Friday, June 5, 2015
By:
Hello Again,
First of all, I would like to let you know that you are reading the 2nd draft of this weeks blog post. It's the 2nd because as I was nearly finished with the 1st one, I accidentally deleted it and had to start over. But, we learn from our mistakes, so here is my official post.
As my 2nd week here in D.C. comes to a close, things have become more routine. I wake up at 7:00 and meet the other interns working at ACP at 7:50 for our morning commute. We arrive at ACP about an hour later and then I stop by the Keurig machine for the first of many coffees. We all work, one intern on each floor of the building, until noon when we all take our lunch break together. We talk about our days as I inhale my lunch with enthusiasm. Afterwards, we go back to our work and then meet up again to catch the 5:00 shuttle to the metro station and begin the trek home. Once I get home I spend the rest of the day sitting on the couch watching TV until I go to bed. Then I wake up the next day and do it all again.
There is one part of the routine I haven't mentioned, and that is all the free food. In my opinion, "free food" is the most beautiful pair of words to grace the English language. On Monday, there was a luncheon in honor of AIP's new CEO, Dr. Robert G. W. Brown. He has many years of experience in the physics and engineering fields, and a simple Google search will tell you all you need to know about him. He's a cool guy, and that opinion is not biased in favor of the food I ate at his luncheon. I ate three sandwiches and a plate full of sweets. On Tuesday there was a retirement party on my floor in which snacks and refreshments were had in the conference room. Everyone on my floor gathered there and showered the new retiree with compliments and well-wishes. Thursday, while I was working, I got a message on the ACP intern group message that there was free cake on the 2nd floor and within 30 seconds we were all down there getting generous portions of the densest cake I have ever eaten. I felt like I was eating a brick with raspberry sauce and icing, and I loved every minute of it. They take good care of us here.
As for the actual work I did this week, I spent a large amount of time reading documents. I read through some of the more recent PTRA materials and took note of what parts of them I should take into account when I update the old ones. I also read through and took notes on another document that defines a more cohesive system for science education using the Next Generation Science Standards. I plan to use that document to help me update the old PTRA materials in a way that allows them to fit in with the new proposed system, with the NGSS given a heavy presence in the updates. My separate projects are starting to flow into one another. It's a cool feeling to watch my projects develop, as well as be a part of a new system for science education.
Patrick Mangan