bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Scientific Sublime
Authors: Gross Alan G.
Published: November 2020

The sublime evokes our awe, our terror, and our wonder. Applied first in ancient Greece to the heights of literary expression, in the 18th-century the sublime was extended to nature and to the sciences, enterprises that viewed the natural world as a manifestation of God's goodness, power, and wisdom. In The Scientific Sublime, Alan Gross reveals the modern-day sublime in popular science. He shows how the great popular scientists of our time--Richard Feynman, Stephen Hawking, Steven Weinberg, Brian Greene, Lisa Randall, Rachel Carson, Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, and E. O. Wilson--evoke the sublime in response to fundamental questions: How did the universe begin? How did life? How did language? These authors maintain a tradition initiated by Joseph Addison, Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant, and Adam Smith, towering 18th-century figures who adapted the literary sublime first to nature, then to science--though with one crucial difference: religion has been replaced wholly by science. In a final chapter, Gross explores science's attack on religion, an assault that attempts to sweep permanently under the rug two questions science cannot answer: What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of the good life?
Isn’t Science Sublime?
Authors: Gross Alan G.
Published: November 2020

For over a half century, popular science books have been embraced enthusiastically by the welcoming public, from Richard Dawkins on evolution to Brian Greene on string theory. But while shelf upon shelf of books of popular science exist, only one book exists on these books, Elizabeth Leane’s Reading Popular Physics. Perhaps that’s because no other book is needed; perhaps there is no more mystery to solve, no conundrum to unravel. Take A Brief History of Time: it is selling far better than Gone with the Wind, apparently with good reason: it is a better read. A reviewer on Amazon opines: “Stephen Hawking is an established scientific genius, but this book establishes him as a brilliant writer—an extremely rare, yet valuable combination.” A blog critic pronounces his verdict: “A Brief History of Time is far more than a science book. It’s one of the renaissance books that is so seminal to the notion of who we are, and where we might be in the next 50 years, that it should be required reading for every person from high school on. If that seems like a big ask you’ve got the wrong idea about this book. It’s light and easy and fun, full of subtle humor and provocative notions.” These are views about a book chock-full of abstruse ideas strenuously avoided in their school years by all but future physicists. The universal attraction of such books is the mystery I would like to solve, the conundrum I would like to unravel. Jon Turney, a scholar of popular science and former editor of Penguin Books, questions whether such a book can be written: “At some point,” he says, “one must ask if it is possible . . . to consider the whole ensemble of books. I have my doubts. Even books on the same topic, quantum physics say, are tremendously diverse, in style, level, approach, and in which genres they draw on.” Turney is not totally despairing of success; he suggests that potential authors see popular science books as symptoms of larger forces in our culture. I intend to act on Turney’s suggestion. I acknowledge the diversity of style, level, and approach that Turney sees as an obstacle to a comprehensive account. But I attribute this diversity not to a difference in goals but to differing literary talents and to different takes on what science is and what it can accomplish. However different their skills and their subject matter, these writers are in the business of generating in their readers a sense of wonder at a nature whose workings science, and only science, can comprehend.
Organic Synthesis
Authors: Taber Douglass F. , Lambert Tristan
Published: November 2020

Organic synthesis is a vibrant and rapidly evolving field; chemists can now cyclize alkenes directly onto enones. Like the first five books in this series, Organic Synthesis: State of the Art 2013-2015 will lead readers quickly to the most important recent developments in a research area. This series offers chemists a way to stay abreast of what's new and exciting in organic synthesis. The cumulative reaction/transformation index of 2013-2015 outlines all significant new organic transformations over the past twelve years. Future volumes will continue to come out every two years. The 2013-2015 volume features the best new methods in subspecialties such as C-O, C-N and C-C ring construction, catalytic asymmetric synthesis, selective C-H functionalization, and enantioselective epoxidation. This text consolidates two years of Douglass Taber's popular weekly online column, "Organic Chemistry Highlights" as featured on the organic-chemistry.org website and also features cumulative indices of all six volumes in this series, going back twelve years.
Organic Functional Group Interconversion
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

