overheard in providence

Last Saturday, moments after I had posted a condemnation of math education, Jessica read me an unexpectedly relevant blurb from New York Magazine. Julia Stiles, it seems, has long felt unsatisfied with her public elementary school education, and earlier this year she decided to voice her concerns to NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein.

During the Atlantic’s viewing party for President Obama’s speech, Stiles interrupted Klein’s response to the president’s proposals to talk about how city’s public schools had failed her. When she transferred to a private middle school, her science teacher instructed the class to take out their beakers, and she didn’t know what one was, she says. “Everyone laughed at me. I’d never had a science class!” Afterward, Stiles, mortified (“I have a lot to say and I was wildly inarticulate”), apologized and awkwardly asked for Klein’s e-mail.

The funny thing is, I’m 95% percent sure I was in Julia’s 7th grade science class (earth science with Ms. Allen). I have only a vague recollection of the incident she describes, but I do remember that Ms. Allen was intimidating, and I certainly apologize for laughing. Also, it’s really too bad for Julia that she missed out on 5th and 6th grade science at Friends, because our teacher, Glenn McKnight, was probably the best teacher I ever had. Having spent several days upset over our country’s math curricula, it’s a welcome contrast to recall some education done right (also, for the record, I liked practically all of my math teachers, both at Friends and Stuyvesant, and I do think Friends does a better job than most schools)

The great thing about Glenn was that he taught Science, not just facts, but scientific inquiry: forming conjectures, making predictions, conducting experiments, and examining their outcomes. To do this, he’d lead the class through a scientific investigation of say, why objects sink or float, or how batteries power circuits. By having us suggest ideas, develop experiments, then revise their hypothesis, the stuff we got tested on became secondary (and with good cause, we’d all see it again in grades 7-12 anyway). Plus, Glenn would let older students come back to his class and visit during their free periods, which was definitely a good time. Oh, also he let me write a few damn funny plot summaries of the Second Voyage of the Mimi Series. (Maybe if I can dig them up I’ll use them to fill in the season’s missing Wikipedia entry)

And there you have it. My 5th and 6th grade science classes were top notch, and my 7th grade science class was a challenge for now-famous actress Julia Stiles (who was actually a top student, I should note). Even so, Julia has since appeared in a number of thoroughly enjoyable and extremely successful movies, where as I have squandered my 20’s working toward a PhD in Computer Science. I think we can safely chalk up the whole thing as triumph on Julia’s end.

Eric’s Top 5 Stiles Film Picks: State and Main, 10 Things I Hate About You, the entire Bourne Trilogy.

Bonus Fact: My father went to school with Julia’s mother, although they were a few years apart.