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My name is K. W. Nicholson I teach math and physics at CACC Brief Resume

My name is K. W. Nicholson I teach math and physics at CACC Brief Resume. 1967. Tehran, Iran. Sydney, Australia. 1993. Began attending TYC meetings. 1998. Marie Plum & John Taylor Gatto. Next few years watching 3 rd graders & Science Team’ers. Idea:

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My name is K. W. Nicholson I teach math and physics at CACC Brief Resume

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  1. My name is K. W. NicholsonI teach math and physics atCACC Brief Resume

  2. 1967 Tehran, Iran

  3. Sydney, Australia

  4. 1993 Began attending TYC meetings

  5. 1998 Marie Plum & John Taylor Gatto

  6. Next few years watching 3rd graders & Science Team’ers

  7. Idea: What if we taught Football like we teach physics?

  8. STEM Camp Recruitment Observed ridicule of students interested in STEM first hand.

  9. Also watched STEM Camp’ers react to Lego competitions.

  10. CACC Physics Department Road Show Part I The Education Problem

  11. Nat’l Bureau of Labor, 1996: “America needs to produce 750,000 engineers by 2006. We only produced 440,000. “ Source: ASE The number of people majoring in engineering dropped 15% even though college enrollment increased by 15% during that period. China produced 450,000 engineers in 2006 alone. Source: USA Today News

  12. Excerpts from "Clueless In America" by Bob Herbert, New, York TimesApril 22, 2008

  13. • 'We have one of the highest dropout rates in the industrialized world' - Allan Golston • Many students get a first-rate education in the public schools, but they represent too small a fraction of the whole to save us all from disaster. - Allan Golston

  14. • “When I compare our high schools with what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force of tomorrow.” • “By obsolete, I don’t just mean that they are broken, flawed or under funded. • By obsolete, I mean our high schools — even when they’re working as designed — cannot teach all our students what they need to know today.” - Bill Gates

  15. Male students make up 82% of that 40%.

  16. Adults who don't finish high school in the U.S. earn 65 percent of what people who have high school degrees make, according to a new report comparing industrialized nations. No other country had such a severe income gap.

  17. So, I’m no economist but, it seems to me that: If the number of dropouts is increasing, Then average income is decreasing, Which means people have less money to spend, Which is bad for business in general.

  18. So, enough about the problems, what’s my plan to do something about it? I’m glad you asked. Here’s The Plan What? Build a Science Team Why ? To duplicate the methods used in sports. How? Provide stipends for science team members.

  19. CACC Physics Department Road Show Part VIScience Teamers

  20. Target Audience for This Proposal Dadeville elementary Stephens elementary Horseshoe bend k12 Central elementary coosa county Reeltown k12

  21. What we need We need a four person team for each school. So we need 20 Science Team members.

  22. The idea is to teach math & science like we teach football.

  23. The Science Team will: • Do science activities with 2 third grade classes • Coach "mini lego league" for grades 4 - 6 in spring • Coach real First Lego League (FLL) team for grades 5 - 8 for state competition for six weeks in fall. • Organize a First Tech Competition (FTC) team for grades 7-9 and perhaps even a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) or a BEST team for grades 10 - 12.

  24. How much will it cost? Third Grade Science Team activities - Free. Mini Lego League - “Nearly” Free Cost will be a major factor for First Tech competition, (FTC) and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). Here are the costs in round figures, which include robot kits and registration fees, with some added for miscellaneous costs.

  25. "mini lego league” a lego mindstorm kit and a computer, both of which I am prepared to provide for free. Cost of a Mindstorm Robotics kit is $275 FLL - $500 FTC - $1500 FRC - $7000 - $10000, plus, a professional engineer as a mentor is required, deep pocket sponsors also highly recommended. Might get some sort of grant to support this.

  26. How much should we pay Science Team members? $1000 each semester These scholarships can be used to buy tuition or anything needed from the bookstore. These scholarships will be awarded in conjunction with any other scholarships students have obtained. Dual enrollment students should be eligible for these scholarships

  27. Why do I believe the Robot competitions are the correct mechanism for this objective? From personal observations of the STEM camp lego competitions and the following:

  28. What Can A First Lego League Do For Our Young People? (FIRST Robotics Competition is the high school version of FIRST LEGO LEAGUE)

  29. 2005 independent study by Brandeis University, funded by the Ford Foundation » FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) alumni who graduated between 1999 and 2003 » Teams from metropolitan areas, including schools serving low-income, inner-city populations» Diverse group, including substantial numbers of minorities (56%) and women (41%),and students from families with limited educational background

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