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.”
Dear 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! Bill Goldner
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