Hi Folks-- I've been lurking on this list for a while now but this is my first time posting. I was an astro grad student at Chicago with Todd and am now a postdoc at UC Santa Barbara.

I was watching a lecture on TV the other night by Alfie Kohn, an outspoken advocate for education reform-- on getting students (he focuses on kids, but...) to love learning and thinking rather than making them jump through hoops and standardized tests. I think starting people THINKING about their world goes a long way towards them being able to find meaning (especially from science). I can't say enough good things about his ideas. His website is: http://alfiekohn.org And a great quote from him: "People don't resist change, they resist being changed." So I think in whatever we do it is a good idea to show people a better way rather than trying to cram something down their throat. (Presentation is important-- something too many scientists who are not on this list forget!)

Something that came up a while ago-- someone mentioned MD as one of those states that do well at Science Fairs. Well, I grew up in MD and so many times I have felt like the product of what a school system can do when it does things right. I had FANTASTIC math teachers especially. I didn't go to a magnet school either, just a regular public school in Howard County. I'd be happy to expound on how and why our school system was so great if people are interested, but mainly it was because it was about learning, thinking, being flexible and encouraging, NOT stupid busy work.

Kim Coble