
Meet Jennifer Daftari’s fifth-grade class at Jay Elementary School in Jay, Oklahoma. They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to save the world.
I got an e-mail not long ago from Ms. Daftari in which she made a compelling (and ego-satisfying) case that her students are PopSci’s greatest fans. Every month when she announces the arrival of a new issue, she wrote, “they wildly applaud, sitting on the edge of their seats to see what new ideas, technology and inventions their eyes will behold. You and your staff are ‘rock stars’ to my students.”

In this issue of Popular Science, Ms. Daftari’s kids will learn of a new movement in medicine that seeks not to eradicate germs, but to cultivate them—to seed our bodies with carefully engineered bacteria that could end tooth decay, elevate our moods, maybe even cure cancer. They’ll also marvel at a vision of the near future in which cord-free appliances are powered by electricity plucked from the air. But the thing I’d like them to focus on is the urgent effort by the airline industry to slash greenhouse-gas emissions—to find a way to fly green.
This is no idle pursuit. Airlines are one of the fastest-growing carbon polluters around; air traffic could double by 2025. And as Dennis Gaffney details in “Fly the Eco-Friendly Skies”, it’s a tremendously complicated problem to solve. Any alternative biofuel needs to pack the same energy punch as today’s jet fuel, needs to be able to be made in abundance, and needs to not freeze at high altitude. Says James Hileman, a research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “If you’re a kid and you’re thinking, ‘OK, what can I do to save the world?’ Well, the one way you can save the world is to find new, growable sources of fuel.”
To me, these kids don’t look like the type to back down from a challenge. Now imagine all the other classes taught by all the other Ms. Daftaris out there. I think they can do it.
-Mark Jannot
February, 2008

Will the FDA clear deep-brain stimulation as a treatment for clinical depression by September 30, 2008?
Will the LHC be fully functional and producing data by October 31, 2008?


Comments
Cost of paper to write the essay: 5 cents
5 out of 5 people found this comment helpfulCost of pencil to get thoughts on paper: 25 cents
Cost of bottled water to drink while writing essay: 1 dollar
Seeing my kids' faces when they saw they had been published in a national magazine? PRICELESS
There are some things money can't buy. . .for everything else, there's the ABILITY TO DREAM.
Thank you POPSCI for making dreamers out of my kids and kids all around the world. Keep up the great work! To my students: You make your teacher so proud!
Love,
Mrs. Daftari
From an "Auntie" point of view and totally non-biased (haha)- These kids are remarkable! However, I think Mrs. Daftari should be applauded for her teaching methods which inspire, intrigue, instruct and cause these kids to WANT to save the world! I was so touched by what the kids are doing that I sent a letter to Mrs. Bush telling her about their accomplishments! It's time to stand up for the kids of the world who are doing great things, pat them on the back and say well done! Congratulations to all my "Mrs. Daftari Kids" and congratulations to Mrs. Daftari! Keep up the great work!
You are loved!
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulAuntie Sue
Wow! How exciting to read such inspirational comments from such young students! You are simply amazing! I enjoyed reading each article and was so excited to learn what an enormous knowledge bank you all have about our environment. Great job Mrs. Daftari for challenging your students to be so productive and on fire about learning! Keep up the good work. I will look for future articles that you may publish.
Robin Campbell
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful4th grade teacher
Shallowater Intermediate
Shallowater, Texas
My name is Cameron King and I am the intern this semester in Mrs. Daftari’s 5th grade class. I am with these wonderful students and Mrs. Daftari five days a week. It is no small statement to say that these students are AMAZING! They have an outstanding commitment towards learning. Also, Mrs. Daftari is a spectacular teacher. She inspires me every day with her dedication to education and her ability to bring out the best in everyone. I am so very proud to say that I know each of these students and that they will save our world. To Mrs. Daftari and the students of her fifth grade class…you are simply THE BEST!
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulDear Mrs. Daftari,
It is so refreshing to see both a professional and personal touch in your classroom.
Your students demonstrate a confidence to stretch their thinking beyond the typical 10-12% cerebral utilization that we so commonly employ in our daily activities.
It is apparent you not only impart a problem- oriented mindset in saving the world, but include the personal benefits that individuals, cultures and countries will receive.
I sense more than statistical extrapolations and scenarios in your class essays. There is definitely a warm and engaging desire to genuinely improve the quality of life. Thanks!
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulBill Goldner
This was a very inspiring story. Being a father of five and a medical doctor, I try to instill a love for science early in my children's lives. This was a great idea by Mrs. Daftari and encouraging to see the response. I also find this magazine a great platform to help kindle kids' imaginations with real life research and possibilities for the future. Keep up the great work!
Patrick Martin MD
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulWhat effort and ideas! I am truly amazed at the 5th Grade students in Mrs. Daftari's class at Jay! I can see our future is in great and caring hands. I appreciate the hard work you students have put forth in this project. Your point of view is so valuable. You and your dreams will go far! Keep up the great work. Thank you Mrs. Daftari for inspiring these wonderful minds.
L.Moses
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulButner Elementary School
Computer Lab Instructor
The most important thing about this exercise is not the ideas that it creates today, but the thoughts it may produce in the future. Encouraging children to think independently and to consider the world's problems is the first step in solving them.
This is a great exercise and the students have done very well in identifying and understanding the types of challenges facing our society.
0 out of 0 people found this comment helpfulI am proud to say I was once one of Mrs.Daftari's fifth grade students, and I am currently attending Northeastern State University. It is amazing the ideas fifth graders can come up with. I think everyone could learn something from children if people would listen and really think about what they are saying and not pass it off as childish jibber jabber.
I have always tried to keep my imagination open (I believe great inventions and other things have and can come from what may have started as some sort of silly thought in a daydream), and not think I have to be serious about everything all the time...it is like the, I believe it is a Cheez It commercial where the little girl explains how they get all that cheese in one square, how many adults do you think would think of that. No, it may not be the real way it happens, but it is pretty cool to imagine it that way and makes life a little more fun.
To Mrs.Daftari, I thank you for being a part of what makes me the way I am.
To Popular Science, I think it is wonderful that you are trying to get children more involved and opening their minds up to science, it is a great thing.
Samantha Morrison
0 out of 0 people found this comment helpfulThis is a great idea! Mrs. Daftari and her class are so inspiring!!
Keep up the great work!
Rachael Gilbert
0 out of 0 people found this comment helpfulIrving, TX