Back to School Inspiration: Be That Light

By Nancy Atkinson - September 01, 2011 07:08 PM UTC | Site News

Are you an educator, heading back to another year of teaching and need a little inspiration? -- or do you know a teacher that is back in the classroom after summer break? Then this awesome little video is for you. It's the latest from

"Symphony of Science"

and it features our friend

Dr. Jeff Goldstein

and a speech he made at the National Science Teachers Association Conference this year, "Science – It's Not a Book of Knowledge … It's a Journey." Dr. Jeff is a science educator and planetary scientist and is the Director of National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. He is passionate about teaching and is admittedly "emotional about science," as we all should be.

Here's why he helped make this video: "Right now, in this very moment, we wanted to poetically and passionately reaffirm to teachers why they went into teaching, and for the millions of teachers across America, recognize their selfless and noble dedication to lighting the way. This is a heartfelt thank you to teachers for their unwavering dedication to the next generation."

If you need more inspiration, see Dr. Jeff's

Blog on the Universe

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com