Retired science teacher
Columbus, Ohio
A retired teacher gathering the experiments, failures, and student questions that shaped one school community.
The record
Robert taught science for thirty-six years and kept a notebook of questions students asked when they were genuinely curious. His school record honors the ordinary classroom moments that do not appear in yearbooks but often change a life.
Story collection
October 1989
A failed demonstration became the lesson students remembered.
The model volcano produced one tired bubble. Robert admitted he had mixed it incorrectly, and the class diagnosed the failure together. Students learned that science did not require pretending to be right.
March 1997
Clouds cleared for eleven minutes and a club was born.
Twenty students waited in cold wind for a glimpse of Saturn. When the rings appeared, the line went silent. Robert started the Night Sky Club the following week.
June 2024
The last entry asks whether wonder can be taught.
Robert's answer is no: wonder is already there. A teacher's job is to notice it, protect it from embarrassment, and give it enough room to become a better question.
