While I read this article, a Mark Twain quote continued to pop up in my mind: “I have never let schooling interfere with my education.” While I respect Mark Twain and believe that this quote is fundamentally true, I believe schooling is also necessary because it provides structure, especially in terms of science education.
When I read the article, I was surprised to find out how little time people spend in school. 95% of any person’s life is spent living and learning from real life experiences. I wholeheartedly agree that science education should be supplemented by outside experiences at science institutions. Because I am interested in pedagogy and becoming a teacher, especially for those of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, this article was eye-opening. It’s completely unfair that children from less fortunate backgrounds lack the resources that their more affluent peers take for granted. Public institutions such as the Natural History Museum here in New York do a great job of making their resources more widely available, but I personally believe more could be done. As the article stated, it’s important to integrate the sciences into more aspects of society besides school. A greater public appreciation and understanding of the sciences would most definitely help improve science literacy in our society.
Additionally, I think the sciences should be a greater part of the public school system across the country. I think it’s unacceptable that K-5 teachers in some areas spend “60 minutes or less per week on science” (487) and that 16% spend no time on science (487). Elementary education plays an integral part in a child’s development. How else are children supposed to broaden their horizons and discover their interests? I was always fortunate enough to have a solid science education throughout my years in public school. Even minor, playful science-related activities in school could do a great deal to increase a child’s interest in the subject, especially because young children learn a great deal through play and physical motions.
I believe the future of education will gradually shift towards an increase in the use of technology, and this can be taken advantage of in terms of science education due to all of the applications that are related to the sciences. Educators should take advantage of the accessibility of technology and the Internet to teach children and further increase their interest in the sciences.
