Ilanit Zada

Professor Adams

Science and Technology in NYC

9-1-13

Reflection on “The 95 Percent Solution”

          The article entitled “The 95 Percent Solution” by John H. Falk and Lynn D. Dierking raises several interesting ideas. Flak and Dierking argue that contrary to what many people believe, the knowledge children and adults attain (in science and mathematics) is primarily due to the extracurricular activities done outside of the classroom-not the learning done in the classroom. The authors also argue that “internet exceeded even broadcast media as a source of public science information” (5). That specific sentence triggered a memory from seven years ago.

          At a young age of 12, a close friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer. She was hospitalized immediately and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. I was extremely concerned about her well being and wanted to help her in any way possible. However, being so young, there was little that I knew about the disease so I turned to the computer to provide me with the information that I was looking for. I was pleasantly surprised to find so many results. I sat at the computer screen for hours digesting all the information.

The information that I learned that day is still fresh in my mind leading me to agree with Flak and Dierking. I believe that when one does an activity or research on their own they gain more than they would if they were sitting in a classroom and being bombarded with information that they are forced to remember.