Alois Fürstner of the Max-Planck-Institut Mülheim devised (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 14050) a Ru catalyst for the trans- selective hydroboration of an alkyne 1 to 2. Qingbin Liu of Hebei Normal University and Chanjuan Xi of Tsinghua University coupled (Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 5174) the alkenyl zirconocene derived from 3 with an acyl azide to give the amide 4. Chulbom Lee of Seoul National University used (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 10023) a Rh catalyst to convert a terminal alkyne 5 to the ester 6. Laura L. Anderson of the University of Illinois, Chicago devised (Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 4830) a protocol for the conversion of a ter­minal alkyne 7 to the α-amino aldehyde 9. Dewen Dong of the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry developed (J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 11956) conditions for the monohydrolysis of a bis nitrile 10 to the monoamide 11. Aiwen Lei of Wuhan University optimized (Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 7923) a Ni catalyst for the conversion of the alkene 12 to the enamide 13. Kazushi Mashima of Osaka University optimized (Adv. Synth. Catal. 2013, 355, 3391) a boronic ester catalyst for the conversion of an amide 14 to the ester 15. Jean- François Paquin of the Université Laval prepared (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2013, 4325) the amide 17 by coupling an amine with the activated intermediate from reaction of an acid 16 with Xtal- Fluor E. Steven Fletcher of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy designed (Tetrahedron Lett. 2013, 54, 4624) the azodicarbonyl dimorpholide 18 as a reagent for the Mitsunobu coupling of 19 with 20. The reduced form of 18 was readily separated by extraction into water and reoxidized. Jens Deutsch of the Universität Rostock found (Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 17702) simple ligands for the Ru-mediated borrowed hydro­gen conversion of an alcohol 22 to the amine 23. Ronald T. Raines of the University of Wisconsin devised (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 14936) a phosphinoester for the efficient conversion in water of an azide 24 to the diazo 25.
Enantioselective Synthesis of Alcohols and Amines: The Zhu Synthesis of (+)-Trigonoliimine A
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

The enantioselective epoxidation of a terminal alkene 1 has been a long-sought goal of organic synthesis. Albrecht Berkessel of the University of Cologne devised (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 8467) a Ti catalyst that mediated the conversion of 1 to 2. Zhi Li of the National University of Singapore described (Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 11572) a cell-based system that effected the enantioselective epoxidation of 3 to 4. Antonio Mezzetti of ETH Zürich and Francesco Santoro of Firmenich SA car­ried out (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 10352) the enantioselective hydrogena­tion of 5 to the allylic alcohol 6. Elena Fernández of the Universitat Rovira i Virgilli and Andrew Whiting of Durham University devised (Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 4810) a protocol for the enantioselective conjugate borylation of the imine derived from 7, leading to the secondary alcohol 8. Benjamin List of the Max-Planck-Institute für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim and Choong Eui Song of Sungkyunkwan University con­densed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 12143) the thioester 10 with the aldehyde 9 to give the alcohol 11. Toshiro Harada of the Kyoto Institute of Technology developed (Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 4198) a general procedure for the enantioselective addition of a terminal alkene 12 to an aldehyde 9. As illustrated by the preparation of 13, this appears to be tolerant of a variety of organic functional groups. Professor Harada also established (Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 17707) a protocol for the enantioselective addition of an alkyne 14 to an aldehyde to give the branched product 15. Chun-Jiang Wang and Xumu Zhang of Wuhan University hydrogenated (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 8416) the alkyne 16 to the protected allylic amine 17. Keiji Maruoka of Kyoto University effected (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 18036) the enantioselective α-amination of an aldehyde 18, to give 19. David W. C. MacMillan of Princeton University described (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 11521) a comple­mentary approach, not illustrated. David J. Fox of the University of Warwick reduced (Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 10022) the ketone 20, then rearranged the resulting sec­ondary alcohol to the α-amino amide 21.
Alkaloid Synthesis: Penaresidin A (Subba Reddy), Allokainic Acid (Saicic), Sedacryptine (Rutjes), Lepistine (Yokoshima/Fukuyama), Septicine (Hanessian), Lyconadin C (Dai)
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

Penaresidin A 3, isolated from the Okinawan marine sponge Penares sp., is a potent activator of actomyosin ATPase. B. V. Subba Reddy of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology prepared (Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 55, 49) the azetidine ring of 3 by mesyl­ation of the hydroxy sulfonamide 2, derived from 1, followed by cyclization. Allokainic acid 6 has become a useful tool for neurological studies. Radomir N. Saicic of the University of Belgrade found (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 34) that the Tsuji–Trost cyclization of 4 to 5 proceeded with high diastereoselectivity, presumably by way of the enamine of the aldehyde. Floris P. J. T. Rutjes of Radboud University Nijmegen prepared (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 2038) the starting material 7 for (−)-sedacryptine 9 via an enantioselective Mannich addition. The reagent of choice for the Aza–Achmatowicz rearrangement of 7 to 8 proved to be mCPBA. The intriguing tricyclic alkaloid (−)-lepistine 12 was isolated from the mushroom Clitocybe fasciculate. En route to the first-ever synthesis of 12, Satoshi Yokoshima and Tohru Fukuyama of Nagoya University cyclized (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 2862) the gly­cidol-derived sulfonamide 10 to the azacycle 11. (+)-Septicine 15 is the biogenetic precursor to the phenanthrene alkaloid (+)-tylophorine. Stephen Hanessian of the Université de Montréal prepared (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 232) 15 by condensing the proline-derived ketone 13 with the aldehyde 14. Mingji Dai of Purdue University elaborated (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 3922) the amine 16 to the enone 17 by intramolecular Mannich alkylation followed by methylenation and allylic oxidation. Condensation with the sulfoxide 18 then delivered lyconadin C 19.
Preparation of Heterocycles: The Boukouvalas Synthesis of (−)-Auxofuran
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

