Martin Balinsky

Rise, Fall, and Rebirth: History of an Academic Department in the Post- Sputnik Era Martin Balinsky

This work is about the stunning and turbulent history of an academic department at a large university during fascinating times in the United States. It traces events that transpired in the science education department at Florida State University, from its humble beginnings in 1958 to its meteoric rise in the wake of the post-Sputnik era (1957-1969) becoming of the top three departments in the nation, to its tragic downfall as the result of a cultural war between those focused on traditional science versus new age educators (1976-1985), and finally to its rebirth and stabilization beginning in the late 1980s. This work illuminates the heady days of the 1960s during a boon in funding for both science and science education, the drop-off in national interest in science and science education in the wake of the successful Apollo 11 moon landing, counter-culture and anti-establishment movements in the 1970¿s, student protests during the Vietnam War, and a legal challenge to the university that ended up in the United States Supreme Court in Washington. All of these events reveal dramatic changes in American society during dynamic times.