Alvaro of Sharp Brains (in a comment here) links to a high-school student's science essay that he posted on his blog and asks:
Why couldn't we approach a number of websites where science teachers hang out and propose some kind of essay contest for high-school students, with winning essays published in our blogs?
What do you think?
I'm supportive, but only if I can recruit for my college from the submitters! ;)
Hi Michael: well, that may be an incentive for all to participate :-)
Bora: I am scoping the idea better by talking to Jeffrey (the high-school Psych teacher). It would be easy enough to run a pilot in one discipline such as Psych and then expand, or try several at once if there are more "sponsors". Will share more thoughts in a couple of days.
Happy to hear more feedback
You could probably even set up a paypal accound for donations, and offer small prizes. I know I'D throw a couple of ten-spots into such an account.
I would also voulteer to publish an essay on my blog, though it is NOT a science blog...anyway...let me know if there is anything I can do.
This is a worthy idea to pursue. Perhaps we can continue via e-mail. It may be easier to access all science teachers in one locality (e.g., one state in the USA) than teachers interested in a single topic. Also, psych is not something that is taught that early - something that fits their basic curriculum yet is interesting (animal behavior?) may be a better fit for that age group.
ok, will email you.
Teresa: thanks for the support!