Robotics Programs Thrive in Hawaii Schools
By Katie Klinger
8/26/09Recently, Hawaiian Airlines, in its in-flight magazine, ran an inspiring article titled "Kicking Bot" that every K-12 teacher in America should read as food for thought.
Why After-School Programs Matter
By Katie Klinger
6/11/09Society today seems more likely than ever to accept the idea of holistic solutions to educational and community problems. Each day, foundations are created to reach out to populations that are unable and unprepared to empower themselves.
Kids Learn About Culture and Caring for the Environment
By Katie Klinger
2/17/09Being an educator in Hawaii is a truly humbling experience. Each day -- as you work with high-need schools -- you realize that your personal contribution will help not only the immediate community of teachers, students, and families but also future generations as well.
Students Focus on Both Mind and Body
By Katie Klinger
1/6/09Evidence-based research has convinced Lydia Trinidad, principal at Hawaii's Kualapu'u Elementary School, that in addition to concentrating on meeting the mandates of No Child Left Behind, she has to promote health awareness in her students and teach them that physical activity and proper nutrition are as important as academics.
Improving the Training: Educators Evaluate the Program That Teaches Them STEM Skills
By Katie Klinger
8/15/08This is the third part of a three-part entry. Read part one.
As a professional-development incentive, teachers who participate in the eighty hours of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) institutes aligned to the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards will receive a letter of completion. To receive the letter, teachers will have to submit for review an e-portfolio with their STEM projects.
Learning to Teach STEM: Teachers Bring Back New Knowledge to Their School
By Katie Klinger
8/1/08This is the second part of a three-part entry. Read part one.
In Hawaii, there will be eighty hours of training at science, technology, engineering, and math institutes during the school year. At these institutes, university professors will guide teachers in how to scale STEM projects to the appropriate grade level. The institutes will employ middle school math and science benchmarks and standards from the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards as the basis for what to cover.
Seeding STEM: One School Designs a Grant to Break the Cycle of Poverty
By Katie Klinger
7/25/08Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, recently discussed a report from Public Agenda titled "Important, But Not for Me: Parents and Students in Kansas and Missouri Talk About Math, Science, and Technology Education." The report found that even though parents and students say that they understand the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, they don't see how it applies to them personally.
Sally Ride's New Mission: Science Resources That Are Out of This World
By Katie Klinger
6/11/08This is the second post in a two-part entry about astronaut and scientist Sally Ride. Read part one.
Sally's Ride: A Star in Space -- and on Earth
By Katie Klinger
6/4/08For many of us who have been in education, struggling with student achievement scores and dealing with technology advances, 1983 doesn't seem that long ago. Yet, incredibly, on June 18 it will be twenty-five years ago that a brilliant, determined, and courageous astronaut, Sally Ride, became the first American woman to fly in space.
Tag, You're It: The Responsibility Project
By Katie Klinger
3/28/08Recently, I was watching a group of children play tag in a local park. The premise, of course, is that one person is "it." He or she does his or her best to tag another participant, who then becomes the new "it." When I was a kid, being "it" never had a positive connotation. The entire purpose of the game is to pass along the unwanted responsibility of being "it."

