The National Science Foundation has announced an $8.5-million five-year grant to “3-2-1 Contact,” an award-winning science series produced by the Children’s Television Workshop in New York City.
The grant from the science foundation is contingent on Congressional appropriations.
The series, designed for 8- to 12-year-olds, also has received $5.2 million from the U.S. Education Department since planning for the program began in 1977.
“Great numbers of children come to school feeling that science is too dull or too difficult,” said Edward A. Knapp, director of the nsf
“If we can bring a whole generation of children to school with a strong enthusiasm for science and a substantial background in basic science experience and concepts, we will have made an important step toward quality science education,” he said.
The new season of “3-2-1 Contact” begins Monday, Oct. 22 and will be broadcast on public television. The series will air without interruption each weekday through July 3, 1985. Schools are permitted to videotape the show for replay at convenient times in classrooms.
Teachers’ guides, which cover the weekly themes of the series and include suggestions for field trips and methods of reinforcing learning experiences, can be obtained by writing: “3-2-1 Contact” Teacher Guides, Children’s Television Workshop, Dept. M, 1 Lincoln Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10023.
“Teachers,” a major motion picture inspired by the classroom experiences of New York teacher-turned-producer Irwin Russo, will premiere in theaters across the country next month.
Mr. Russo taught English at Uniondale High School on Long Island for 10 years before he began his career in Hollywood.
“My deepest fear was that I would walk into a classroom and I’d start teaching and no one would care,” Mr. Russo said, adding that his worst fear “came true.”
The film focuses on a student who sues his high school because he never learned to read.
Bruce L. Christensen, president of the National Association of Public Television Stations, has been elected president of the Public Broadcasting Service.
Mr. Christensen had been president of the napts since 1982. The association represents public television’s legislative, regulatory, and planning interests in Washington on behalf of member pbs stations.
The new president of pbs takes the reins from Lawrence K. Grossman, who has been hired as president of NBC News.
The entertainer Steve Allen will host the 1984-85 season of the national television series “Inside Your Schools.”
Produced by the American Federation of Teachers, the second season of the series begins this month.
“Inside Your Schools” is a monthly television program that reports on issues in public education.--cc
