This Months Speaker
Dr. Tom Hudson

Dr. Hudson graduated in 1962 from the University of Virginia, and came to the University of Houston as a member of the physics faculty. He taught physics to Physics majors and engineering students and did research on growing metallic crystals. In 1966 he started going to India and then Bangladesh (East Pakistan) to work in a program to train polytechnic faculty in a variety of technologies. In 1969 he took a two year leave from University of Houston to move to Bangladesh as coordinator of a program to bring American College and University faculty to train local; teachers in the polytechnics and the colleges and universities. He returned to the United States in 1971 and moved his career goals to science education. Before the Nation at Risk and all the other reports discussing the sorry state of science education, he felt that University faculty had to get more involved in science in the public schools, and the only person he could move toward that goal was me. He has conducted teacher-training sessions for National Science Foundation, the Eisenhower Higher Education Program of the Texas Education Agency, and Independent school districts. 

He also believes that the only way to improve science education is through improved content in teacher training, and all of the fads and methods have failed repeatedly and miserably. My interest in attracting children through demonstration shows grew up by accident, starting with students who asked if he could show them some concept, to single classes and spreading by word of mouth to presenting the show to a school every week. As a part of the efforts at improving science education he has conducted teacher-training sessions in physical science for elementary, middle and high school teachers. He currently has two grants, one for training middle school teachers in physics and chemistry of the new Texas requirements and one for developing a core science course for non-science majors in scientific inquiry. He is presently on the physics for pre-high school committee of the American Association of Physics Teachers, teach physics at Incarnate Word College and stays in hot water because he continually opposes the dumbing down of teacher training programs. It is his belief that the salvation of American science education hinges on content rich instruction conducted by teachers who know that content. The push toward dumbing down of American Science Education lives much too strongly.