Esther Zack
Target Science Academic Director
LAEP, LAUSD
Nearly ten years ago, I found myself driving to a meeting that would change my professional life. Though I don't recall the particulars, I had been invited to a "fact finding" meeting hosted by the Hughes Corporation regarding what teachers needed for teaching science more effectively. "More effectively"? How about "at all"?
I taught science in my classroom - about once a week or whenever I felt like it. On my own, I continued learning about the scientific world through my love of nature and interest in new things. If I could convey my enthusiasm for science to students, surely they would become just as eager to learn. But how?
I remember my impression upon arriving at Hughes' corporate offices. How lavish... and removed from the world of education! Inside, among a large group of teachers from area schools, concerns ranged from "How can I teach science without materials?" to "Our textbooks and labs are so outdated!" The meeting ended with the vague promise that "help is on the way," and I wrote on their questionnaire that I would like to be involved in any follow-up activities.
I didn't hear anything until five months later. A colleague asked me to replace a departing teacher representative in the Target Science program which, she told me, was the follow-up vehicle to the Hughes meeting and funded by the National Science Foundation, so I eagerly accepted.
My first meeting was quite startling. This group of 10 to12 K-12 teachers had been meeting over the summer to plan and implement science articulation activities. These were obviously "science experts," and I wasn't one of them.
So I listened a lot, even responded to questions, and was very surprised to be listened to. Maybe I did have something valuable to say. What I didn't know was that these were teachers just like me, talking and planning without prescribed guidelines. What a new experience - treating each other like colleagues, with credence and respect.
Under the guidance of teacher leaders and Target's director Patricia Dung, the Target Science program grew to include more schools each year. Projects from the monthly meetings ranged from science activities involving high school and elementary students working together to topic-specific professional development workshops led by the team's teacher members.
We didn't realize early on that we were becoming a "network" of science professionals. Mutual concerns, respect, and shared science education goals were the glue that held and still hold us together. With focus and commitment, each member brings something unique and valuable to the group, making it greater than the sum of its parts.
Ultimately, we all want our students to feel the enthusiasm expressed by one of my students who, when I gave her a hand lens to investigate a leaf said, "Wow! I'm a scientist!"
