"Science is not for me.” “I’m not a sciency-type.” “I’m not interested in science.”
I don't usually encounter such question, I am already with people pondering over science. However the question is worth a thought. Why not? These same students, took science and math throughout elementary school often and did well academically. Where do they get the idea that science is something to avoid?
Science is bigger than any human-centered subjects. Perhaps it’s overwhelming to think deeply about the implications of concepts like evolution, the big bang, subatomic particles. We can get out of our comfort zone pretty fast.
Science is like a foreign language but is not taught that way. The vocab is pretty rough. Words like “biogeochemical” or “neurotransmission” or "warp drives" don’t work well in our texting, tweeting world. Neither are they very appealing to our senses (except warp drives, they'll be fabulous).
Science is an extreme sport. Meanwhile, the vocabulary may changed, the language is the same. The grammer is all what it was ever before.
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.
Why is Science so important?
Perharps this is the most interesting section I'd like to address. 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 and in particular studying 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 (it will when you realize what Mondays can be on Mars). 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
Science is the ultimate equalizer, the pathway to human rights and a better quality of life.
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.
I don't usually encounter such question, I am already with people pondering over science. However the question is worth a thought. Why not? These same students, took science and math throughout elementary school often and did well academically. Where do they get the idea that science is something to avoid?
Science is bigger than any human-centered subjects. Perhaps it’s overwhelming to think deeply about the implications of concepts like evolution, the big bang, subatomic particles. We can get out of our comfort zone pretty fast.
Science is like a foreign language but is not taught that way. The vocab is pretty rough. Words like “biogeochemical” or “neurotransmission” or "warp drives" don’t work well in our texting, tweeting world. Neither are they very appealing to our senses (except warp drives, they'll be fabulous).
Science is an extreme sport. Meanwhile, the vocabulary may changed, the language is the same. The grammer is all what it was ever before.
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.
Why is Science so important?
Perharps this is the most interesting section I'd like to address. 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 and in particular studying 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 (it will when you realize what Mondays can be on Mars). 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
Science is the ultimate equalizer, the pathway to human rights and a better quality of life.
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.
