Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, September 21, 2016
(Football photo courtesy of Michelle Binker for the Illinois Valley News)
Page A-3
Clockwise from left:
No. 7 Caleb Hess runs back a pass interception to give
the Cougars possession of the ball during the home loss
to Brookings Friday, Sept. 16.
No. 13 Aundrea Miller controls the ball during the ladies’
win against Douglas Tuesday, Sept. 13.
Tori Johnson bumps the ball during the home loss to
Harrison Friday, Sept. 9.
Jackson Mattock takes a corner kick during the home
loss to Bandon Saturday, Sept. 10.
(Soccer & volleyball photos courtesy of Kelli Augustadt for the Illinois
Valley News)
IVHS’s Jessica Beck brings science to life
Annette McGee Rasch
IVN Senior Contributing Writer
Illinois Valley High School’s
(IVHS) new science teacher, Jes-
sica Beck, already loves the Illinois
Valley. She moved to Kerby in June,
after her husband, Jason Beck, had
accepted a contractor’s job in the
area.
“I’m from Gay, Georgia, a little
town that is pretty much the size of
Cave Junction,” Beck said. “So I re-
ally appreciate the family feel I find
here in the I.V. - it’s really wonder-
ful, I feel right at home.” Beck and
her husband have two children,
Georgia, 9, and Jackson, 6, who are
now attending school at Evergreen
Elementary.
Beck sees her role as a science
teacher to help kids learn to like
science. “For some kids, by the time
they reach high school, they may be
turned off from science,” she said.
“Right now we’re focusing on the
kids’ ability to communicate both in
writing and verbally about science
concepts, and we’ll be doing skits to
keep things fun.”
To help students see the inter-
connectedness of scientific prin-
ciples in everyday life, she utilizes
a program called “STEAM” which
stands for: science, technology, engi-
neering, art and mathematics.
“They’ve been back to school
just over a week and we’ve already
engineered structures that required
the kids to collaborate about science
concepts. This hands-on experience
helps them gain confidence. I’m out
to provide the kids a new perspec-
tive on science and when they learn
by doing and not just listening, they
increase their understanding. Like
with the atom, it may be a foreign
concept, something they cannot see,
so we break it down so that the con-
cepts come to life.”
Beck also sees her job as
helping the kids better understand
real-life issues like climate change.
“There was a recent statement put
out by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, about
how since the industrial revolution,
that the climate has been warmed,
and the statement shows the actual
Co2 levels.”
So to help students understand
that science, Beck said, “We can
build a solar oven and then the kids
can see a real life example of how
solar processes work. Then we can
talk about how the atmosphere acts
like a blanket - and that once the heat
is there, that these greenhouse gases
store up, and what those effects from
human activity are.”
After Beck earned a bachelor’s
degree at Georgia Tech, where she’d
majored in polymer and textile
[
chemistry, she worked for five years
as an industrial chemist before
deciding to become a teacher. “My
work in industry helps me bring a
lot of real world examples into the
classroom. I designed engine parts
for GM and also designed road way
striping, which is thermal plastics.”
After her second year of
teaching, Beck returned to college
for master’s degree in secondary
education, with a specialization in
chemistry. She has also designed
educational course booklets in chem-
istry, physics and physical science,
and possesses strong mathematics
skills, which goes hand-in-hand with
the sciences. “I am very interested in
catapults and the early mathematics
that were applied to make these ap-
paratus effective in historical wars,”
she said.
Beck’s favorite physicist is
Albert Einstein. “For Einstein, all of
science is an effort to understand the
mind of God. A lot of people know
his famous equation, E=mc3, but
few understand what it means. Ein-
stein actually theorized the solution
about the missing mass of the atom
in those years. His formula provided
a missing link about how matter
becomes pure energy and holds the
atom together. Einstein’s mastery of
that concept is why we won WWII,”
she explained. “The physicists of
those times also helped industry
make the gigantic leaps that resulted and deeply impacts their lives.”
Beck is also pleased with her
in quantum physics that facilitated
new colleagues at IVHS. “There
massive industrial expansion.”
are so many wonderful people who
Beck enjoys bringing the his-
work here and they really care about
tory of the development of science
the kids,” she said. “It’s a real team
to her students, to help them better
effort. I feel like I’ve found a new
understand why science is so impor-
family here. Also, not all kids live in
tant.
a traditional two-parent household,
“To appreciate the beauty and
so we have to be someone who the
the intricacy and the symmetry of
kids can talk to here. The strong
the universe, you have to educate
sense of community is very obvious
yourself in order to get a clearer
and the culture at the school is really
picture,” she said. “It can be re-
positive for the kids. I am proud to
ally hard to have perspective when
be I.V.”
we really only know the tip of the
iceberg. Also, the
more we under-
stand science, the
better we realize
that there are few
absolutes and that
life is not black
and white. An
appreciation and
gaining perspec-
tive for the world
around us and
our place in the
universe really
helps students.
So I bring in
many real-world
examples, from
products they uti-
Courtesy Photo for the Illinois Valley News
lize to their visits
to doctors, this all The Beck family: Georgia (left), Jessica, Jason
comes from science and Jackson.
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