Bill Nye in the Foods room

I love Bill Nye. I admit this freely and without hesitation. Bill Nye is awesome. That show, on tape, has played a supporting role in my classroom since I started teaching. Enter teaching Home Ec... Goodbye Nye? Not a chance. He's Bill Nye the Home Ec guy in my class now, and we've watched "Germs", "Nutrition", "Agriculture" and I've saved "Pollution Solutions" for emergencies. I do, often, have to deal with the question "Isn't he dead?" (Thank you, The Onion - the students have no idea what you are, or what a parody is, but they've heard the urban legend)  Happily the answer remains "No."

The 6/7s are still happy to watch Bill Nye episodes, and they giggle, or chuckle at the jokes and sight gags. The 8s require an apology in advance -  that I acknowledge that this is too young for them, and a little outdated, but the information is still quite relevant... then they can cut loose and enjoy Bill too.

Today, after 4 terms of Home Ec, and about the 10th showing of "Nutrition" (which really does have some good gags) I found out something interesting about my students: students with autism REALLY love Bill Nye's gags. They are the kids who laugh out loud, even when no one else does. They have huge grins on their faces, and are clearly having a wonderful time. The students who are developmentally low find some fun in the show's gags, but don't really get the jokes, so don't laugh as much.

I'm recommending Bill Nye videos as a diagnostic tool. Wondering if you have autistic students in your class? Show a Bill Nye video. Let me know what you find out! Science Rules!