TARC on CBS News tonight (shortly)

[rstaff3]

Just caught the end of the announcement. I think it should be on between 6:30 and 7:00 EST. ...in case you're by a TV and are interested.

[rstaff3]

For all it's worth, TARC was the subject of Steve Hartman's "On the Road" segment. He traveled to Presidio TX to interview a science teacher and her TARC team. Short, but nice piece. It was nice to see rocketry on national TV!

[RandyT0001]

For those that missed the broadcast here is the story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...ctionContent.1

The teacher, Shella Condino, needs help in gaining permanent resident status. She needs more paperwork for the INS to prove she is a exceptional person. Maybe it's time the rocketry and TRF communities send some letters of recommendation to the INS (and the White House) on her behalf stating that she is an exceptional example of a teacher that inspires her students with rockets and STEM.

[jadebox]

The teacher, Shella Condino, needs help in gaining permanent resident status. She needs more paperwork for the INS to prove she is a exceptional person. Maybe it's time the rocketry and TRF communities send some letters of recommendation to the INS (and the White House) on her behalf stating that she is an exceptional example of a teacher that inspires her students with rockets and STEM.

She might already have a connection at the White House. :-)

Gwynelle Condino, the teacher's daughter, was one of the students representing the Presidio High School Rocketry Team at the White House Science Fair.

You can find several articles about this amazing teacher and her students by searching the web. But, here's a link to one of the better articles:

http://bigbendnow.com/2012/02/presid...0%99s-welcome/

Teams from Presidio have made it to several TARC finals and have participated in NASA's Student Launch Initiative. You're right, a teacher who offers such inspiration to students deserves our support - especially when rockets are involved!

-- Roger

[brianc]

I just tweeted about this to my #spacetweeps...

https://twitter.com/#!/JBrianCoyle/s...08957450862593

[Bazookadale]

Missed it - because I am at tarc right now - can't wait for tommorrow

[JStarStar]

Awesome story. It will be cool to see how TARC comes out.


I did take exception to one thing in the story: "In rocketry, you don't have instructions on how to build it," said tenth-grader Marla Baltazar. "And that's how life is. It doesn't come with instructions, you have to make it on your own."

Actually, that's one of the lessons of rocketry (or any other good educational activity):

You DO have instructions on how to build it. Maybe not PRECISELY the project you're building, but very likely something very similar to it.

You read the instructions until you understand how they apply to what YOU are doing, then you figure out how to make it work yourself.

I know she didn't intend it that way, but that kinda reinforces the image of rocketry enthusiasts as screaming "yee-haw, let's light the fuse and see what happens!!"

Of course, it's always possible she went on for 5 minutes about how "we prepare for every possibility" and the teevee producers just wanted to get a sound byte of a kid saying, "we just stick the motor in and scream yeee-haww!!"

[shreadvector]

The version of the report I saw on one of the local CBS stations on Sunday night had the 2012 results included, so it must have been updated with fresh results/content from Saturday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_16...the-beginning/

[JStarStar]

The second version was good as well with some nice footage of TARC flights.

My sister teaches in Texas a couple hours away from Presidio and it is indeed hard to get many students involved in such activities (although she teaches elementary english and art, not rocketry).

Finishing 11th out of hundreds of TARC teams nationwide is still a great accomplishment.