Everybody's mountain; Frontiers of Science Foundation of Oklahoma

Everybody's mountain I program in the recorded series written and produced by Robert Louis Shea on with the author as narrator. I was a citizen taxpayer on a mission behind the blackboard curtain of contemporary American education. I traveled throughout the United States for six months. I saw schools universities and educational experiments from Boston to Chicago from San Francisco to Miami. I began my journey in the valleys of generalization abstraction and controversy in education. I ended it on mountaintops of educational leadership and imagination. This broadcast is a report on one of those mountaintops the from tiers of Science Foundation of Oklahoma. The frontage of Science Foundation has its headquarters in Oklahoma City the chairman of the board is Mr EK Gaylord publisher of The Daily Oklahoman. How long have you lived in Oklahoma City Mr. Gay law 55 years. I came here to take charge of paper in the Oklahoma on the morning paper

in January of 903. How long after the famous run was that. Oh that was 14 years. And what was Oklahoma City like. Well as a town of about 10000 is a typical Western sort of the town but very little paving no street cars no automobiles Of course none were in use then. What kind of schools did it have. Pioneers always wanted schools and they had put up schools a somewhat more frame but a number of more big buildings and they were trying to educate their children in the great schools of course in 1957 Oklahoma passed its 50th year of statehood. Prior to 957 a Chamber of Commerce Committee in Oklahoma City including Mr. Gaylord was planning an exposition to commemorate the semi Centennial. The committee considered and rejected the motif of the old cheap land front here traditionally elaborated by Cowboys big hats and boots. Six

shooters and pretty girls. Someone suggested that the theme should be the new one limited from tier of science. The committee agreed. Then what to do Mr gala. We decided that we we had as we were not a scientists and that we would visit a lot of laboratories and universities and in industries and learn and interview scientists and find out what we ought to do to develop the teaching of science and study of it. In Oklahoma the first trip of our group was to the AT&T laboratories in New York New Jersey. What was their impression when you came in and said you want to know about science. Well they were surprised that a group of businessmen had to pay their own way to go and make the trip 10 or 15 just to find out about what they ought to do about the teaching and development of scientific knowledge in Washington your group visited the National Science Foundation and the Naval Research the Carnegie

geophysical and the Johns Hopkins science laboratories. Where did you go after that. And then we decided to go the Tomic Energy Commission. We went there unannounced 11 of us and we asked for Adam straw. He came out very heard live as the commission was in session and he said I'm sorry I can give you only five minutes. And we sat and talked with him told him what we were trying to do and what we wanted information and advice on. He got very interested stayed about 10 minutes and all of a sudden he said wait a minute. He went and called the whole commission out. We visited them for nearly an hour. You spent two days at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and they gave you a group dinner there. I found I was sitting next to the head of the Lincoln Laboratory which cost a hundred and fifty million dollars and built by the government. This man was born within 30 miles of Oklahoma City. Also in Washington we found scientists there where the Bureau of Standards was a graduate of

Oklahoma University. He had to go to wait to get a job. We realize that the men who were graduating in science and mathematics in Oklahoma or having to go to the east coast or the west coast or somewhere where there are scientific laboratories where they could get the kind of work they were fed for Mr. Dean a Maccie president of the Kerr-McGee oil industries was another committee member who made the trip. Mr. Magee is president of the front tiers of Science Foundation. Mr. McGee during the course of six months you and your associates also visited science installations at Brookhaven all gone Oakridge Cal Tech and Leland Stanford. What common concern did the scientists in these places share without exception in each of those places we found the scientists and educators talking about the great need for for improvement in the teaching of science and mathematics if we were to stay abreast of. The Russian threat.