Nabyl Merbouh and Robert Britton of Simon Fraser University developed (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2013, 3219) a general route to a 2,5-disubstituted furan 3 by taking advantage of the ready α-chlorination of an aldehyde 1, followed by coupling with a ketone eno­late 2. Jérôme Waser of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne used (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 6743) 5 to oxidize the allene 4 to the furan 6. Qian Zhang and Xihe Bi of Northeast Normal University used (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 6953) Ag catalysis to prepare the pyrrole 9 by coupling the alkyne 7 with the isonitrile 8. Aiwen Lei of Wuhan University reported (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 6958) similar results. Professor Lei also developed (Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 5853) the Pd-catalyzed oxidation of the allyl imine 10 to the pyrrole 11. Kamal K. Kapoor of the University of Jammu reduced (Tetrahedron Lett. 2013, 54, 5699) the Michael adduct 12 to the pyrrole 13 with triethyl phosphite. Edgar Haak of the Otto-von-Guericke-Universität, Magdeburg condensed (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2013, 7354) the alkynyl carbinol 14 with aniline to give the N-phenyl pyrrole 15. Jean Rodriguez and Thierry Constantieux of Aix-Marseille Université prepared (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2013, 4131) the pyridine 18 by combining the ketone 16 and the unsaturated aldehyde 17 with NH4OAc. Teck-Peng Loh of the University of Sciences and Technology of China and Nanyang Technological University found (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 8584) that TMEDA was an effective organocatalyst for the assembly of the pyridine 21 from 19 and 20. Andrew D. Smith of the University of St Andrews showed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 11642) that the pyridyl tosylate 24, avail­able by the combination of 22 and 23, readily coupled with both carbon and amine nucleophiles. In a related development, D. Tyler McQuade of Florida State University prepared (Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 5298) the 2-bromopyridine 26 from the alkylidene malononitrile 25. Two versatile approaches to substituted indoles were recently described. David F. Wiemer of the University of Iowa cyclized (J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 9291) the Stobbe product 27 to the 3-bromo indole 28.
Organocatalyzed C–C Ring Construction: The Bradshaw/Bonjoch Synthesis of (−)-Cermizine B
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

In a continuation of his studies (OHL20141229, OHL20140811) of organocatalyzed 2+2 photocycloaddition, Thorsten Bach of the Technische Universität München assembled (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 7661) 3 by adding 2 to 1. Li-Xin Wang of the Chengdu Institute of Organic Chemistry also used (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 6436) an organocatalyst to effect the addition of 5 to 4 to give 6. Shuichi Nakamura of the Nagoya Institute of Technology devised (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 4452) an organocatalyst that mediated the enantioselective opening of the aziridine 7 to 8. Zhi Li of the National University of Singapore cloned (Chem. Commun. 2014, 50, 9729) an enzyme from Acinetobacter sp. RS1 that reduced 9 to 10. Gregory C. Fu of Caltech developed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 13183) a phosphine catalyst that directed the addition of 12 to 11 to give 13. Armido Studer of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster showed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 9622) that 15 could be added to 14 to give 16 in high ee. Akkattu T. Biju of CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory described (Chem. Commun. 2014, 50, 14539) related results. The photostimulated enantioselective ketone alkylation developed (Chem. Sci. 2014, 5, 2438) by Paolo Melchiorre of ICIQ was powerful enough to enable the alkyl­ation of 17 with 18 to give 19, overcoming the stereoelectronic preference for axial bond formation. David W. Lupton of Monash University established (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 14397) the organocatalyzed transformation of the dienyl ester 20 to 21. James McNulty of McMaster University added (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 8450) azido acetone 23 to 22 to give 24 in high ee. There are sixteen enantiomerically-pure diastereomers of the product 27. John C.-G. Zhao of the University of Texas at San Antonio showed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 7619) that with the proper choice of organocatalyst, with or without subsequent epimerization, it was possible to selectively prepare any one of eight of those diastereomers by the addition of 26 to 25. William P. Malachowski of Bryn Mawr College showed (Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 55, 4616) that 28, readily prepared by a Birch reduction protocol, was converted by heating followed by exposure to catalytic Me3P to the angularly-substituted octalone 29.
The Herzon Synthesis of (−)-Acutumine
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

