Dr. Watson Thinks I'm Dumb!

One of my favorite "little" blogs has become "60 Second Science" from Scientific American (and, surprisingly, you can actually access it at school). One of their posts from yesterday gave details of comments made by Dr. James Watson (one of the discoverers of the double-helix structure of DNA) to the New York Academy of Sciences:

Last night in a room with a double helix woven in the carpet, the cantankerous geneticist James Watson, Nobel-Prize winner and provocateur – made clear his opinion of today's high school teachers: they're not too bright.
[...]
Watson said he believes there is a larger hole in the U.S. educational system that is sapping our lead in science. "Part of the problem is too many of our teachers are dumb," he said, balking that "Teachers' unions are corrupt." He said that the relatively low pay educators receive has prompted smart people to flee teaching for other careers – although he made a point of noting that he does not support giving them raises. Teachers like the "bright woman that taught me Latin are no where near our schools [now]," he crowed.

Watson continued to insist that educators are "not as bright" as they once were, before moderator and former TV reporter Garrick Utley politely cut him off. Despite being silenced, Watson continued to mutter snippily, prompting the audience to roar with laughter.

Other highlights of his discussion:

He went on to denounce failed Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona as "nuts" and "dumb" for failing to see the importance of science
[...]
according to Watson, there's nothing worse than forcing young, ambitious scientists to be nice. "Christian values don't make any sense," he said, explaining that young people should be selfish and aim for success.
[...]
That's one reason he likes Russians...and would hire them in a heartbeat – presumably because they are more worried about surviving than about being nice.

While Dr. Watson's contributions to biology can't be overstated, he seems to be pretty good at making a fool of himself lately. Two years ago, he was criticized around the world for making comments that were widely viewed as racist:

The eminent biologist told the British newspaper he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours -- whereas all the testing says not really."
[...]
In the newspaper interview, he said there was no reason to think that races which had grown up in separate geographical locations should have evolved identically. He went on to say that although he hoped everyone was equal, "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".

And we wonder why there is a large portion of society that doesn't trust the motives of science.

WOOHOO!!!

After a long day full of clouds and wind, I expected to miss out on the chance to see Comet Lulin for another night. But since the good ol' Kansas weather is always changing, about an hour ago I decided to poke my head out and check to see how cold it was getting. Lo and behold, the clouds had blown away. So I quickly grabbed my binoculars and the telescope that I borrowed from the EMS science department, and set up shop on the back deck.

I wasn't sure how much luck I'd have, since the sky's not incredibly dark in the middle of town, but I thought I'd give it a try. As a warm-up, I pointed the scope towards Saturn...and was rewarded with a beautiful image of this creamy-yellow sphere encircled by a set of gorgeous rings. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, though since Saturn's ring's are edge-on towards Earth. But I guess this only happens every 29 years or so, so it's kind of a big deal.

Anyways, after doing a victory dance, warming myself up a little (it's cold and windy this evening) and chasing my dog around the yard,* I repositioned the scope and started searching for Lulin. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to find it...about 3/4 of the way between Saturn and Regulus, right where it was supposed to be.

*She had managed to get ahold of my glasses, and I'm pretty much blind without them. Sort of like that girl on Scoobie Doo. So if you can imagine Mr. Magette, in a heavy coat and house slippers, blindly chasing his dog around in the dark of his back yard, you'll get the picture. It's funnier now than it was at the time. Oh, and as an insult, she waited until I almost caught her and then dropped them right in front of me. Just in time for my foot to come down on them. Ah...the satisfying crunch of a pair of eyeglasses underfoot...

Anyways, the view of Comet Lulin from my back deck in the middle of town with amateur equipment and skills wasn't necessarily beautiful like these images. But it was still pretty darn cool. Just a fuzzy green little smudge-ball making its way across the sky.

Awesome...tomorrow night I'll try getting out of town where it's dark.

iPod Shuffle

It's a good day when, out of thousands of songs, the microchip randomly picks Dylan:

Here's a link to a video of him performing it live. Stupid record company won't allow people to imbed it (shame on them for wanting to get paid for what they do).

Before the PSP

I don't know if this will work on the school computers (which is fine since you shouldn't be playing games on them anyways). But I couldn't resist sharing this Old-School hand-held football game with you. Yet another little bit of happiness that Coke Zero has brought to my life.

Technical Issues

I'm having trouble posting from school (again). Until that issue gets resolved my posts may be short and spotty. Hopefully we can get this resolved soon.

Congratulations Tom!

Congratulations to Tom Stanley, the Eudora Schools student of the week!

Of course, Tom listed a different class as his favorite, but I'll get over it...

...someday...

...somehow...

Daily Recap: Thursday, 2/26

Investigating Technologies:
We're continuing with interval 1 of the third harbor rotation. I think the groups made a lot of progress today.

Anatomy and Physiology:
Today we took a test over the cardiovascular system. These have been graded and will be input into PowerSchool as soon as I get them z-scored. Assignments, labs and daily work were due today, and there was a lot that didn't get turned in. Please double check to make sure that you've taken care of your class work.