And when we set up the foundation we really felt that this was the thing that should have priority in teaching. If you really want to do something about the sciences and math a number of top scientists advised to find out how good your schools are. Within six weeks the newly formed front is of Science Foundation had arranged for 60000 Oklahoma school children grades 9 through 12 in-flow hundred high schools across the state to be given a full battery of general achievement tests in a single day Oklahoma. The tests showed was below the national average. The foundation of the state's educators didn't flinch at releasing the figures. Seven thousand of the students tested were discovered to be in the top 20 percent bracket nationally in science and math. Mr. McGee sent letters to each of the 7000 bright youngsters. A girl who scored in the upper 5 percent was an orphan. She showed Mr. McGee his letter to her aunt and uncle who immediately

adopted her. A star football player who hadn't planned on going to college changed his home course took the heavy math and is now headed for a career in engineering. Dr. Mal W. Glasgow is director of state education television. He supervises a project which brings TV courses in science and mathematics to students in small rural high schools. Dr Glasgow your project is financed now by the Ford Foundation the State and Oklahoma City. What did the frontiers of science have to do with it. Well they were the ones that really started the program. They put up about $20000 and would have paid more had it been necessary to get the program started. Why do you consider this important. A brilliant child in a rural area is entitle to the same potential development that he would get if he were in Oklahoma City or Bartlesville or any other large place. Are you a native of Oklahoma. I was born here on a farm and then I have taught in a small rural high schools and I've been superintendent of some small schools. You

know how much this means to the small community. I think I do because when I taught in a small high school I had to teach some subjects that I would really wasn't qualified to teach but I probably knew as much or more than anyone else and somebody had to take some so I did it. And that's still going on. Dr. Glasgow travels 20000 miles a year in a 90 mile radius promoting the TV science and math courses in rural high schools which can receive the program's telecast from Oklahoma City's educational channel KETV. 600 students are already enrolled. Newcastle 20 miles south of Oklahoma City is one of the participating towns. And Bill Buckles is one of the Newcastle students. Bill a 17. His father rents a two hundred forty acre farm. Bill do you help your father on the farm. Yes I do milking and most of the farming My dad works until you get up first thing in the morning milk cows. Yes are generally about a sex crime. How many cows do you have on the farm.

Now. Forty three here it all together counting the kids a year milking eight now. Yes I'm expecting him oh 12 the next week or so. Weekdays after his early morning chores. Bill buckles attends Newcastle's only public school. It has 75 students first grade to high school all in the same building. Twenty one of the students are seniors. Bill Buckles is one of them. What subject are you taking Belle Chemistry English math analysis and knowledge of how do you get your sciences here at Newcastle high you have to take most of the heavy science courses or television what courses over television chemistry and math analysis and last year physics and Sun geometry. How many students are taking chemistry with you. There are three counting myself. And how many are taking math analysis just myself and how many took physics last year I did I was one. But where do you take the television course in the ODI culture how many television sets one.

The old agricultural building is a one story frame wooden shed. Torn shades littered floor was the musty smell of airless walls an earth. Post doesn't have lighted signs mirrored the ethos of the farm. Dr salt brings poultry disease guide American ends with I can. When plaque is plentiful sell hogs at 190 pounds. You enter through a smaller room. It has an old upright piano a table and a few chairs. Rusty disconnected pipes protrude from the walls where on hang two pictures one of the father of the country the other of a prairie wolf howling in the snow. A sign on the front door reads her Nando's hideaway SPC C S. The initials stand for Society for Prevention of Cruelty to chemistry students. The students are Bill buckles and two other adolescents. Their subject is freshman college chemistry. They are intent on the television set. Watches like Bill buckles taking science on

TV. If a person is really interested in science it's a wonderful thing. In small schools is the only way he can get things I can't go to college. Do you have any face to face teaching a teacher from the Oklahoma City comes around just about every three weeks and helps us with problems. We need help with bills mother and father never went beyond the eighth or ninth grades. He wants to become a nuclear physicist. His parents encourage him but they can give him no help in his academic training. Where do you intend to study bell. I would like to study and I teach if I can. PASSEY interesting seems that have you applied. Yes and if you didn't have physics if you didn't have chemistry if you didn't have math analysis could you make an application successfully to MIT. No sir they are required. Recently you took a scholastic test where the students from all over the central Oklahoma area in what was it physics. Yes and how did you come out in that test. I read there. And what are your grades here.

