Local schoolkids' learning improves...thanks to a "Trekkie" teacher

How many mocking news stories on TV and in print have we seen about "weirdo" fans of Star Trek showing up for jury duty, their jobs or their weddings in Starfleet uniforms? Well, this one from our local paper today almost makes up for all those others. A middle-school teacher in the Atlanta suburb of Dacula (pronounced "dah-KOOL-ah," not like Dracula) and a nurse have teamed up to induct poorly-performing students into their own educational version of Starfleet Academy, even to wearing uniforms in front of the class—every single day!—and couching math and science exercises in entertaining Trek-style scenarios.

And the beauty part? It actually works! The "cadets" have significantly improved their grades and readiness for the statewide testing they must pass in order to graduate. And parents who were skeptical of the approach at first are now fully on board (so to speak) with the evidence that it really helps their kids do better...and more importantly, gets them wanting to do better.

Maybe now the mundane world will start to realize what we've known all along: that Trek fans, and fans of SF and fantasy in general, aren't only about obsessively watching movies and TV and starting Internet flamewars, but actually work to contribute to real-life social needs in their communities. Somewhere out in the cosmos, Gene Roddenberry's ghost is smiling.

Nearly seven decades ago today...

Today is the 67th anniversary of the "date which will live in infamy"...and it just so happens that this year, said date falls on the exact same day of the week as the original, a Sunday. In the dawning light of a mid-Pacific Sabbath morning in 1941, over 2,000 people in and out of uniform lost their lives and over 1,200 more were wounded as the Imperial Japanese Navy staged an overwhelming surprise assault on our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack crippled our Pacific fleet, enraged Americans from coast to coast and finally ended our national reluctance to enter into the Second World War. To this day, only the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 have surpassed this battle in numbers of Americans killed in a single incident.

Whatever you may be doing today, please take a moment at some point to remember the sacrifices of those who served...at Pearl, and in all the battles that followed. And pray our incoming new President, Secretary of State and Congress can help to keep such bloodshed from happening again.