According to Prof. Kate Susman many students who take Advance Physics courses in science in high school has feed back to her “Science is not for me”, “I’m not a sciency-type”, ”I’m not interested in science” and she leave us a statement of “Where do they get the idea that science is something to avoid?”
Science is bigger than human-centered subjects like history, literature, language, music and art. It’s over whelming to think deeply about the implications of concepts such as evolution, the big bang theory and sub atomic particle. It is also a moving target, forever advancing and getting more complicated. It’s hard to keep up and really hard to catch up. It is like a foreign language but not taught that way. Words like biogeochemical or neurotransmission don’t work well in our texting, tweeting and etc. it is also compared in an extreme sport. Because it needs to be practiced. Of we take some time off from science, which most people do, its hard work to get back in shape. A lot of the time, what we’re learning about and discovering in science is not good news. It’s a bummer to learn about climate change. It’s a bummer to think about cancer. Ongoing human-caused mass extinctions are kind of depressing to think about, let alone acknowledge. This leads many of us to feel helpless, like what’s the point. Many students come to us from families, school districts, neighborhoods where science is definitely not in the forefront, nor is it integrated into the social fabric of our communities.
Why is Science so important? A basic human motivator is to try to understand why. Why did something happen? How does something work? Curiosity about the world around us, about what makes it and us Tick is at the foundation of invention, of creativity. Teaching science well can nurture that curiosity, can satisfy some of that yearning to understand why. Understanding why a year is what it is for us on planet Earth feels good. Understanding how organisms are all connected by the long thin thread of evolutionary change gives depth to our sense of stewardship of the Earth. Having a methodology to turn our native curiosity into knowledge gives us the power and possibility of invention, of finding solutions to problems. A knowledge and love of science is the ultimate equalizer, the pathway to human rights and a better quality of life. Countries with strongly supported science programs are better off economically have greater numbers of people creating new technologies. Our knowledge of how and why things are the way they are in the natural world is our greatest natural resource, second only to water. The way we acquire that knowledge and understanding, called the scientific method, is not difficult, nor does not require memorizing a list of words: observations, hypothesis, experimentation, interpretation. These are simply ways we go about learning.
By: Margarita L. Salaria – Teacher III Limay National High School
