From the Chairman

David Bloomberg

Illinois Science Teachers Association Convention

As I mentioned last month, the Illinois Science Teachers Association (ISTA) will be holding their annual conference here in Springfield this year. What I forgot to mention was when. The convention will be held from Thursday, September 28 through Saturday September 30. It's not clear from the information I have, but it looks like the booth is actually only open on Friday and Saturday.

I've had a couple people inquire about the booth, but I'm still looking for more people to volunteer. The booth will center around creationism in science classrooms -- specifically how to keep it out, so I am especially looking for people with experience in the creation/evolution debate. But if you are familiar with other areas regarding science teaching in Illinois that need to be explained, please let me know! In addition to the booth, we may put on a 50-minute workshop, so I'm also looking for people to help out with that.

Normally, registration for this convention costs $30. However, REALL can get three other people registered, so let me know if you're interested!

Upcoming Events

We didn't manage to have a meeting in June, but we already have July and August ready to go, and neither will be on our "regular" first Tuesday of the month.

July's meeting will be a lunch meeting at Shakey's Pizza & Buffet on Sunday, July 16 at noon. Secretary/Treasurer Kevin Brown suggested that we each bring a good skeptical book we'd like to talk about for a few minutes, and I'm sure the conversation will take off from there, as it usually does when a few of us get together.

In August, our meeting will be on Tuesday the 8th at 7 p.m at the Lincoln Library. This meeting will feature a dramatic reading of an allegory that takes a satirical look at bureaucracy, true believers, and other running dogs of loyalty. Six people will present an oral interpretation of Rich Walker's soon-to-be-published book, The Running Dogs of Loyalty. Check out the July issue for more info!

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