Biology:
In 6th period we discussed the differences between "facts" and "theories" in the context of science. We used this as a platform for discussing why it's not accurate to refer to evolution as "just a theory". 7th period had a catch-up day due to the study hall schedule. They'll get the "fact/theory" discussion tomorrow.

iPod Shuffle

"I Pray" by Lonestar...appropriate for Ash Wednesday.

I can't quote the Bible
I skipped Sunday school
And I can't count the times I fell, and broke the golden rule
So I don't know if he listens
Sometimes I wonder if he cares
But maybe I'm just wishin'
'Cause I can't even prove he's there

(chorus)
But I pray
He'll watch over my children
I Pray
Just to be a better man
To find the strength to rise above
To be there for the ones I love
To forgive and be forgiven some sweet day
I pray

I confess that I don't bow my head as often as I should
Mostly just when times are bad, rarely when they're good
And I don't hold with too much preachin'
But I was raised up to believe
That a man can't ever stand as tall
As when he gets down on his knees

(2nd Chorus)
So I pray
For a world that's gone half crazy
I pray
For every woman, child and man
To find the strength to rise above
To teach each other how to love
To forgive and be forgiven some sweet day
I pray
I pray

Not Tonight

Man, I was fired up. Tonight was going to be the night. I was going to put my kid to bed, grab my binoculars, and head out to a dark spot in the country. Tonight was the night that I was going to catch a glimpse of Comet Lulin.

But, alas, it wasn't meant to be...I'm not going to make it out tonight. But I will give you a little bit of stargazing advice to tide you over. If you go outside after dark, and look up in the sky to the west, that really bright "star" is actually Venus, our closest relative in the solar system. It's the really bright one...you can't miss it.

Daily Recap: Wednesday, 2/25

Happy Birthday, Bailey!
Ash Wednesday...

Investigating Technologies:
We continue to make progress on the first interval of the third harbor rotation for this quarter. We've got just over 2 weeks left, so it's going to be important for us to stay focused. All groups are now finished with the second rotation (finally!). I have updated grades for all but the last two groups to finish, and should be able to get to those tomorrow.

Anatomy and Physiology:
Tomorrow is the cardiovascular test. We spent the first part of class today reviewing. The test will be about 50 questions and will cover the following:

I. Vocabulary (15%-20%)
II. Composition of blood (5%-10%)
III. RBC's (5%-10%)
IV. Vessels (10%)
V. Blood typing (5%-10%)
VI. Heart anatomy (20%)
VII. Vessels associated with the heart (10%)
VIII. Cardiac cycle and conduction (5%-10%)
IX. Cardiac physiology (10%)

A new progress report is available if you want a checklist of what is due.

Biology:
Today was a scheduled lab day. We continued working on the "Investigating Fossils" lab that we started yesterday. There will be a catch-up day on Friday if you need to finish it.

iPod Shuffle

Today's song is on my iPod as part of the "O'Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack, which won a Grammy in 2001. That version was recorded by The Whites, but I think this song is best performed by June Carter Cash:

Job Satisfaction

I got home late from the basketball games tonight. Unfortunately, I've been having issues with being able to post to the blog from school again...that leaves me setting here trying to get a few things posted before I go to bed. This caught my eye:

Daily Recap: Tuesday, 2/24

Fat Tuesday...

Happy Birthday Jordan and Katelyn!

Investigating Technologies:
All but one group now have completed the second rotation, and we are well into interval one of the third rotation.

Anatomy and Physiology:
Today is the first of two work days scheduled to give you time to prepare for the test on Thursday.

Biology:
1. A new Bio-Bulletin was passed out. There is a progress report on the back that will need to be signed and included in your portfolios at the end of the quarter.
2. We took notes over the physical evidence used to support the theory of evolution.
3. Since we finished the notes a little early, we were able to get started on the lab activity that's scheduled for tomorrow.

Vestigial Organs

One of the difficulties with studying evolution is that nobody was around to see it happen from start to finish. The best we can do is look at what we can see and try to use that evidence to draw conclusions about the history of life on Earth. Fortunately, the natural world is full of physical clues that show us not only how evolution occurred (and continues to occur), but also how species of organisms alive today are "related" to each other in an evolutionary sense.

Today in biology class we will be discussing some of these clues, including the presence of vestigial organs. These are structures that modern species possess but really don't serve much of a purpose. (The human appendix and tailbone are classic examples.) But while these structures might not be useful to the organisms that possess them, they can help us to draw evolutionary relationships.*
*The appendix is what's left of our cecum, which is an organ that many mammals use to digest the tough fibers in grass and other plants...the tailbone also supports the idea that humans are descended from an ancestor common to all mammals.

Here's a link to an interesting website that details some of the vestigial organs found in different species. (Hat tip to Mrs. Gingrich for sharing this link.)

