Boy this recession has been a killer! All over the country and especially here in the Midwest, state governments facing red ink have been slashing school budgets. Funding is down. Teachers are laid off. It is a mess! And it is the kids who suffer.

A recent study of schools shows that American kids are reaching College with a poor understanding of science. It seems they are good at memorizing the facts to pass the tests, but are failing to learn to fully understand the processes.

Schools with shrinking budgets are trying to make do with less of everything. In the midst of this parents can help. Sure, you can’t offer to pay the salary of a laid off science teacher, but you can arrange for a great science show to pick up some of the slack. It is well known that students absorb concepts better through demonstrations than through simple explanation. “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember”. School science shows are perfect for this. From Physics and Chemistry to Astronomy and Earth Science, school assemblies get kids excited about science so that they want to earn more. Along the way, concepts such as “the scientific method”, “exothermic and endothermic reactions”, “equal reaction” etc. all become much clearer to young minds through exciting demonstrations they are unlikely to forget!

So if you are on the PTA or PTO at your school and looking to do the most good for your dollar in these lean times, don’t overlook a great science assembly program. Your kids will thank you ... and so will their teachers! 

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN