Fiftieth Anniversary History

Early Leadership

George Mallinson was elected Chairman of the MSTA organizational meeting at St. Mary's Lake Camp on April 26, 1953. Edwin O. Vaughn, a science teacher at Paw Paw High School, became the first President. The other first-year officers were: Robert Van Voorhees, Holland High School, 1st Vice President; Richard F. Welch, Dearborn High School, 2nd Vice-President; and Kenneth A. Young, Saginaw Central Junior High Shool, Treasurer.

The second year Mallinson became President. That year, the two Vice- Presidents remained the same; and Clarence Owens of Jackson Public Schools became Secretary. Kenneth A. Young continued as Treasurer, but resigned halfway into the year because of the press of other commitments. At that time, Jacqueline Buck (now Jacqueline Mallinson) became Treasurer, an office she held until 1963.

For about 10 years, all the day-to-day operations of MSTA were carried out in an office in the basement of the Mallinson home. The membership list was maintained; dues notices were sent out; dues were collected, recorded and receipted; bills were paid; correspondence was handled; and the Newsletters were written, typed on mimeograph stencils, reproduced, collated, stapled, and mailed from the home office. After his one year as President, Mallinson continued to edit the Newsletters and serve as Publicity Chairman for several more years.

In the early years, the Association selected a specific theme for each Annual Convention. All efforts of the MSTA throughout the year focussed on that theme. The first three themes centered around these questions:

"What is now going on in science teaching in Michigan?"

(This question became the focus of a research study on the status of science teaching in Michigan and was the theme of the 1955 Convention.)

What should be going on in science teaching in Michigan?

(This resulted in a carefully developed science curriculum structure for the State of Michigan and became the theme of the 1956 Convention.)

"How can a concerted attack on the discrepancies between the present status and the desired program be achieved?"

(This question was to be answered through several long-term projects. First, the training of science teachers was to be considered, and this became the theme for the 1957 Convention. The next step was to consider "Content and Emphasis to Implement the Curriculum Structure for Science Teaching in Michigan," and this became the theme for the 1958 Convention.)

The Newsletters that reported the findings and deliberations of these various statewide efforts were bound into a single document entitled, "An Action Program for Science Teaching in Michigan: A Project of the Michigan Science Teachers Association." The Action Program was presented at the Eighth Thomas Alva Edison Foundation Institute, held at the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) in 1957. It was received with great enthusiasm among scientists, engineers, science teachers, and school administrators.

But, good, bad, or indifferent, these efforts - as well as most other grass roots efforts - were quickly set aside with the launch of the Russian "Sputnik I" on October 4, 1957. Soon Congress established the National Science Foundation (NSF). Several new "national" science curricula were developed. Among them were the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) physics; Chemical Education Materials Study (CHEM Study) chemistry; Chemical Bond Approach (CBA) chemistry; Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) biology - blue, green, and yellow versions; as well as numerous elementary and junior high school science programs. So, statewide efforts - such as those of the MSTA - were soon eclipsed by the new, national "alphabet" programs.

The MSTA Conventions now focused on these new programs, as well as other efforts, such as the National Defense Act of 1958. It is impossible to say what might have happened to the initial plans of the MSTA, had not the national programs overshadowed them. But, it is interesting to note that most of the national programs that were so popular in the 1960s have now fairly much faded from memory.