The alkaloid (−)-acutumine 3, isolated from the roots of the Chinese moonseed Sinomenium acutum, improves object and social recognition in the Wistar rat model. With four rings and three adjacent, fully-substituted stereogenic centers, 3 presents a significant synthetic challenge. Seth B. Herzon of Yale University assembled (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 3642) 3 by the intramolecular Sakurai cyclization of 1 to 2. The convergent preparation of 1 required the alkyne 10. The literature construc­tion (Org. Lett. 2005, 7, 5075) by A. B. Smith III of the enone 7 from ribose 4 began with protection to 5. Conversion of the primary alcohol to the iodide followed by reduction delivered the aldehyde 6. Addition of vinyl magnesium bromide followed by exposure to the first- generation Grubbs catalyst gave the cyclopentenol, that was oxidized to 7. Conjugate silylation led to the triflate 8, that was carried via coupling with 9 to 10. In earlier work, Professor Herzon had shown (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 8863) that the prochiral quinone from oxidation of 11 could be added to the diene 12 under enantioselective catalysis, to give 13 in high ee. Reduction of the azide gave the imine, that was quaternized with methyl triflate. Addition of the Li salt of 10 to that sensitive intermediate proceeded with high facial selectivity. With aromatiza­tion blocked, the product from the addition of 10 could be thermolyzed to yield 14. The stannylation of the alkyne proceeded with high regio- and stereoselectivity, to give the alkene 1. Exposure of the allylic silane to tetrabutylammonium fluoride drove the desired cyclization to give 2. Chlorination followed by acetonide removal then completed the preparation of the diol 15. The completion of the synthesis required extensive experimentation. Eventually, a protocol was established to oxidize 15 over several steps to the dienone 16. Selective reduction of the ketone (the other carbonyls are vinylogous esters) proceeded with the desired facial selectivity, to give 17. Selective hydrogenation using a Rh catalyst then delivered (−)-acutumine 3. This is the second total synthesis of (−)-acutumine 3. The first, by Steven L. Castle of Brigham Young University (OHL October 5, 2009), is quite different. It is instruc­tive to compare the two side by side.
The Deslongchamps Synthesis of (+)-Cassaine
Authors: Taber Douglass F.
Published: November 2020

Although the Na+-K+-ATPase inhibitor (+)-cassaine 4 was isolated from the bark of Erythrophleum guineense in 1935, the structure was not established until 1959. Intriguing features of 4 include the unsaturated amide and the axial secondary methyl group, both pendant to the C ring. Pierre Deslongchamps, now at Université Laval, envisioned (Org. Lett. 2013, 15, 6270) that the relative stereochemistry of the second­ary methyl could be established kinetically by intramolecular Michael addition of the enolate formed by the addition of the anion of 2 to the enone 1 to give 3. The sulfoxide 2 was readily prepared by the addition (Tetrahedron Lett. 1990, 31, 3969) of the anion derived from methyl phenyl sulfoxide to methyl crotonate. The enone 1 was prepared from commercial dihydrocarvone 5. Robinson annula­tion with ethyl vinyl ketone 6 (Tetrahedron 2000, 56, 3409) led to 7, that was reduc­tively methylated, reduced further, and protected to give 8. Oxidative cleavage of the pendant isopropenyl group followed by Baeyer–Villiger oxidation, hydrolysis, and further oxidation gave the ketone 9, that was methoxycarbonylated, then oxidized further to 1. The addition of the anion derived from 2 to 1 presumably gave initially the axial adduct. Subsequent intramolecular Michael addition then proceeded selectively to one face of the residual enone to give, after elimination of the sulfoxide, the enone 3. The anionic cascade annulation that formed the C ring having been accomplished, the ester of 3 was removed by exposure to ethoxide to give 10, having the alkene con­jugated with the B-ring ketone. Selective reduction followed by protection gave 11. In the course of the hydrogenolytic deprotection of the A-ring alcohol, selective hydrogenation of the tetrasubstituted alkene was also observed. Increasing the H2 pressure and extending the reaction time gave complete conversion to the desired 12, the rela­tive configuration of which was established by X-ray crystallography. A series of protection, reduction, and oxidation steps led to the C-ring ketone, that was methoxycarbonylated to give 14. Reduction followed by dehydration gave the unsaturated ester, that was reduced to the saturated ester with Mg in methanol. Reduction followed by oxidation then delivered the aldehyde 15. After some investi­gation, it was found that the aldehyde could be converted to the desired enol triflate by exposure to KHMDS and the Comins reagent.
Introduction
Authors: Colby Jason M.
Published: November 2020

As a boy, I saw my dad cry on only three occasions. One was his father’s funeral. The other two involved dead orcas. In the 1970s, he worked as curator of Sealand of the Pacific, a small oceanarium near Victoria, British Columbia, and then for the Seattle Marine Aquarium and Sea World. On both sides of the US-Canadian border, across the Salish Sea, he helped capture killer whales for sale and display—or, as he darkly joked, “for fun and profit.” Tell someone today that your father caught orcas for a living and you might as well declare him a slave trader. Killer whales are arguably the most recognized and beloved wild species on the planet. They are certainly the most profitable display animals in history, and with the 2013 release of Blackfish, their fate became an international cause célèbre. Broadcast and distributed by CNN, the film became one of the most influential documentaries of all time. Already years into my research for this book when the movie came out, I found little in it surprising. But Blackfish turned my father, long conflicted about his past, sharply against orca captivity. He wasn’t alone. Almost over­night, viewers, politicians, and activists turned their sights on Sea World—a multibillion-dollar corporation famous for its killer whale shows. In this debate, it seemed there was no room for nuance or history. Millions around the world simply knew in their hearts that orcas had to be saved from captiv­ity. What they didn’t realize was that, decades earlier, captivity may have saved the world’s orcas. Orcinus orca is the apex predator of the ocean, but that ocean has changed rapidly in recent decades. Following World War II, rising populations and new technology drove humans to plunder the sea as never before, and many regarded killer whales as dangerous pests. By the 1950s, whalers, scientists, and fishermen around the world were killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, per year. In a single expedition, celebrated by Time magazine, US soldiers slaughtered more than one hundred off Iceland. But then a curious thing happened.
Big Government and Big Business
Authors: Colby Jason M.
Published: November 2020

