Meet Caroline Weathers, South Carolina Science Teacher
Caroline Weathers is a seventh-grade science teacher in South Carolina. Her middle school has only three hundred students, about ninety percent of them qualify for free and reduced-cost lunch, and they have participated in the You Be The Chemist Challenge programs for the past three years.
“You Be The Chemist is, for me, an academic tradition that I can count on at my school. It does not matter what size your school is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have as a student or as a school. Everybody gets to show up to this chemistry party no matter where you go to school. …[At the school and regional levels nationwide] You Be The Chemist lives as a great equalizer for our schools. It encourages interactions between smart people from diverse backgrounds. It allows students to share their extensive understanding of chemistry with others. And most importantly, it teaches all of us that learning doesn’t need to be attached to grades, it just needs to be fun.”
At the 2017 National Challenge, Caroline shared what the You Be The Chemist programs mean for her school:
CEF aims to provide educators and students nationwide with fun, accessible science programs to build the excitement and value of chemistry and STEM careers. Educators like Caroline are the boots on the ground, inspiring their students to become tomorrow’s thinkers, innovators, and STEM leaders who will use the science of chemistry to build a better world. Invest and empower our educators to inspire today’s students to become tomorrow’s thinkers, innovators, and STEM leaders, building a better world through the science of chemistry.
