In this Year of Science, this early childhood science teacher is excited to have a President who says, “When it comes to science, elevating science once again, and having lectures in the White House where people are talking about traveling to the stars or breaking down atoms, inspiring our youth to get a sense of what discovery is all about.” Read the ‘‘Meet the Press’ transcript for the December 7, 2008, Obama interview with Tom Brokaw.
Our professional organizations have made recommendations for the year and to the new adminstration.
The NSTA Key Policy Recommendations for 2009 includes preK teachers in the call to increase the quality and quantity of science teachers. The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC)letter to President Barack Obama (then President-elect) urges him to make early childhood education a federal priority.
And in his inaugural address today, President Barack Obama called upon the nation, “For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.”
It’s a good year to celebrate science and re-dedicate ourselves to teaching excellence.