Jeff foster arrived at Pier 56 in the summer of 1971 eager to get started. Although just fifteen, the Bellevue native already had extensive experience with wildlife. His father was head veterinarian at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, and Foster himself was a skilled diver who often brought live fish and octopuses to the Seattle Marine Aquarium. When Don Goldsberry offered him a job with the seal trainers, Foster accepted, and after a quick introduction to his co-workers, he received his first assignment. “There’s a bum out back,” said one of the trainers. “Go get him out of there.” In the aquarium business, this was a serious matter. Over the years, vandals had thrown objects into tanks and even attacked captive animals. The teen made his way to the rear entrance, where he could hear dolphins and seals splashing in nearby pools. There he found a man sleeping beside a dumpster. “He’s laid out, he looks pretty big, and I give him my tough voice—my voice that’s still cracking,” laughed Foster, adding in a high-pitched squeal, “You gotta get out of here!” As he helped the derelict to his feet, Foster was stunned by his size. His hand was “like a baseball mitt,” Foster recalled. “He is like six foot six—huge, huge guy.” At first, the confused man seemed willing to leave, but as they approached the gate, he decided to take a swing at the teen. Foster managed to duck away, and he never forgot what happened next. Unknown to Foster, Goldsberry had followed behind to make sure the youngster was safe, and he now grabbed the flailing attacker before he could throw another punch. “The next thing I know this guy is just lifted up and thrown,” Foster recounted. “Don picks this guy up and tosses him easily from here to that wall.” Yet protection quickly gave way to rage. “He proceeded to kick his teeth in, kicked the shit out of him.” Fearing for the man’s life, Foster sprinted to the aquarium office, where he found a woman behind a desk, Goldsberry’s wife, Pat.
A metaphor for teaching
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

Metaphors, or figures of speech, can offer images that help us visualize, understand, and remember the messages they represent. Metaphors are excellent tools for framing the meaning of events, communicating effectively beyond literal lan­guage, and paving the way for new insights on teaching and learning. As an exercise, college students who intended to become educators were asked to create a metaphor to match their recent experiences teaching in a public school classroom. The meta­phors these future teachers chose were revealing and insightful. Students were asked, “What is the biggest change you see in yourself during these first four weeks of teaching?” With a slow Texas drawl, one young man captured the adventure that a beginning teacher can feel. Many of us can relate to this one! Well, I compare it to skiing. This may sound silly, but that’s what I keep thinking about. When you first get on skis, you can’t control anything: you can’t stop, you can’t change directions, and you can hardly stand up. You just know you’re going to get hurt and probably even die. And ever getting better seems like an impossible dream. But then when you do get the skills to ski, you finally understand why everyone else is so excited about skiing! It felt that way when I first experienced a sense that I could control the class’s behavior by the way I spoke to them and the way I helped them focus. I felt exhilarated! Exhilaration! We can find that type of high in teaching. When we toss away fears, when we polish our skills, and when we sow the seeds of doing our best, we vibrate with hope, eagerness, and confidence.
Being liked
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

• What happens when we believe someone likes us? Do we find ourselves seeing the best qualities in that person as a result? • What happens when we believe someone dislikes us? Do we find ourselves looking for qualities to dislike in that person? • To what extent is our sense of well- being in schools depend­ent on our students, colleagues, staff, administrators, and par­ents liking us? Whether we are right or wrong about being liked, intense sus­ceptibility to another’s opinion can surrender our power and rob us of our peace of mind. When we regularly feed our need to be liked, the craving often becomes insatiable, and any fulfillment becomes temporary. Envision a person saying, “I don’t like you,” and you light­heartedly replying (and meaning), “That’s okay.” When we are able to say, and mean, “That’s okay,” we feel a sense of strength and solid grounding. We allow that person’s feelings and issues to stay with him. We allow that person her opinion, but we do not adopt it as our own. We do not fret about the “liking.” In schools, a “like addiction” can be costly to healthy environ­ments: it makes us fragile and needy. How do we get rid of it? Taking inventory of our own habits can be a first step. 1. Avoid ruminating over faults. It makes them grow bigger. A criticism made by one person can cause us to wonder if others think the same. We can convince ourselves that “eve­ryone knows” and “everyone is judging me.” Worry over weaknesses can be paralyzing. The attitude “I can fix this” moves us through our doubt as we aim to improve. 2. Beware of strategies we use to get others to like us. Empty compliments, aversions to disagreement, and eagerness to alleviate discomfort potentially rob us of necessary growth and social rebalancing. 3. Be beneficent, not pandering, in responses to others. Offer goodwill because it is best for someone, not to solicit that person’s good opinion of us. When our need to be liked is prominent, we think too shallowly. Someone smiles; he likes us. Someone doesn’t invite us to a social event; she doesn’t like us. We receive a thank- you note from a parent; he likes us. Being liked can be highly overrated, especially when it becomes a need.
Cultivating curiosity
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