Readers Poll

Here it is...the 100th post. And since I got very few (translate "zero") comments on what the subject should be, I decided to celebrate this occasion with a second poll. Which product is more "can't live without"...the Snuggie or the Sham-Wow? View the commercials and then decide for yourself.


Post your vote as a comment...

mp3 Shuffle

Random iPod shuffle song of the day:

Sometimes you just have to shut up and enjoy the music...

Daily Recap: Monday 2/23

If you haven't yet done so, make sure you check out Mrs. Lawrence's guest post.

Investigating Technologies:
Today was the first day of the third rotation. Four of the seven groups have finished the second rotation and are moving on. The other three groups should be finishing tomorrow. Since we have less than three weeks for this last rotation, it's going to be very important that we stay busy and focused.

Anatomy and Physiology:
Today was the second day of the cardiac physiology lab that we started on Friday.

Biology:
1. We (briefly) talked about the retakes of the genetics test. The more I think about it, the more disappointed I am that more people didn't take advantage of this opportunity...
2. We had one page of notes over evolution.
3. Your assignment for today is to read section 15.2 in the textbook. Of the 10 "new vocabulary" terms, pick 8 and fill out Frayer Models for them.

Biology Test Retakes

There are 44 students in my biology 1 classes. On Friday, 12 (27%) of you retook the genetics exam. Of those 12 students, 8 of you improved your scores, 2 of you did worse, and 2 of you got the exact same score as you did the first time. The largest increase was 20%. The average increase for all students who retook the exam was 4%. If we only look at the students who improved their scores, the average improvement was 7.25%.

Big kudos to the students that retook the exam, especially those who improved their scores. Hopefully next time we can have more of you taking advantage of this opportunity.

Guest Post: Mrs. Larwrence

At 2:55 this afternoon (Friday, Feb. 20), I looked at the clock in my rockin’ mini-van and thought, the kids have eleven minutes left of school until I am in the classroom again. I think it is funny how my day is dictated by a bell. A lot of times when I look at the clock I think, what would I be doing if I were at work? With three kids, there isn’t a lot of down time to look at the clock, so nap time was the time I found myself thinking about time the most.

Six weeks at home has flown in terms of the time I’ve spent with my kids. In one week, Stella went from weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz. to 8 lbs. By the next week she was 9 lbs. There is nothing like being around kids to remind one how fast time flies.

Stella is a good baby. Her brother and sister are crazy about her. I think they were expecting someone else to play with immediately. Instead they got someone who, they will be glad to tell anyone who asks, “just eats, sleeps and poops.” To them she’s just little and can’t do anything; it doesn’t make them love her any less. They don’t understand that within a year she will learn to roll over, sit-up, maybe stand, maybe crawl, maybe start talking. That she’ll get her first tooth, she'll go from eating milk to baby food, to “real” food. She’ll grow so much they won’t even remember these days when she does so little.

I can’t believe how fast six weeks has gone speeding by. For that matter, I can’t believe how fast the two and a half years it’s been since I had Carter, or the four years that Maggie’s been here have gone. It’s almost March. Where the heck did February go? In just a little over three months, my other kids won’t be “mine” any more.

One of my favorite things about teaching ninth grade is that I get to watch these young men and women grow, not just in one year’s time, but over the course of four years (if I’m lucky). Being away for six weeks from this group of kids is just as hard as it is easy to be at home for six weeks with my own kids.

I’m ready to get back to work. There is comfort in a routine, and while I’m a little nervous about day one. (For a million reasons that would be way too personal to share.) But one thing moms know is the sacredness of routine: the ringing of the bell that moves us from one class to another, the two hour feedings and four hour sleep stretches. Routines take a bit of time to adjust to. I’ve adjusted to one in the past six weeks, and I’m ready to get back to the “normal routine.” (I am sure come May that I will be ready for a pause in the “normal,” and I will be completely ready for the “summer routine.”)

It will be hard to leave Stella, Carter and Maggie behind, but they are the reasons I go to work. There are a lot of things I’m looking forward to about being at work. I get to teach writing and reading (To Kill a Mockingbird is coming! Yes! Yes! Yes!), I have a great support group of co-workers, and most of all, the group of young people I get to hang out with. They, too are the reasons I go to work. (And May will be here before we know it.)

Darwin for President?

Comet Lulin

For those of you who are interested, Comet Lulin will be traveling across the eastern sky for the next couple of weeks. It looks like you'll need dark skies and good eyes to see it, but if you have binoculars you should be able to even make out the tail. Stardate has more information.

Coming Soon...

Mrs. Lawrence was generous enough to agree to write the first ever guest post to this blog in honor of her first day back tomorrow (Monday). I'll be uploading it later this evening, and I think you'll enjoy reading what she has to say. I'm REALLY excited that she agreed to be a part of this...

mp3 Shuffle

I hit "shuffle" on the iPod. Here's what came up:


Dookie was released during my senior year of high school and will probably always be one of my favorite albums.