“Every American has a stake in mathematics and
science teaching for the 21st Century. Parents, teachers, administrators,
school board members, higher education institutions, state political leaders,
and business leaders have particularly critical roles to play in ensuring
success.” Taken from Before It’s Too Late – Glenn
Commission
 As a result of establishing the TULIP Project, many people and organizations
have been connected to this program. As in the quote above, the Glenn
Commission has identified many groups of people and organizations that
should be involved in improving K-12 education. Since I am at a university,
one focus of the TULIP project should be in regard to how higher education
institutions can contribute to improving K-12 botanical education. I
would also add one additional group that was not identified as a “stakeholder
group” in the Glenn Commission, professional science societies.
Higher Education Institutions: In past summers, Dr. Slinger and I have
developed and run 3 workshops during 3 successive summers for the School
District of Onalaska (SDO) teachers. Many guests have visited or spoken
during these workshops as you can see in the photos. Four graduate and
undergraduate students have worked directly with this project. Several
artists have given presentations connecting art with plants. Several
offshoots of the TULIP Project, including Undergraduate Research grants,
have helped promote using living plants in the classroom. SDO teachers
have also written grants and performed in-service teacher presentations
to improve science teaching at their respective schools too.
Teachers: Both pre-science and in-science
Professional Science Societies: Since I am a member of the Botanical
Society of America (BSA), you will also find references to this organization
as well as other professional scientific organizations. The BSA is making
an important effort to connect with the general public by promoting the
importance of plants to human society. I
am involved in running workshops (e.g., National Association of Biology
Teachers, Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers) and helping with the
BSA exhibitor booth at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) meetings.
The BSA has also developed an Educational Forum, which precedes its annual
society meeting.
Many of the links you will find on this webpage lead to other professional
organizations involved in K-12 education (not just plants either). An
increasing number of professional science organizations are providing
K-12 and public outreach. The American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) has an excellent website, Project 2061, which provides
a wide variety of resources for improving K-12 science, math, and technology
education. Many of AAAS' publications and materials are accessible online!
Check each of these sites out for PK-12 materials.
 State/Federal Leadership: State Senator Mark Meyer and then attorney-general
(now governor) Jim Doyle attended last summer’s (2002) workshop.
United States Congressman Ron Kind, U.S. House Education and Workforce
Committee member,(shown right) spoke with teachers concerning education issues at
the federal level during the summer (2001) workshop.
Administration: Superintendent Burnett, Curriculum coordinator Finco,
Principals, Garth Tymeson attended our summer workshops.
Business: Local and regional business have contributed materials and
funding directly to Onalaska schools which supports botanical education.
Bulb grants.
Reference:
Glenn Commission. 2000. Before It’s Too Late: A Report to the Nation
from the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for
the 21st Century.
http://www.ed.gov/americacounts/glenn/ |
Teachers, professional
societies, educational institutions, parents, politicians, administrators,
businesses, etc. are all “stakeholder group[s]” in the education
of K-12 students. The promotion of plants in the classroom would get
nowhere without the cooperation/collaboration among these stakeholders.
Since
collaboration is essential to the improvement of science education in
general and botanical education specifically, many different people representing
these different stakeholder groups have been involved with this TULIP
Project.