MOORPARK TEACHER GETS KIDS HOOKED ON LEARNING SCIENCE.Byline: Don Conkey Daily News Staff Writer Science sometimes has to be unemotional - checks, balances, unbiased observation. Pardon pardon, in law, exemption from punishment for a criminal conviction granted by the grace of the executive of a government. A general pardon to a class of persons guilty of the same offense (e.g., insurrection) is an amnesty. Morley Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. if he breaks the rule this time around. Cohen, science department chairman at Mesa Verde Middle School in Moorpark, has been selected to oversee the 1997 Ventura County Science Fair. And as he observes what's happening to the fair, his emotions are running off the scale. He's excited because more kids are getting the chance to become excited about the study of science. ``We've expanded the number of project categories from eight to 17,'' Cohen said, an expansion that will allow nearly twice as many students from Ventura County to compete at the California State Science Fair. ``For a director of an event such as this, that's one of the rewards: giving as many students as possible an opportunity for intellectual and personal growth,'' he said. The science fair, scheduled for April 22-24 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. in Ventura, is open to sixth- to 12th-grade students throughout the county. The objective, through judging, is to reach the California State Science Fair, to be held in May at the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Sports Arena. With eight categories, Ventura County's maximum number of students eligible to reach state competition was 108; with increased categories, the number could reach 204. Cohen expects up to 1,000 entries at the Ventura County fair. Last year, there were 930. More numbers, more chance to gets kids hooked on science - solid deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning Using known facts to draw a conclusion about a specific situation. , for any teacher. ``I have taken many students to county and state fairs,'' Cohen said, ``and when you're talking about rewards, well, one of my best is when a student comes down to me and says how this has affected his or her life.'' He could spend an evening telling stories about such students, ``stories where the scientific method, the problem-solving method, made an impact on them.'' One of his favorite recollections is about a boy he taught in 1984. ``His science project was on the behavior of the Arctic Arctic area of constant cold. [Geography: WB, A:600] See : Coldness (language, music) Arctic - A real-time functional language, used for music synthesis. ["Arctic: A Functional Language for Real-Time Control", R.B. wolf,'' Cohen said. ``I received a letter from him years later, telling me that he was studying Arctic wildlife biology, with an emphasis on wolf behavior.'' Cohen, 45, has been in the business of positively affecting kids for a long time. He first took students to the Ventura County fair in 1982 while teaching at a private school. He joined the Moorpark Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. in 1987 and worked with science fair entries at Chaparral Middle School Chaparral Middle School could refer to
He was named Educator of the Year for the Moorpark Unified School District in 1995-96; is GATE mentor Mentor, in Greek mythology Mentor (mĕn`tər, –tôr'), in Greek mythology, friend of Odysseus and tutor of Telemachus. for Mesa Verde; and serves on the district's Human Growth and Development Committee. Now, Cohen is getting an expanded chance to show kids how exciting it can be to study the allegedly unemotional field of science - whether they realize it or not. ``There's no question that working on projects stimulates their interest in science. It's a difficult, arduous ar·du·ous adj. 1. Demanding great effort or labor; difficult: "the arduous work of preparing a Dictionary of the English Language" Thomas Macaulay. 2. process throughout a year, and as teachers, we have to keep focused on the concept, the idea, and that develops and fosters an interest in science. ``They don't always know that it's happening, but it is, and that's the biggest reward in education.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Teacher Morley Cohen, right, lends a hand to students Matt Hovanec, 13, left, and Livni Sosa, 13. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion