Clay, thank you.
I will start my response now, but I will certainly finish it later in a second or third reply.
I am happy that you are involved in many other concerns. So am I. Google "Steven A. Sylwester" � and also consider the many topics at the following links to my several blogs:
http://steven-a-sylwester.blogspot.com/2009/12/nationalize-us-private-health-insurance.htmlhttp://community.nytimes.com/commen...d-to-stay-healthy/?permid=154#comment154http://steven-a-sylwester.blogspot.com/2009/11/legal-co-equal-solution-for-everyone.htmlhttp://community.nytimes.com/commen...13/opinion/13rich.html?permid=3#comment3http://steven-a-sylwester.blogspot.com/2009/10/connecting-dots-asthma-and-vitamin-d.htmlhttp://community.nytimes.com/commen...d-to-stay-healthy/?permid=170#comment170http://supreme-court-gender-equality-pac.blogspot.com/http://community.nytimes.com/commen...be-the-next-justice/?permid=97#comment97http://what-is-whispered-proclaim.blogspot.com/http://community.nytimes.com/commen.../14minerals.html?permid=1089#comment1089None of the above should derail the task at hand, which is to first improve the "NASA Academy of the Physical Sciences" proposal, and to then make it happen.
Clay, I appreciate your willingness to get involved, and I welcome your criticism. Let me start by making something very clear: my presentation of my idea is my presentation of my idea. It has been plain to me for a long time that others might have to significantly rework the presentation according to "The Rules of Order" for such things if I ever want my idea to be actually implemented someday. In other words, "my idea" will have to become "our idea" for a working group that can be of one mind about it. I have provided a solid starting point, but others might have to do the finish work.
However, having opened the door that wide, I still stand guard over certain elements of the idea that must remain intact in my opinion. The biology question is one of those elements.
Very deliberately, I changed the name of the school to "NASA Academy of the Physical Sciences" to quiet that question. As you know, biology is a life science, not a physical science.
Know this: Advanced Placement Biology is a worthless course to those who would be NASA Scholars. The average NASA Scholar is not just bright; he/she is functioning at or very near a genius level. Teach such a young person AP Chemistry, university-level calculus-based Physics, and mathematics through university-level Calculus, and that young person will be able to pass the national AP Biology test with a very minimal effort, and I am not exaggerating to describe that "minimal effort" as nothing more than a week-long crash course.
The First Rule is this: Do NOT waste the time of a NASA Scholar with anything that is a waste of time. High school biology is a waste of time � a complete and utter waste of time!
My NAPS curriculum decisions were made through a deep consideration of the prerequisite streams found in the University of Oregon Course Catalog. Concerning the biology question, consider the following excerpts:
http://uocatalog.uoregon.edu/liberalarts/biologyMajor Requirements
A major in biology or marine biology leads to a bachelor of science (B.S.) or to a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree. The B.A. requires completion of the foreign-language requirement. Twenty-four credits of biology that are applied to the major must be taken at the University of Oregon (which includes the main campus, the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, the central Oregon campus in Bend, and university-approved overseas and exchange programs). Majors must either meet the major requirements in effect at the time they are accepted as majors or complete subsequent major requirements. Specific courses follow.
1. General Chemistry (CH 221, 222, 223) or Honors General Chemistry (CH 224H, 225H, 226H)
2. General Chemistry Laboratory (CH 227, 228, 229) or Advanced General Chemistry Laboratory (CH 237, 238, 239)
3. Mathematics, to include Calculus for the Biological Sciences I,II (MATH 246, 247) or Calculus I,II (MATH 251, 252) or equivalent; a course in statistics is recommended
4. General Physics (PHYS 201, 202, 203) or Foundations of Physics I (PHYS 251, 252, 253)
5. One of the introductory sequences: the four-term general biology sequence (BI 211�214) or the three-term foundations sequence (BI 251�253)
6. Organic chemistry sequence
a. For the biology major, a minimum of two organic chemistry courses are required: Organic Chemistry I (CH 331) and either Organic Chemistry II (CH 335) (preferred) or Organic Chemistry III (CH 336)
b. For students interested in graduate programs in medicine, dentistry, biomedicine, or allied health, three organic chemistry courses and two laboratories are required (CH 331, 335, 336, 337, 338). Since many medical schools require upper-division genetics and/or biochemistry, Molecular Genetics (BI 320), Physiological Biochemistry (CH 360), or both are suggested. Students are urged to contact specific institutions to confirm admission requirements
Major in Biology
The major in biology requires a minimum of 44 upper-division biology credits with the following restrictions:
1. At least one 300-level course in each of the three areas�cellular-molecular, systematics-organisms, and ecology-evolution
2. At least 12 credits in courses with a BI subject code, numbered 420 to 499
3. At least two courses at the 300 or 400 level with significant laboratory or fieldwork
Preprofessional Students
Preprofessional health science students who want to major in biology need to plan carefully to complete major requirements and meet entrance requirements of professional schools. These students should consult a biology adviser as well as the adviser for the professional area of their choice. See Preparatory Programs in the Academic Resources section of this catalog for more information about these requirements.
Although Organic Chemistry Laboratory (CH 337, 338) and Introductory Physics Laboratory (PHYS 204, 205, 206) are not required for the biology major, they are required for programs at most professional schools, including many programs at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
251 Foundations I: Biochemistry and Cell Physiology (5) Focuses on the cellular structures and chemical reactions that allow cells to grow, to transform energy, and to communicate. Lectures, laboratories. Prereq: CH 223 or 226H.
252 Foundations II: Genetics and Molecular Biology (5) How living organisms store, replicate, and transmit their genetic information, and how this information directs the activities of the cell and organism. Lectures, laboratories. Prereq: C� or better or P in BI 251.
253 Foundations III: Evolution and Biodiversity (5) Genetic basis and ecological context of evolutionary change leading to an examination of the generation and major patterns of biodiversity. Lectures, laboratories. Prereq: C� or better or P in BI 252.
* * *
If you read the above UO Course Catalog excerpts carefully, you will realize that a NASA Scholar who is interested in eventually majoring in biology at the university level will end up taking the Biology Foundations I, II, III sequence (BI 251, 252, 253) if he/she becomes an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, and that that Biology Foundations sequence does NOT have a biology prerequisite, but does have a third term General Chemistry (CH 223) prerequisite, which is a level of chemistry that all NASA Scholars will complete before graduating from NAPS. Consequently, a NAPS graduate will be able to enroll in the Biology Foundations sequence (or its equivalent elsewhere) as a university freshman, which is fully one year ahead of the normal schedule � and without ever having taken high school biology!
That is efficient. That is smart. And that will end up saving time and money without sacrificing any learning at all. In fact, I would bet that a NAPS graduate would be better prepared for the Biology Foundations sequence course than any and all other students, including those students who took two years of Biology during high school.
Steven A. Sylwester
