A Tale of Two Classrooms: Talking about Nuclear Energy at UVM and at a High School

At ANS Nuclear Cafe this morning, I have a post: Young People and Nuclear Power.

Recently, Howard Shaffer and I attended a film about nuclear energy at the University of Vermont. I blogged about the film and panel discussion.

However, we also visited a charter high school in Massachusetts. This was a very different experience. The senior class at the high school has been engaged in an intense cross-disciplinary study of nuclear energy and Vermont Yankee issues. We spoke to the entire senior class.

The high school students who had studied nuclear power asked very knowledgeable questions, and some were interested in careers in nuclear energy. At the University of Vermont, few of the college students at the film knew much about nuclear power. Many of the college student questions were anti-nuclear position statements disguised as questions. ("Why hasn't the NRC ever turned down a license extension application?")

The ANS blog post is the story of only two classroom events, but examples are often more interesting than general statements. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

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Picture of historical building at University of Vermont, Billings Library, from Wikipedia

Woodblock print of Thetford Academy (oldest secondary school in Vermont) from Wikipedia.

Christmas Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers at Atomic Power Review

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. Happy Holidays and happy celebrations!

The 84th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is up at Atomic Power Review. Thank you to Will Davis for keeping the Carnival going in the middle of the holiday season.

I have to start with a direct link to a poem in the Carnival, from ANS Nuclear Cafe. A Priori wrote The Wait for the License. It starts:

‘Twas the wait for the license,

When all through the site,

Not a module was fitted,

No matter how light.

Work orders were logged

On the systems and boards

For the moment when workers

Would show up in hordes.

The owners and contractors

Eagerly waited

To pour some concrete

That is safety-related.

And I in my trailer,

Hearing no bosses’ words,

Had flipped out my smart phone

To play Angry Birds.

Hard to top that one! Well, on to the prose....

Jim Hopf at ANS News and Gail Marcus of Nuke Power Talk discuss Jaczko and the NRC, and Dan Yurman describes the progress on recent Areva projects. The Enrichment facility in Idaho is on hold, but the EPR reactors in China are doing well, taking far less time than the first reactor of that type, which is being built in Finland. It's the end of the year, so Gail Marcus and Jeff Madison of Cool Hand Nuke do a retrospective on 60 years of nuclear power, while Brian Wang of Next Big Future includes a roundup of nuclear news. Want also reviews the status of SMR reactor proposals, and even covers fusion and coal news.

Yes Vermont Yankee submitted a post about materials resources for nuclear education for high school students. From Atomic Power Review, Will Davis adds more resources to the High School list. It is in the spirit of the holidays to consider young people, and it is in the spirit of nuclear energy to consider nuclear education.

Once again, Will Davis starts his carnival with a tease picture from the nuclear archives "Guess this!" I couldn't guess, but may you can. Hint. It's a reactor...

Have happy, safe and joyful holidays! Have some fun at the Christmas Carnival!

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About the picture. It reminded me of someone I knew well in high school, and of a situation that scared me half to death.

In high school, a fellow student invited me to come to her house for their traditional Christmas Eve party. Her parents were refugees from Vienna, fleeing Hitler. I knew this. What I didn't know was the German, Austrian, Danish (etc) custom of lighting the Christmas tree with real candles. As they got out the long tapers and started lighting the candles. I was terrified. At the end, it was okay. I mean, the house didn't burn down, which is my criteria for "lighting candles on the Christmas tree was okay." I wouldn't do it myself, and not just because I mostly celebrate Hanukkah!

I urge you to have safe and enjoyable holidays. Remember-- LED lights are quite attractive. They come in many colors, unlike candles. Much preferable, IMHO.

Photo from Wikipedia of a Danish Christmas tree with candles.

Resources for Nuclear Education In High Schools

Back to High School

So far, in blogging and nuclear advocacy talks, I generally speak to adult audiences. That seems to be changing.

