The Backstory: Connecting academia to K-12 and making it all free
I could’ve named Galactic Polymath “FreeSci” or “STEMtastic” or “SciSource.” In truth, some kind of punny name on science or STEM might have been a better choice. But my vision for this company has always been bigger. As a middle school teacher, I always found a lot of published curriculum very limiting for students and I wanted to convey something more ambitious—the big picture “galactic” view of things. I often joke that teaching folks the meaning of polymath is our first lesson. A polymath is an expert in multiple disciplines (like Leonardo Da Vinci and Hedy Lamarr). So “Galactic Polymath” describes our goal of creating mind-expanding, interdisciplinary lessons that prepare students for the real world, where all challenges are inherently interdisciplinary. We should be contextualizing the stuff students learn in class—letting them play around with data, learn about cutting edge research (not just the parboiled facts gleaned from a 10 year old textbook) and embedding lessons in memorable stories that stick with them. Students should learn that science and critical thinking are essential parts of all of our lives—not just “sciencey” kids or future engineers. And science can’t happen without math; science and math are integrally connected to the ebb and flow of history and technology; and the language arts are fundamental to every single career path (especially science). This is why we align all our lessons to interdisciplinary standards. And I firmly believe that access to science curriculum of the highest caliber is not a luxury—it’s a right.
Since founding Galactic Polymath (GP), one of my biggest surprises has been how we’ve all accepted the idea that knowledge should be paid for. We’ve bought the multibillion dollar education publishing industry’s pitch, hook, line, and sinker—that individual schools, districts, or underpaid teachers themselves should pay for the textbooks and edtech tools that prepare students to become good citizens and productive members of society. In other words, we've accepted that education is a commodity to be bought and sold and the more money you have, the better education you can get. I find this anti-democratic, and worrying for the future of our society.
My dangerous idea in founding this company is that open-access education can be funded by those who have a vested interest in an informed public.
My dangerous idea in founding this company is that open-access education can be funded by those who have a vested interest in an informed public. That is, instead of charging teachers for access to content, we can charge organizations for translating their work to grow public science engagement. As a biologist, I recognized the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a great initial client. Most folks probably hadn’t even heard of the NSF until recent efforts to dismantle it have caused chaos and outrage across the country. But a unique and amazing thing about NSF that hasn’t been covered in the news is that since the 1990s, they have required “Broader Impacts” in the grant review process. This means that every scientist seeking government (i.e. public) funding must demonstrate that they’re not only doing kick-ass science with high “Intellectual Merit” but also that they have a rigorous plan for how they’re going to disseminate their findings to the public. No other agency currently has this requirement and it is through Broader Impacts that Galactic Polymath has largely been funded (up till now). Scientists write us into grants and our talented team of teachers, artists, and filmmakers helps them translate their work into accessible, engaging, standards-aligned lessons. It’s a win-win because scientists want the public to understand their work; we help them do a good job and ensure that it meets the needs of teachers; and we can offer the end product to educators for free (as it should be)!
Now, with NSF funding at a standstill, GP is rapidly trying to find other clients. Though we’ve focused on NSF-funded scientists initially, I’ve always felt deeply that we can offer unique value to other types of organizations. Nonprofits that want students to understand their mission, but don’t have a dedicated team to create resources or a dissemination network to connect to classrooms should want to hire us. Even socially- and environmentally-responsible companies should want to hire us. For-profits committed to zero waste, zero carbon, or the future livability of this blue dot we all inhabit: hire us to build standards-aligned lessons about the people and technologies that power your work. A really interesting concept I’d love to explore is if private schools wanted to create curriculum for all. What if we didn’t have a zero-sum game for education where each school is effectively trying to hoard curriculum they buy access to? What if instead, affluent schools sponsored curriculum development to meet their teachers’ exact needs, but made it open-access to the benefit of all (while receiving the positive acclaim of doing society a solid).
With the launch of our new website, along with this blog, we are hoping more teachers will gain access to our resources. (So hopefully folks will find this site by typing something other than “Galactic Polymath” into Google). But we’re also hoping to open up a broader conversation about the need to radically shift our education system toward open-access. Despite the disassembly of the Department of Education and other moves to weaken government funding toward science and education, I still believe we can build a more equitable, science-engaged society—together!
We have some exciting funded projects in the works and we’re planning a blog series for scientists to share their journeys in science. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear about our newest free releases.
Don’t forget: Think bigger; learn everything! (And please take care.)
