James D. Cox
A copy of one of our Eighth Grade science units demonstrates just how deeply we have embedded FermiLab programs into our curriculum. Administrators, parents and especially students frequently speak of their contacts with FermiLab experiences as among their most favorite and educational. I speak as an educator, parent and taxpayer when I admonish you to continue funding these kinds of programs. The education of my students for the twentyfirst century requires the kind of support that the Fermilab Education Office has to offer.
Jim was a middle school science teacher in Batavia, Illinois, in 1984 when he was one of the teachers who piloted a new Fermilab program Beauty and Charm at Fermilab, a middle school particle physics unit. Because of his excellent work, he was invited to return to help produce the final version of the unit. He accepted and, with the team of teachers, produced an admirable unit. Jim was them asked to co-instruct other teachers in the unit twice a year. He proved himself an organized and exceptional planner. In 1989 he eagerly accepted the position of project coordinator for a new three-year summer institute, the Summer Science Project. Jim continues to be an active leader in Fermilab's programs and a member of several education committees. Jim was Fermilab's 1994 Association of Science and Technology Centers Honored Teacher of the Year and is now the Curriculum Coordinator for Hinsdale School District. |