Modern Science Education

Welcome to The Blog

When I was a senior in college, I started my first blog about education as part of a developmental psychology course. I knew I was about to start teaching and was trying to hack my way through the weeds of policy, pedagogy, and anxiety before the next year. 21 year old me wrote,

“This blog will be my attempt to get through the ‘Education Maze’, a world of articles about education that often seem foreign. The ‘Education Maze’ is also a continuing exploration of my own education, my readings, and my changing perceptions on psychology, education, and children’s literature.”

My blog had a few readers, and occasionally got a comment or two, but at the end of the day it was mostly an exercise in learning about education from a variety of sources. Around the time I started teaching the blog tapered off. The late August post “My very own class…excuse me while I vomit,” probably wasn’t promising sign for my continued blogging over the next year.

Over the next few years of teaching, I found my groove. I got my masters, read articles given to me by my school leaders, and spent hours on the phone with my mother (a lifelong educator). When I stepped into the classroom my stomach was at ease and my head was held high. I felt confident and I used my education resources tackle every obstacle and wisdom from mentors to teach each day.

Then four years ago, I became a curriculum writer and for about four months “excuse me while I vomit” could have been my motto again. Trying to find a place where science articles are organized across the city, state, or country was not easy. I went through the process again of searching and scraping until I built my own systems of continuity and organization. I log articles on policy and standards for my teachers and present my new teachers with a binder of standards each summer. I didn't want any of my teachers to have that queasy feeling, and STANYS NYC doesn't want any of you to have it either.

STANYS NYC wants it to be easier for you. We want you to have a place to go for resources, information, and perspectives on science education. We want you to be able to learn about how to implement NYSSLS or even just learn what NYSSLS is. We want you to have a place to go for resources or to read about new perspectives. Most of all, we don’t want you to be stressed out. And, we definitely don’t want you to excuse yourself and vomit.

So come here, read our blog, breathe, and gain a new perspective on modern science education.

My name is Ana Appel, I am the science chair for STANYS NYC. I write science curriculum for K-8 at a public charter network in Brooklyn. Stay tuned for updates on city, state, and national science from myself and other members of the STANYS NYC team.