Dr. Sally Ride (center of photo), America’s first woman in space and a professor of astrophysics, invited six Little Rock School District elementary teachers to La Jolla, California, for an intensive four-day workshop of hands-on science and math activities. Only 100 educators were invited from around the country. The focus of the annual Sally Ride Academy is to encourage all children to be interested in math and science and to raise interest, especially in minorities and girls, in science and technology.
Jennifer Webb, Science Lead Teacher, attended the Sally Ride Academy this year with Gene Williams (Carver Magnet), Charlotte Cook (Carver Magnet), Tianka Sheard (Booker), Lisa Lollar (Fulbright), Lisa Mack (McDermott & Brady) and Kim Romain (Otter Creek).
The teachers learned that 80 percent of the jobs in the future will require knowledge gained through science and math education. By not providing a solid background in these subjects, Dr. Ride believes that we are channeling a majority of children to basic wage jobs in the future.
"In our culture, science is perceived as something that men do," said Dr. Ride, who views herself as a role model. "It's essential for girls to see examples of women in whatever career they want to pursue. I'm an example of someone who was a pretty normal 10-year-old girl who grew up to be an astronaut."
NASA launched a series of space missions while Ride was in elementary school. She recalls that every kid in her class wanted to be an astronaut and fly rockets.
"When I was growing up, science was cool...we need to make science cool again."