In a business society if you want to change public attitudes toward science you have to put your money where your pretensions are. If you talk about basic research about encouraging the man who just wants to know why. You must be prepared to recognize the importance of the allegedly non-pregnant IC. Dr Sheridan h Lee is a professor of biology at Oklahoma Baptist university. A small liberal arts college in Shawnee 35 miles east of Oklahoma City. He is one of seven recipients of grants made by the frontiers of science foundation to individuals doing basic research in small colleges and universities in Oklahoma. What is the amount of the grant you received Dr. Lee. I receive a $3000 and wonderful one it is for our study of the room. $3000 for a worm that's where I will be more specifically cell Feitel preset ignorami told an image of our name a toad. That's right what is a name a toad a name a toll is a cigar shaped Ronder smooth

fully packed words. Those segmentation was over earthworm the official worm is not in the middle. What a name it was a cosmopolitan that you find America where you have your family and human bonds you find in the plans you funny in the domestic animals for you after this why is there an economic pressure behind your investigation. Are they bothering foreigners they need mental do infest they leap every quarter planes and they do severe damage. Many apply would die. I'm not interested in these particularly so-called practical applications. All I mean is it all on the final who are in the middle are present in the state of a little more. Well where did this interesting curiosity about a worm begin. While I was in college in China universe to Shanghai. I am very interested in the word because in China we have a lot of worms so mean it with as a matter of fact one of the scientists call the East Room a whirl I don't know have you ever read that

article this worm a world that's right because everybody's Wermers Well when the frontiers of science made it's grant to you for your study of nematodes What were your reactions. I'm very pleased and grateful because most of the send to functions in the United State will like to prescribe your course of study. They give you a contract and certainly at the time you must produce a certain facet of their problem. Their goal buy you nice grain. There's no string attached whatsoever. You know basic research a sign is most heavily complete freedom to probe whatever he wants to parole maybe need the research all day the problem he has. He's interested in have no significance ever. And yet eventually. You'd like serendipity serendipity serendipity. What is known as a happy accident. Originally nobody's setting out to discover the antibodies but through the discovery of these are new sins of the rabbit or a nuisance there's

mole and we found out there's antibodies. There have been at this for some six months now. What have you done with the money. I purchased some good microscope Also I bought some back issues in our journals which we need in my research. One journals the biologic abstracts are for is this being a small school no Graduate School of Medicine whatsoever so we are not to complete 40 some particle magazine is a very basic research tools and describe and I am able to buy a complete set to replace the misty shoes. What is your life goal with respect to this research. I plan to compile a list of the nematodes evil Oklahoma as well as a directory a last name a tower that's right director of the middle and the end in the future any scientist want to know what economy those can be found in the state of Oklahoma and he can use my. Ricardo you're also a teacher as well as a biologist How would you evaluate the work of the

frontiers of science in this basic research stimulation. You had to stimulate the interest of my students the begin to realize that biology is not only stepping stone to some professionals such as medicine you are nursing. But you see in in itself the reason baseball enjoys such universal status in the United States may be simply that sand lots have always been immediately available to boys. If American youngsters are to become intimates of the scientific method then the doors of the temples of science must be thrown open to them. John L. Wright our own done dough is 16. He lives in Altus one hundred sixty miles from Oklahoma City. His father is a retired bus driver. He has eight brothers and seven sisters. John you're a senior at Altus high school. Early this year what did you see on the bulletin board.

A nose to Bolton. Published by the frontiers of science foundation of Oklahoma incorporated that. There was a filming claiming scholar to be awarded for students to a summer the month of June if your mother ship to be awarded best scholarship. Here's Fleming the name of the serial aggressor flaming and the man who was associated with penicillin gentlemen is right. It was then that I applied for an application to be included in this forthcoming competition. If I won it would give me a $400 dippin for two months the month of June and July to work in the oak on a Medical Research Foundation. 119 students applied. 20 were interview. John Arum Donda was one of the four winners. He came to Oklahoma City and was assigned to Dr. Paul Gores of the dental and microbiology section of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Dr. Gross what special projects are you concerned with at the moment. Well we're primarily interested in the process of dental decay very generally we're interested in the role that saliva plays in this disease process.