“I wonder . . .” This simple phrase projects an openness to pos­sibilities. It reveals a readiness to contemplate. It suggests a will­ingness to explore and be momentarily confused. When we cultivate curiosity in our classes, we enter into a world of possibility, and we invite our students to join us: • “What would happen if . . . ?” • “How could we solve this problem?” • “What might be a reason that happened?” • “Can you imagine why he said that? What might he have meant?” • “How would you explain her idea?” Whether in the classroom or in the teachers’ lounge, showing interest in another’s ideas can prompt mutual wondering. Being curious about what and how others think can be a purposeful attitude. Curiosity invites questions: “How did you figure that out?” “What made you decide on that choice?” When we release ourselves from the “one answer” orienta­tion that standardized testing can produce, we spark vibrancy in our students. Creative problem- solving can become a habit of mind, a natural way to think. Whether the problem is tangible or imagined, opening students’ minds to “What else could it be?” can enliven their interest in learning and their fascination with their own minds. Whether in the context of a lesson, a creative project, or a conflict resolution, cultivating curiosity can open us to questions we may never have asked and understandings we may never have imagined.
Resilience
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

Troubles are inevitable and necessary in schools. Yet when we are in the midst of them, we can feel hopeless and chroni­cally agitated. Key here is our resilience: how quickly and easily do we bounce back from turmoil? A basketball can provide a rich metaphor for bouncing back. Compression is key to a basketball functioning properly. An underinflated basketball has little resilience, does not bounce well, and may not behave or look like a basketball. The same is true for teachers. Very likely we will get sick, have our feelings hurt, not measure up to expectations. Very likely. So the key is not to dodge these silent missiles that come our way. The key is to learn how to be resilient, to bounce back, to regain our composure. Like a basketball, those within schools can expect to have times of inflation and deflation. A total absence of conflict and disagreement is not an option. Both are natural and necessary. Do you know what deflates or causes you to be underin­flated? Fatigue, conflict, discord, confusion, loss of trust, fear, disincentive, sense of failure. Do you know what inflates you, what restores your compres­sion? Nutrition, hydration, exercise, conversation with a friend, inspiring ideas, change of routine, listening to music, laughing, feeling powerful and vibrant. Adversity is not what depletes us. Absence of resilience does. If we were able to view major or minor difficulties as natu­ral, normal, and valuable events, would our responses to them change? Would we be able to accept rather than resent them? Being hostile toward any of life’s difficulties only amplifies our discomfort, and we end up at war with ourselves, argu­ing with our lives rather than living them.
Gumption, grit, and gaiety
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

The alliteration is appealing, and so are the images. What would happen if we took gumption, grit, and gaiety to school with us each day? Gumption is courage to act using common sense. We have a get- up- and- go attitude. We display a spirited initiative to get things done. We have drive and heart. • We may speak up calmly to disagree with a co- worker. • We may let a custodian know that we need a change in our room setup and cleaning schedule. • We may ask the principal to explain a statement made in our annual evaluation. Grit is tenacity that borders on stubbornness. We see a chal­lenge, we take it on, and we endure. With our firmness of charac­ter, challenging situations fuel us. We are persistent. • We are determined help a student achieve a challenge that baffles him. • We persevere past our threshold of fatigue and a myriad of obstacles to manage and polish the annual program for parents. • We know our weaknesses, and we are willing to do what is necessary to develop and improve. Gaiety is joyfulness, lightheartedness, and the jollification of life’s moments. We find opportunities to be joyful, and liberate ourselves to feel and show our delight. • Instead of scolding a student for an outburst, we may offer a good- natured quip instead. • We may help a colleague see the humor in an event that she found disturbing. • As we walk in the door of our school, we treat those hallowed halls as possibilities for experiencing joy and delight. These three G’s brace us for what needs to be done, drive us to complete our task, and spur us to be exultant about achieve­ments large and small. They bolster us to teach with vitality!
Positional and personal power
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

Positional power surrounds us. Parents, supervisors, elected officials, siblings, reporters . . . they all have power to make choices for us, and sometimes about us. Yet it is our personal power that provides our quality of life. Personal power is knowing our strength and using it to bal­ance and rebalance our thoughts and behaviors. We know we will fail. We know we will become entangled in difficult situa­tions. We know we will lose sight of our best selves at times. Yet our power is sustained by the belief that we will regain our footing. We will overcome our challenges. We will persevere and regain our ultimate vibrancy. Those with personal power display their confidence and com­petence, but not at another’s expense. They know their strength and use it to continually strive for interpersonal satisfaction, con­nection, and meaning. What makes our personal power strong? It is the influence generated and exuded. This version of personal power is not necessarily influence over others; rather, it inspires others in ways that make them want to be better, do better. Think of the people you have met, perhaps even strangers who appear powerful. They seem comfortable in their own skin, awake to all that is around them. Our personal power is “our spiritual fingerprint”. It is magnificent in its subtlety and stability. When we acknowledge and use our personal power to its best intention, we see and feel its influence on us. Positional power ranks us according to our positions in the social, familial, administrative, or business- related milieu of our lives. The influence of positional power can vary greatly, and the extent to which people submit to positional power varies greatly. We forfeit an important part of ourselves when we sublimate per­sonal power in favor of our own or another’s positional power. Have you noticed that some of the most influential teachers in schools may be those who are powerfully quiet and unassuming? Have you noticed that students can sometimes sense the power of a classmate who otherwise is not an obvious leader?
Bounce
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

