventually designing their own robots. From this, I made a little list of questions to keep us all thinking about our goals in building robots.

If your kids like the Lego or Playmobil castles, or any of the other building toys,� Castle Under Siege! by Andrew Solway is a little book that offers a fun hook into some the science behind those ancient buildings. Already engrossed in the imaginary building of a castle and defending it against all enemies, kids are primed to learn how it was really done. Books like this are great segues into learning more on their own.

I found this book in the library by chance, while looking for books about robots to share with my kids. I grabbed it, realizing that these simple applications might help my kids see just why science is cool. It also provides a nice window into the past. Its aimed at 2nd through 4th graders, though some older kids might enjoy the quick informative read, especially coupled with David Macaulay’s great Castle, which is aimed at higher age level than Castle Under Siege!

Medieval society seems like all labor, but there were lots of machines at work to create and maintain their way of life. Castle Under Siege! looks at a few of these, like the drawbridge, crossbow, catapults, and siege engines were actually applications of simple machines. Photographic reenactments and illustrations help explain the concepts.

Simple machines are also so simple, that a trip to the hardware, home improvement, or hobby store to pick up a couple pulleys, boards, dowels and wooden wheels can result in some quick construction of the same machines on a tabletop scale.

Some time last summer I got the bug to build a robot. I wanted to get my oldest daughter, age 11, involved, too. Lots of things about robots appeal to me. They are very much the nexus for a lot of cool, current and emerging technology: (more…)

In many schools late winter is time for Science Fair. This can be pure drudge work for lots of kids, but done right, its a fun way to spark children’s interest in science. Little experiments can trigger more questions and set life’s course.

We have a book called My Big Science Book by Simon Mugford and published by priddy books which is full of fun experiments for kids to perform. Each asks a simple question and answers with simple explanations and a physics or chemistry experiment any kid can perform. Each experiment demonstrates a principle that every kid will already be somewhat familiar with. The equipment is so basic that you can pick up anything that you don’t already have around the house for a few dollars. The age range for this book is probably 6 or 7 to 11 or 12.

The time to get kids interested is now, before bad attitudes and the ‘science is hard and boring‘ messages sink too far in. And parents’ attitudes are especially important. If parents take the attitude that science is for nerds, you’ll turn your kids off to what may be the key to their future, both economically and occupationally. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know this stuff yourself. It’s easy at this level to start picking up concepts and learning right along with the kids. And never forget, learning is fun.

Science and discovery are so much fun to a bright and growing mind. Children need the exposure and the fun that come with it. They need the encouragement to pursue it. My own wife came home from school in the second grade and told her family that she was going to be a scientist. She had made up her mind and she was encouraged to pursue it. She never swerved from that goal, except to consider becoming a physician. Today, she’s a Ph.D. in medical microbiology and immunology with important contributions to cellular immunology. What led her to decide to be a scientist at the age of 8? No one really remembers, but it must have been something fun and it must have been something interesting to start a fire in her mind that still burns today.

If anyone has stories or other helpful books to share, that would be great.

Here are two books, refreshingly different from the huge, mostly undistinguished� selection of books out that are out there. “A Woodland Counting Book” by author/illustrator Claudia McGehee is a beautiful counting book and a pleasure to read, attaining honorable mention in the Midwest Bookseller’s Association Book Awards for 2007. It’s the perfect choice for young children, especially those ready to progress beyond the first 10 numbers, as this book covers one to twenty, and then by 10′s up to 50. Its companion, “A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet” is just as excellent, and was also an honorable mention in the MBA awards for 2004.

These books give you an extra bonus. Not only do they introduce your child to counting, numbers, letters and sounds, but both books are also great introductions to nature that will spark your child’s interest and increase his or her awareness of the beautiful natural environment that surrounds them. Each page is a vivid scratchboard-with-watercolor illustration of a plant or animal in its native habitat that illustrates each number or letter. Each book also progresses through the seasons, showing the beauty of nature throughout the year. After reading these to my youngest I always find myself hearing the call of the great outdoors – no not the same as nature’s call- and for many children in urban areas who may not have any contact with nature, these books will also open a window to the wild world for them.

Both books are published by University of Iowa Press. A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet was published in 2004 and a Woodland Counting Book was published in 2006.

A Woodland Counting Book, ISBN 0-87745-989-4

A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet, ISBN 0-87745-897-9

PaleoJoe is Joe Kchodl, a real-life paleontologist and author of the Dinosaur Detective Series. I wrote about the first of these books, The Disappearance of Dinosaur Sue,�just the other day. PaleoJoe has his own website�where you can find out more about�his other books,�or even buy trilobite fossils.�

I liked this one: A Pictorial Guide to North American Trilobites which

“… provides basic information the beginning enthusiast needs to start collecting and identifying Trilobites. It also serves as an excellent reference guide to these wonderful creatures.”

I�just finished a fun book: The Disappearance of Dinosaur Sue, the first in Dinosaur Detective Club, written by Joseph Kchodl and Wendy Caszatt-Allen.� If you love dinosaurs and you love mysteries and you are at the early chapter book phase, or you know and love someone who fits that description, I recommend this book for you.

PaleoJoe is a paleontologist, trained in careful, scientific observation and reasoning. And he’s an expert in his field. When Dinosaur Sue, the world’s most complete skeleton of a T-Rex is stolen from its home at the World Famous Field Museum in Chicago, they call in PaleoJoe even before they call the�Police. His young friend�Shelly, an�eleven year-old junior paleontologist takes advantage of PaleoJoe’s�tendency to absent-mindedness to get in on the chase.�

Something else I liked about this book was its interesting use of reasoning, based upon scientific method. PaleoJoe instructs Shelly�about how paleontologists go about�finding fossils, and how the evidence that is collected during the fossil excavation is carefully observed and compared with other data to deduce the fascinating details about the lives of the�dinosaurs and about the state of the world when they lived.

This book is published by Mackinac Island Press, a small regional press in Michigan. They have an interesting and unique�assortment of books that they publish, and several others besides The Disappearance of Dinosaur Sue featuring PaleoJoe., including the 2nd in this series, Stolen Stegosaurus, where PaleoJoe and Shelly, with Shelly’s schoolmate Dakota, “battle the dark side of fossil collecting.”��And just�out�last month is�Secret Sabertooth, #3 in the series.

If you or your child likes Nate the Great or Cam Jansen, you’ll find this book an entertaining second step into longer chapter books. There’s even a funny little animated dinosaur at the bottom of the pages. Flip the pages and watch him run.

Parents use all sorts of means to get their kids to eat well so that they have a strong body. What about reading well in order to have a strong mind? Today, I want to talk about how books can introduce science to early readers, and also one in particular that I think is a good example.

Books that skillfully introduce science through an interesting story are excellent ways to kindle a kid’s imagination. How do we find things out? Who makes important discoveries and how to they do it? In what practical ways do we use science to discover the secrets of�our world? How can a kid learn to observe the world in a way the he or she can make discoveries, too?

A�great little book that got me thinking about this was Shipwreck Search: Discovery of the H.L. Hunley, written by Sally M. Walker and illustrated by Elaine Verstraete, and published in 2006 by Millbrook Press, Minneapolis, MN. Its the story of the H.L. Hunley, a confederate submarine that was sunk and lost in the American Civil War. Divers sought for years but not until 1995 were they successful.

Written for second� to fourth grade readers, Walker tells the�fascinating story of�three underwater archeologists who searched for and found the missing submarine. That was only the beginning of the discovery, however. They encountered problems along the way that required careful thinking�before devising�solutions as they sought to raise the wreck and bring it back to the lab to investigate further. (more…)