Who among us hasn't stared up at the night sky, dreaming about space travel?

In the mid-1980s, then-President Reagan directed NASA to search for America's finest to be "citizen passengers" on the space shuttle. America's finest were said to be school teachers. Most of us remember the crushing heartbreak when the Challenger exploded, killing all seven astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe shortly after liftoff.

NASA dropped the teacher-as-passenger program due to safety reasons (though they have trained former teachers to become astronauts), but the concept was revived by the Space Frontier Foundation as Teachers in Space.

Seven teachers have been selected from the thousands who applied:

• Maureen Louis Adams, a 54-year-old elementary school teacher and principal from Texas, who has taught at U.S. Space Camp

• James Kuhl, a 53-year-old earth science teacher from New York, who applied for the original Teacher in Space program in 1985

• Lanette Oliver, a 43-year-old elementary science specialist from Texas

• Stephen Heck, a 56-year-old eighth-grade science teacher from Ohio and a U.S. Air Force veteran

• Rachael Manzer, a district science coach in Connecticut and former NASA distance learning educator

• Chantelle Rose, a 36-year-old high-school science teacher from Ohio

• Robert "Mike" Schmidt, a 31-year-old high-school math teacher from Arizona

Rachael Manzer remembers watching early space shuttle launches with multiple classes crowded around a small television. "I was hooked from then on," she recalls. Mike Schmidt is developing an experiment to study the surface tension and viscosity of liquid to find out more about how fluid reacts in space. And Maureen Adams shares, "I like to model what I teach and teach what I model. I'd like to be an inspiration."

There's no doubt in my mind that this select group of educators will inspire us all to reach a little further than we thought possible.

I was intrigued by an article in the New York Times about a father/son experience with Apple's free Summer Camp. These are three-hour sessions to teach youngsters ages 8-12 about various Apple products and how to use them. The sessions include making a movie (iMovie), creating a music CD (GarageBand), doing photography (iPhoto), and producing a multimedia presentation with movies, music, charts, and graphs.

While this is clearly an extremely clever marketing tool, it also provides exciting resources for children to bring to the classroom. As a former teacher, I can't help but think of ways to use these skills: students could create a song about the life cycle of moths and butterflies, a book report in the form of a movie, a photography exhibit about the environment, or a multimedia presentation about our solar system.

Certainly, there are students who don't have access to laptops, cameras, and iPods. But for those who do, let's encourage this kind of technical literacy.

I am tired of teachers being blamed for educational woes. I'm sure that the proportion of talent is similar to any industry, yet it would be hard to find a profession that has more people dedicated to a common goal.

For example, one of my colleagues recently forwarded an email from an area teacher we'd invited to participate in a focus group. Sue apologized for not responding to the offer immediately, but she'd been out of the city at a summer institute for National Board Certified Teachers. She has a short vacation window, and then it's back to professional development at a workshop sponsored by her school district. That takes her to the end of July, and she spends August integrating what she's learned into her back-to-school lessons.

Sue is not alone in her dedication to her profession. I recently read an article in the local paper about math and science teachers who are working with area businesses during the summer. The teachers are in the master's program at the University of Arizona, which is collaborating with major businesses. Seventh-grade math teacher John Guerrero is working as a field engineer with a major construction firm on the $15 million expansion/renovation of a Tucson high school.

"What I wanted to do," said Guerrero, "was hone my craft as a teacher. When I saw this, I was really drawn to the idea of getting into the real world and seeing how to bring that into the classroom." And, boy oh boy, does he have a terrific lesson planned for his return to the classroom. Students learn about ratios and fractions in seventh grade. He plans to have his students measure one of the buildings at their school and scale it down.

Other teachers are exploring new areas in laser and fiber optics, testing hardware, and troubleshooting production glitches at high-tech firms. These industry internships appear to be valuable to the educators, as they can see real-life application of science and math skills in the workplace. They're also valuable to key businesses that can show educators the skills they will need in a future workforce.

This summer, more than 3,000 teachers will spend at least four weeks learning how to improve their students' writing skills. They'll study the latest research and classroom practices at summer institutes established by the National Writing Project (NWP).

Valerie Fisher, a teacher here in Tucson attending the summer institute at the University of Arizona, said, "Ultimately, my teaching is going to improve dramatically." She added that she wants to replicate the institute's atmosphere where students support and encourage each other as well as contribute to overall creativity.

Dedicated to improving writing and learning in schools, the National Writing Project has more than 200 writing institutes throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The nonprofit organization offers a number of programs, including high-quality professional development and workshops to develop local teacher-consultants.

Study after study shows that students of National Writing Project teachers made gains in writing achievement, especially in idea development and organization. Clearly, NWP is doing something right. I particularly like the section of their website titled Encourage Writing, which offers specific suggestions for parents and teachers to use with children at home and in the classroom. In addition to easily implemented tips such as exchanging Post-it® notes on pillows or in lunch boxes, NWP also links reading and writing strategies.

I encourage you to use this terrific website's suggestions and help your children avoid the summer slide. You may also want to look at our own Writing A-Z, which offers a complete collection of writing lessons and resources. It is aligned to the six traits as well as to state writing standards.