John was given his own research problem. Find the test which would accurately indicate the presence of iodine in saliva to give information about the activity of the far right gland in dental decay. In getting to work on this test John what was your first assignment to get in the library and find as much as possible as I could about this particular test. I worked for two hard weeks and have finally found a test a technique that I thought would work. And did you test it on the Laboratory mission are tested under laboratory conditions. Certitude in saliva for various other body fluids. What was it like to work under these marvelous clinical research conditions. Oh it was great. It was very much different from the laboratory in high school. In fact it was almost a revolution process. I learned that I could apply myself to science and develop my attitude toward science. And also I could get in there and get those scientific processes by down right Pat. And I

found that disappointment wooden into my work. And they shouldn't because a scientist I think should go ahead no matter what to his goal. John your work on this test will be published. It will be of use to other research centers. What has this experience done to your plans for the future. It is definitely broadened my view of science and its research I expect. Originally I had been interested in being a doctor preferably a private practitioner. But as I've worked here and I have found that science has brought in very rapidly in fact more rapidly than well becomingly man to think and I think I'll go into research offices of the frontiers of science foundation meet regularly to plan the organization's ongoing program. Listen now to an excerpt from a meeting in the boardroom of the Kerr-McGee or oil industries building. How Three dozen men representing the management of roughly 300 million dollars men who represent the corporate leadership of oil you're rhenium communications trucking agriculture and retail industries.

EK Gaylord DNA McGee James E. Webb former director of the US Bureau of the budget Stanley C. Draper managing director of Oklahoma City's Chamber of Commerce Phil C. Bennett vice president of the Republic supply company Ronan V Rudman president of the Anderson Pritchard oil corporation. Don Ellison the foundation's attorney. Dr. James G Harlow presides. He is the dean of education of the University of Oklahoma. And the foundation's executive vice president. We've developed a lot of public interest for the last several years or members of the projects like the International Symposium Atoms for Peace show of the Space Age conference last spring. I wonder if it would be a good idea to start off on a project of direct mail contact. With the various agencies and the states that have to do with changing school programs and thinking of groups like the School Boards Association of course and the teachers and then of course such support groups as the American Chemical Society of

homicide professional engineers the medical association O'Connell Academy of Science members DA's all these groups that are interested in education and science and mathematics and education generally a single brochure rather carefully done rather extended description both of mechanisms. Community Action specific suggestions for improvement such things as teacher education and service teacher education such things as scholarships programs and the like would be in order. I think it would be a mistake to stimulate. The several hundred school communities in Oklahoma and get them interested in such a program and not provide the main form to follow up and I would like to see if we can develop through our local home university and local or state universities to maybe their extension teaching service a followup such problem. I don't believe you had too much trouble. Again if it was necessary I want organizational rights to the chambers of commerce of the state and other civic clubs to give

support to this movement and I think you'll be surprised with the result. We'll get much more change if we can get scientific resources in the community attached to the problem of improvement. Education and Science Mathematics and science don't you think that the people themselves are so stimulated by space age and the moon and everything that they worked so hard to stimulate all the teachers in their school boards and everything to carry on such a program. Well actually over 2000 students came in for counseling at our research conference to talk to a teacher about what they could do to help themselves. More than 6000 attended a symposium here I think you'd be surprised the number of teachers that are already in this game and are stimulated by this whole movement this is just saying we do or something. Well Jim this thing is necessary for ever to implement the things that have gone before. We've now got to put some blueprint in the hands of a great number of people saw the

