Why NSTA worked on the Science Daybooks

Scientists write letters, argue incessantly, make mistakes, suffer from jealousy, exhibit both vanity and generosity—all the while striving in diverse ways to enlarge human understanding. Among the most important skills they possess is the ability to communicate ideas, defend them against critics, and modify their own positions in the face of contravening evidence. Every literate person—every scientifically literate person—must do this.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is pleased to participate in the publication of these Science Daybooks because they bring together science, reading, and writing. Most important: The primary sources in the Daybooks—first hand accounts that scientists and researchers use to communicate their ideas—firmly place science in the context of human endeavor.