A science teacher at the Keshequa High School, is putting a new spin on teaching this year after a once in a lifetime opportunity to study at the Kennedy Space Center. Mr. James Stoufer was one teacher selected out of a nationwide pool of applicants that got to spend a week studying "The Space Age on the Space Coast" down in Florida last July.
While studying in that program, Mr. Stoufer was able to explore the technological, political, social, and environmental history of Florida's Space Coast, and all of these different aspects are something that he says he will be using in the classroom. Mr. Stoufer said "During the space race, a huge diversity of people with a wide range of talents and interests were needed to find that complex solution. If I can incorporate anything from my experience at NASA into my classroom this year, it would be to help students develop their own personal talents and interests, and to teach them how they can use those talents and interests to solve complex problems."
Stoufer also offered some advice to his fellow educators, saying to explore grants and programs that are outside of their content area. Stoufer explained that this program was originally designed for history teachers and he thought "the diversity of perspective that [he] gained will become the part that improves [his] teaching the most.
This program was made possible through The National Council for History Education (NCHE) which says that it works to promote excellence in K-12 and college level history education through workshops and programs like this one.
Written By: Daniel Northup