things that we have suggested may be multiplied. Mr. McGee to what extent do you think the success of your organization is due to the fact that it includes the top power and status leaders of Oklahoma. I think the success of the organization to a great extent has been due to the type of businessman we've had in the organization. It's made possible for us to. Receive cooperation and and help and open doors that otherwise would have been closed to us or rather some of the things you people have been able to do that less influential groups perhaps with the same interest in education could hardly aspire to accomplish. So the fact that we were able to get the president United States to come here to make his talk on science education immediately after Sputnik we had invited the president to come to Oklahoma prior to that and after the Sputnik incident we renewed the end of the invitation to the governor of our state and I think the fact that the

frontiers of science and the foundation had created a climate for improvement of education particulary in science and technology gave the president the springboard he was looking for for his talk at the time. Yes and Niels Bohr is another distinguished speaker Yura to Oklahoma City by the foundation. The atomic physicist and Nobel Prize winner came from Denmark to address an audience at the University of Oklahoma. Atoms and human knowledge to an international symposium on science industry and education came ducked of an evil Bush president emeritus of the Carnegie Institute. Also the president of Cal Tech. A firm a president of modern College Oxford University. And the director of the National Science Foundation. In the United States the concluding report of the International Geophysical Year was given under the auspices of the front tears of Science Foundation. To Oklahoma City have come the glittering names in American science Killian Zacharias. They will smile

to examine admire and to help this remarkable outcropping of empirical problem solving in a soil where little more than half a century ago there was only prairie grass in the memory of the creek in the seminal. You science you're only from GM Mr. McGee. Or do you have from tears an education beyond that. Oh yes our goal of course is to improve teaching generally. While it's true that science and mathematics are the priority subject at the moment who knows five years from now it might be the humanities or biology or some other equally important thing do you think that what you're doing here is exportable to other states. I think so I think the things that we have tried in those that have been successful are certainly exportable to other areas and as a matter of fact there are several areas where we have furnished advice and in what I see in all such places as reported to Louisiana Kansas City Missouri Los Angeles California to mention a few where we've had

requests for more information and advice on starting similar problems. What would you say generally to businessmen in the United States about the possibilities inherent in such a work. I think the field is unlimited. Businessman I think the tendency among business men has been to let the educators do the educating and. And they have not they have not concern themselves too much about the educational processes and certainly more intimate knowledge offering of help and cooperation. Producer surprising results in an improving educational you're not suggesting that the businessmen become the educators. Oh no no and we have been very careful in our foundation to delay the educating to the educators. All we have done is is to try to spotlight or pinpoint the needs and stimulate people into doing something about it that educators are very interested in improving the the teaching and we

have received complete opposite cooperation Erno called from from all of our educators from top to bottom. Then you see the work of the frontiers of science foundation as a catalyst at dried up dialogue on ourselves as well as really pump primers. We we start a project in many cases we provide the funds to get it started in and then we expect the organization to leave help to continue it if it's a desirable thing to be contingent. The time has passed when business could fulfill its obligation to education in the United States by the payment of taxes and tax deductible scholarships endowments and grants. The catalytic agent provided by the front years of Science Foundation is more than money more than leadership. It has carried. More impressive than the grant made to Professor Sheridan age Lee for his name a toe directory was the careful attention given him at a luncheon. During which the Professor of Biology talked to offices of the

Foundation about the morphology of his worms. The biology professor counted. The businessmen listen. And what business deems worthy of attention in our Society recommends itself to public opinion. The discovery made by the men of the frontiers of science foundation is that education is run is always on. Nobody enters the 20th century social order of science technology innovation and research. Except through the doors of the little red schoolhouse which the pioneers built and promptly neglected. Education is the businessman's mountain to. His childrens Mountain his neighbor's mountain. Education is everybody's mountain. The recorded series everybody's mountain was written and produced by Robert Louis Shea on for the Educational Television and Radio Center. The

programs are distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters. The series consultant was Dr. Ernest on MELBY professor of education at Michigan State University and former dean of education at New York University. This is the NEA E.B. Radio Network.