BLOG BITS:Video Motivates Science Fair Interest,Student Perfectionists,Fund for Teachers

A new music video is spurring interest in science fair participation in one Florida community and beyond. The “At the Science Fair” video [above] was created by Kevin Temmer, a senior International Baccalaureate high school student from Land O' Lakes, Florida. Temmer wrote and performed the song and created the video animation, too.

The “At the Science Fair” song is part of a longer video that provides detailed information to help students create a science fair project worthy of recognition. [see the full video]

Learn More
 Guide to a Successful Science Fair from SteveSpanglerScience.com

Perfectionism’s Potential Problems

Pint-sized perfectionists don’t perform significantly better than their laid-back peers, says a recent study out of York University in Toronto, Canada.

The study, which is the first to examine the relationship between perfectionism and achievement in elementary students, found that perfectionism offers no academic advantage for most pupils. Gifted students who are perfectionists do excel slightly in math, but at a price: they’re more likely to feel unhappy than other children surveyed.

“It turns out that perfectionism in children is actually not just unhealthy -- it’s also totally unnecessary where academics are concerned,” says study co-author Gordon Flett, Professor of Psychology in York’s Faculty of Health. “The old adage of ‘no pain, no gain’ is really more like ‘more pain, no gain.’”

Learn More
 Perfectionism Pointless, Potentially Harmful for Most Elementary Students
 Perfectionism in Children

‘Fund for Teachers’ Supports Dream Projects

What did you do on your last summer vacation from school?

 Teacher Nilam Trividi of Atlanta worked on an organic farm where the kitchen ran on methane gas gathered from two pigs.
 Bob Dunn of Newport, Vermont, made a guitar from scratch under the guidance of master guitar builders.
 Brooklyn teacher Beth Mowry enrolled in a course at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center and went back to her school with 150-million-year-old dinosaur bones.
 Chicago educator Javier Vilazquez biked 2,700 miles from Oregon to Missouri to create mathematical and scientific equations for elementary students.

Those educators’ special summer experiences were all made possible by the Fund for Teachers. Since 2001, 4,000 teachers have been awarded $14.2 million in Fund for Teachers grants -- up to $5,000 for individuals, or $10,000 for teams. Fund for Teachers fellowships have taken place in 113 countries on every continent, empowering teachers to explore countless ideas, terrains, and cultures.

Check the Fund for Teachers map to see if teachers in your school might be eligible for Fund for Teachers fellowships. The application deadline for this year’s grants is January 28.