Utah Schools and Science Standards

Guest Post:

From my daughter who is a Junior High Biology Teacher and a Davis District Science Administrator (sorry, I forget her exact title, but she was the Science Mentor for her Mom when her Mom went back to teaching Jr. High Physical Science).

For whatever reason, public school Science remains controversial in Utah and many other parts of the country. This email message may help clarify the purpose of Utah Science Standards:
     
Hi L ______,

I'm happy to answer your questions.

1. With the myriad of standards that are available for states to use, how did Utah decide on using the NGSS [Next Generation Science Standards]?

San Jacinto, California. My New Hope for America.

All six of my kids are great and my four kids-in-law too. We love them all. Still, there are those moments when the joy and pride for a particular one flows over. It came for A-3 the other night.

He recently graduated from the University of Utah in Music - and he has a job! Some weeks ago he went to a job-fair at Utah State University and was heavily and persuasively recruited by a group from San Jacinto Unified School District. And it's a High School Band Director's job!

We came down as a buddy-movie, road-trip pair so he could sign personnel papers and find an apartment. I think he invited me so there would be someone to finance the adventure. . . . yeah. That must have been it.

San Jacinto Valley revealed itself over the bouldered-hills from Beaumont, in glowing evening green - a surprise in drought-drama California. We got to the high school at that early evening time when the fading brightness rises on a prayer. It got darker as we drove around learning that the valley is the opposite of Salt Lake City. West of State Street is really nice. East, well, a bit sketchy as my boy said. The plan is when he brings his wife here is to keep west and wait a month or so until she is encouraged to wander east.

The Ancestry.com DNA Test Experience

An expert genealogist friend asked me about the DNA test through Ancestry.com, so I thought I would explain here for one and all (Ancestry owes me for this advertisement).

First, the regular cost is $99 US but they have sales every couple of months when the price drops to $79. There is also a shipping fee of $8 bucks something, so figure that in either way.

The kit arrives by US Mail, and opens to to reveal this: