Helping Children Feel Smart!
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| Kieran |
"My daughter Kieran said reading your book made her feel smart!" The child within me wanted to simultaneously jump for joy and break into tears.
However, since the adult me was sitting at a coffee shop in Victoria, Texas, meeting Kathleen Grones, a reporter for the Victoria Advocate, I squelched that notion and went on pretending to be the grown-up author she was supposed to be interviewing.
Kieran's comment resonated in me in a way that only an adult who was made to feel "not smart” as a child would understand. As a five year old first grade student I was made to feel dumb by a teacher. Her opinion labeled me in my own mind, and in the minds of other children and teachers, and shaded my entire school experience.
However, since the adult me was sitting at a coffee shop in Victoria, Texas, meeting Kathleen Grones, a reporter for the Victoria Advocate, I squelched that notion and went on pretending to be the grown-up author she was supposed to be interviewing.
Kieran's comment resonated in me in a way that only an adult who was made to feel "not smart” as a child would understand. As a five year old first grade student I was made to feel dumb by a teacher. Her opinion labeled me in my own mind, and in the minds of other children and teachers, and shaded my entire school experience.
It was not until college
that I realized I was not a dunce. My first clue came in the mail. It was an
acceptance letter to the University of Florida, from which I graduated with a
PR degree. Not bad for a girl whose first grade teacher assigned her a
"D" in citizenship, and who was placed in the slow reading group.
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| Suzy Hobbs Baker,Executive Director of
PopAtomic Studios, the parent organization for the Nuclear Literacy Project. |
There was the so-called
"dumb" girl's book right alongside books written by some really smart
authors and nuclear experts, including Gwyneth Cravens' The Power to Save the World, and Terrestrial Energy by William Tucker.
Although being
victimized by education bullies did not make my life easy, it has made life
interesting and infused a passion within me that might not otherwise exist.
This is why I have a
deep appreciation for professionals and educators who provide information in a
format that even us "dummies" will understand.
That is what the folks
at the Nuclear Literacy Project are doing. This past year, the nuclear industry
took the heat for the devastation and destruction caused by horrible natural
events that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
After the incident,
anything nuclear - including my children's book - became an easy target for
anti-nuclear bullies predicting doom and assigning blame.
My Facebook page was
bombarded with photos and comments intended to make me
appear irresponsible for writing a children's book on nuclear power.
Once again, I felt like that first grade child who had received a "D"
in citizenship, until members of the Nuclear Literacy Project came to my
rescue.
The organization is
composed of a diverse group of thinkers from a variety of backgrounds who
recognize the gaps in nuclear education and are striving to bridge them.
They shared accurate and
factual information on my Facebook pages that helped distinguish fact from
fiction and they did it in a way that my non-technical audience could
understand. That is the genius of the Nuclear Literacy Project. It strives
to provide education without humiliation or condemnation. It is with much admiration and appreciation for the Nuclear Literacy Project that I say thank you for what you are doing and congratulations on your website: Nuclearliteracy.org.
May you continue to make children of all ages feel smart!
May you continue to make children of all ages feel smart!
