Harlem to Antarctica for Science, and Pupils

A great story in the New York Times about people who are not afraid to think outside of the proverbial "box," and incorporate new methods with regard to how our young students are educated. I hope this program sets a precedence, and becomes the point of departure from the status-quo and serves to assist our ailing compulsory educational system.

The pitch: Eight weeks in Antarctica. Groundbreaking research into the climate before the Ice Age. Glaciers. Volcanoes. Adorable penguins.

The details: Camping on the sea ice in unheated tents, in 20-below-zero temperatures. Blinding whiteouts. The bathroom? A toilet seat over a hole in the ice.

Stephen F. Pekar, a geology professor from Queens College, was selling Shakira Brown, a 29-year-old Harlem middle school science teacher, on his expedition.

Her response: I’m in.

Dr. Pekar had found just the person for his Antarctica team: a talented, intrepid African-American teacher to be a role model for minority science students.

“I’m tired of having a bunch of white people running around doing science,” said Dr. Pekar, who is white...

Read the entire article in the New York Times