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Actually, our experience lately has been that we have had difficulty
recruiting for project positions particularly in education. I'm not
sure I understand your observations, Charlie. If I understand you
correctly you have tons of people coming in with experience that is
not closely matched with the requirements you have. So that would
suggest that there is some need for more preparation for people to
work in the informal science field. However, I don't think that
certification is necessarily the answer. Here in NYC we have some
very good museum education programs that are effectively
certification for participants in the field (I am thinking
particularly of the Bank Street programs). I am instinctually averse
to "professional standards" and certification, and would rather see a
proliferation of diverse education opportunities based upon an
increased plausibility of making a livelihood in the field. In other
words, if we can pay more, professional programs will emerge. As an
analogy, I think of the proliferation of fundraising degrees and
certificates that have sprung up in rich profusion. The quality of
these programs vary widely. There has been a sustained effort to
create a set of professional standards, which has been received with
varying degrees of enthusiasm. The main thing is that it is
plausible to make a long term livelihood in fundraising, whereas it
is pretty difficult to envision a career path in informal science
education.
Eric Siegel
Director and Chief Content Officer
NY Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY 11368
718 699 0005 x 317
www.nyscience.org
On Oct 15, 2007, at 8:46 AM, Charles Carlson wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> **********************************************************************
> *******
>
>
> Beryl,
>
> A couple of things: I agree that many talented people have come to
> the museum field from very diverse backgrounds; it's really amazing
> and fun. Secondly, the field is really, really small! Couple
> these observations with the fact that we have an almost steady
> stream of folks with research backgrounds, etc. streaming into the
> Exploratorium looking for employment and project positions (I'm
> sure this true at many other institutions as well.) and I become
> dubious of the potential benefits of certification program .
> Clearly, more education is good, but what being provided? An entry
> point? A standard? A leg up on the competition? To be measured
> against? Is the school of education the right spot? etc.??
> (Classroom teaching is a distant cousin to informal education…the
> approach, the methodology, the subjects, the metrics. )
>
> Hopefully, this is some food for thought.
> Charlie
> On Oct 15, 2007, at 6:42 AM, Beryl Rosenthal wrote:
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> *********************************************************************
>> ********
>>
>> Ok, so having started this whole thing - I initially raised the
>> question as UMass is considering developing a museum education
>> certificate. It is still in the very early brainstorming stage
>> (as far as we know there may not even be a need, so I am calling
>> for us to offer some courses as electives within the Grad School
>> of Education to test the waters - it's the closest you can get to
>> front end/prototyping within the system!)
>>
>> My query was launched as a way to think about what courses we
>> should offer, what are the kinds of things a museum educator
>> should know. In my experience, it has generally taken me at least
>> 6 months to re-educate a former classroom teacher to the culture
>> of museum education. On the flip side, I have had a number of
>> really gifted incredible thinkers who had no experience in the
>> content or in museum ed work for me and pick it up during
>> training. As Jeff notes, many of us "snuck" into the field, often
>> because no courses were widely available (Side note, my undergrad
>> degree was a BFA).
>> That's the context.
>>
>> Beryl
>>
>> --
>>
>> Beryl Rosenthal, Ph.D.
>> Director, Tsongas Industrial History Center
>> Boott Cotton Mills
>> 115 John Street
>> Lowell, MA 01854
>> (978) 970-5081 (t)
>> (978) 970-5085 (f)
>> http://www.uml.edu/tsongas
>>
>> *********************************************************************
>> **
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> Charles Carlson
> Director of Life Sciences
> exploratorium
> 3601 Lyon St.
> San Francisco, CA 94123
> [log in to unmask]
> Tel: 415-561-0319
> Fax: 415-561-0370
>
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> *
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
> www.exhibitfiles.org.
>
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Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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