Have you noticed that every day, every hour, there is oppor­tunity to bounce? It might be a funny expression from your dog, a clever image on a T- shirt, a surprising comment by a stu­dent, an endearing story from a colleague, or the sweet expres­sion of a parent’s love. Each of these moments, and so many more, are provided for us all the time. They surround us. When we know to look for them, when we are open enough to notice them, we can feel the bounce that energizes us, at least momentarily. Our worries and tensions can absorb us in our days at school. That takes no effort. But allowing ourselves to be saturated with that heaviness is also allowing ourselves to be captives of our troubling thoughts and harried schedules. We can take a moment to shrug it off. Loosen the crust of tension and protection. Open ourselves to spotting and feeling moments that bounce. Teachers can adopt the habit of looking for and feeling the bounce in our lives. And when we do, we give ourselves a dose of vigor. We revive. When we give access to the appealing and delightful pos­sibilities that rehumanize us, we change ourselves. We smile. We love. We connect to beauty. We become resilient. We feel the bounce.
Be impeccable with your word
Authors: Bennett Peggy D.
Published: November 2020

“Faultless,” “flawless,” “unimpeachable,” “without harm”: these words define impeccability. Being impeccable with our words means that we are closely attentive to their meanings, their power, and their lasting effects. Are we vigilant about the words we use to instruct and converse? Are we careful to speak accurately and thoughtfully during meet­ings and informal encounters? In The Four Agreements, Ruiz describes our word as a force, “not just a sound or a written symbol”. Words are powerful because they reflect and communicate our thoughts. That is why we need to aspire to speak without harm: words show who we are. Like a sword with two edges, our words can build or destroy, sting or fawn. Are we aware of what our words are doing? Do we speak “without harm” to ourselves? Our inner self- talk is nearly constant. What we say to ourselves can be every bit as powerful as what we say to others. Sometimes exaggeration becomes a habit, but it is not necessarily a harmless one. Exaggeration rarely serves us well, and it can erode our believability. When we habitually speak in extremes or we inflate our experiences, we serve no one, includ­ing ourselves. It can be nearly impossible for someone to unhear what she heard. And once trust and credibility are pierced, it can be nearly impossible to regain them. School communities, with their many invested constituents, deserve careful, impeccable use of words. Consider the influence of the words in the contrasting pairs that follow. These “I” statements show the subtle differences in how we describe ourselves. If you say them aloud, notice the reaction of your body to the words. • “I am exhausted”; “I am fatigued.” • “I am scared”; “I am uneasy.” • “I am stupid”; “I am confused.” • “I am nervous”; “I am excited.” • “I am stressed”; “I feel the pressure.” • “She shouted at me”; “She raised her voice.” • “It was the worst day of my life”; “It wasn’t my best day.” Experiment. See what happens when your words are impecca­ble, accurate, and kind.
What Do We Know About Student Transition?
Authors: Astor Ron Avi , Jacobson Linda , Wrabel Stephanie L. , Benbenishty Rami , Pineda Diana
Published: November 2020

Understanding how changing schools affects children can help educators in their efforts to create welcoming and supportive school environments. It is also important to be aware of the different types of transitions a student may experience between prekindergarten and high school. While the purpose of this book is to highlight the different ways educators can support children and families changing schools, it’s still important to look at the many reasons why they are changing. School moves are commonly classified as one of two types: structural or nonstructural. Structural changes occur when students are required to switch schools because of the distinct features of or changes within the education system. The most common example of a structural change is promotional, such as when a child finishes 5th grade and goes to a new school for 6th grade. These promotional moves are typically viewed as transitions rather than school moves. The development of new schools to address overcrowding, the rezoning of school boundaries, or the closing of low- performing schools are other examples of structural changes. While students and parents might not always feel positive about a structural move, a student tends to move with peers when these changes happen and thus is not considered a “new student.” Nonstructural mobility, on the other hand, is any school change that is not created by the features of the school system and can be the result of a multitude of life circumstances. These can include a parent’s new job, a divorce, a change in custody or foster family for a child, the result of a disciplinary action at a school, or a conflict with a teacher or another student. Students may also switch schools because they— or their parents— are seeking a specific type of academic program, such as a magnet program or a charter school. According to Dr. Russell Rumberger at the University of California Santa Barbara, 60% of students nationally make unscheduled school changes at some point between kindergarten and 12th grade. A smaller proportion of students experience many more of these changes. The scientific literature shows that both promotional and nonpromotional changes may create challenges.
Using Monitoring to Support and Improve Schools
Authors: Astor Ron , Benbenishty Rami
Published: November 2020