A few weeks ago, a high school assistant principal found me on the web. This has turned into an opportunity for one of the Energy Education Project supporters (a nuclear engineer who lives near that high school) to give a talk at the high school. Then another high school teacher contacted me. That contact has become an opportunity for Howard Shaffer and me. We be talking to social studies and chemistry classes at that school.

Two days ago, a high school student from one of the Vermont Academy high schools contacted me. He wanted some help in putting together a senior project about nuclear energy. The project will be presented to the entire school.

At that point, I cried "Help!" to my American Nuclear Society Listserve, asking for information about high school curriculum materials for nuclear energy. As I expected, some very knowledgeable people led me to good resources. I am using this blog post to share the information.

Nuclear Energy Resources for High Schools

Department of Energy

A prime resource on the web is at the Department of Energy site for teachers:

http://www.ne.doe.gov/students/Track_teachers.html

This has activities, fact sheets, and brochures on nuclear power plant safety.

My evaluation: Great stuff, but you are going to have to hunt through it. Lots of good material, but uneven.

National Nuclear Science Week

Nuclear Science Week is January 23 through 27. and has a terrific website:

http://www.nuclearscienceweek.org/

This includes activities and downloads:

http://www.nuclearscienceweek.org/for-teachers-students-parents/topics-and-downloads-for-curriculum/

One of my favorite parts of the website is the day by day set of resources with links and video clips:

Getting To Know Nuclear (Monday)

Nuclear Careers (Tuesday)

My evaluation: This site is rich, up-to-date, and easy to navigate. It can be used even if your school is not participating in Nuclear Science Week.

Energy Solutions and Power Path

Energy Solutions Foundation pioneered a curriculum for nuclear energy. This material is part of the Power Path curriculum developed by Entergy, Areva and others.

http://energysolutionsfoundation.org/

http://nuclearcleanairenergy.com/resources/education/power-path/

The Power Path site includes games, information, fact sheets, activities, and debate points for high school debaters. Power Path is truly a curriculum. Much is downloadable, other parts of the curriculum can be attained by emailing abecker@entergy.com.

The Power Path Curriculum is available and approved for use in several states.

My Evaluation: Power Path is excellent. It seems to be the most complete and organized of nuclear energy resources for high schools. I recommend it highly,

No, I am not just saying this because Entergy owns Vermont Yankee and is also a sponsor of Power Path! I am saying it because people on my ANS Listserve have used Power Path materials in their children's schools, and they said the materials were great. Of all the resources I have listed in this post, this is the only one for which I have user-feedback.

Facts on File Books

Facts on File (a publisher) is coming out with a series of six books about nuclear energy.

http://www.infobasepublishing.com/Series.aspx?SeriesISBN=084944

The book titles include:

• Radiation
• History of Nuclear Power
• Nuclear Accidents and Disaster

The books are meant for high school and college libraries. Some books available now; some will be available early next year.

My Evaluation: I haven't read these books, and they are pretty pricey at $45 each. However, all the books are written by James Mahaffey, a Ph.D. who wrote the excellent book Atomic Awakening. That book is on my Kindle, and it is clear, authoritative, and amusing. I expect these books are also excellent.

Conclusion

There are many resources available for talking and teaching about nuclear energy in high schools. I hope my readers will add even more, in the comment section.

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Afterword: Academies in Vermont. In the mind-1800s in Vermont, many Academies were founded as private secondary schools. Later, when the Vermont townships decided to provide secondary education for everyone, the Academies were already in place. The townships chose to provide tuition vouchers for the Academies rather than set up rival and redundant schools. Nowadays, the Academies take tuition vouchers from local school districts, and they also take private paying students. They are usually still private schools (sort of). The Academies have long traditions and high standards, and are very Vermont. I decided to illustrate this post with graphics of two of the Academies.

Thetford Academy Woodcut from Wikipedia

Colby Hall at St. Johnsbury Academy from Wikipedia.