The ultimate goal of implementing a monitoring system is to improve the settings in which children go to school every day and to identify areas where students need support. Data can show which aspects of school climate are already creating positive experiences for students while also leading educators to focus on those areas that need attention or intervention. Educators should pay special attention to groups of students that might be more likely to exhibit risky behavior or to be victimized by other students. For example, using the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) data, it became clear that military- connected students who have changed schools multiple times experience victimization and reported higher rates of weapon- carrying than others. The schools, therefore, have implemented a wide range of initiatives to help new students feel welcome, meet other students, and get involved in school activities. Similarly, data showing that foster care and homeless youth experience social- emotional difficulties may prompt districts to pay attention to these groups of students and mobilize community and state resources to respond to their needs. Sometimes the data will show that certain incidents among students are more likely to occur during certain times of the school day or in certain areas of the campus, mostly where there is a lack of supervision by adults. This knowledge can help school leaders and students develop innovative solutions for avoiding those problems. Such a situation took place at Santa Margarita Elementary School— located on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton— where tensions among students often boiled over on the playground during recess. Then- Principal Pat Kurtz worked with her playground “duty supervisors” to implement a variety of strategies that would make recess time less stressful and empower both the students and the supervisors to create more positive experiences for students: . . . First, when Kurtz brought a child into her office because of a behavior problem, she also brought in the duty supervisor, who likely intervened in the situation on the playground, so that he or she could learn how Kurtz worked with a child who was struggling with peers. . . .
Logic Model Development to Aid Project Planning
Authors: Johnson Annette , McKay-Jackson Cassandra , Grumbach Giesela
Published: November 2020

The logic model, a tool that has been around since the 1970s, was defined by Bickman (1987) in the late 1980s and became popularized in the 1990s. Bickman saw the logic model as a presentation of how the program will work to solve identified problems under certain conditions. Basically, a logic model shows a graphic depiction of a program, its goals, and underlying assumptions and a plan of action and outcomes. This model is helpful for the school- based practitioner to clearly articulate critical service learning (CSL) goals to school administrators. According to the Kellogg Foundation, a logic model provides a visual way to present a program in a systematic fashion (Kellogg, 2004). In this instance, it is a visual map of the CSL project depicting the project’s goals. This includes articulating the understanding of CSL and why it is believed it will work; providing a concise format to share with others; and conveying the relationships among the resources available to operate the program, the activities planned, and the desired changes or results. In sum, the logic model represents a graphic depiction of CSL and its benefits. One benefit of using the logic model is that it helps the school- based practitioner think through the CSL project- planning process in its entirety as youth develop and plan activities, identify needed resources, and anticipate what is needed to evaluate it. Practitioners may use the logic model in a couple of ways: (a) The logic model can demonstrate the benefits of the CSL project to administration to gain buy- in; and (b) once the program is launched, the logic model may be used to incorporate what the youth envision. The school- based practitioner must remain true to the CSL tenets of allowing youth to plan and design the project. Perhaps one of the nicest benefits of a logic model is that it creatively illustrates the CSL program’s components to stakeholders in a succinct way. A completed logic model allows stakeholders to quickly review the program’s goals, activities, and projected outcomes; furthermore, it presents a summary of complex theory as understandable units.
Quantum Mechanics and the Periodic Table
Authors: Scerri Eric
Published: November 2020

In chapter 7, the influence of the old quantum theory on the periodic system was considered. Although the development of this theory provided a way of reexpressing the periodic table in terms of the number of outer-shell electrons, it did not yield anything essentially new to the understanding of chemistry. Indeed, in several cases, chemists such as Irving Langmuir, J.D. Main Smith, and Charles Bury were able to go further than physicists in assigning electronic configurations, as described in chapter 8, because they were more familiar with the chemical properties of individual elements. Moreover, despite the rhetoric in favor of quantum mechanics that was propagated by Niels Bohr and others, the discovery that hafnium was a transition metal and not a rare earth was not made deductively from the quantum theory. It was essentially a chemical fact that was accommodated in terms of the quantum mechanical understanding of the periodic table. The old quantum theory was quantitatively impotent in the context of the periodic table since it was not possible to even set up the necessary equations to begin to obtain solutions for the atoms with more than one electron. An explanation could be given for the periodic table in terms of numbers of electrons in the outer shells of atoms, but generally only after the fact. But when it came to trying to predict quantitative aspects of atoms, such as the ground-state energy of the helium atom, the old quantum theory was quite hopeless. As one physicist stated, “We should not be surprised . . . even the astronomers have not yet satisfactorily solved the three-body problem in spite of efforts over the centuries.” A succession of the best minds in physics, including Hendrik Kramers, Werner Heisenberg, and Arnold Sommerfeld, made strenuous attempts to calculate the spectrum of helium but to no avail. It was only following the introduction of the Pauli exclusion principle and the development of the new quantum mechanics that Heisenberg succeeded where everyone else had failed.