The main point of the article, “The 95 Percent Solution” really appeals to me. I have felt that throughout my elementary school years, science seemed irrelevant in the classroom despite the fact that I had loved the subject more than any other. However, outside the classroom, science was given a significant role. Every year we had the “science fair” in which we were taught and encouraged to pick any topic and create an experiment to test a hypothesis. I remember many of the experiments my groups designed (a pizza box oven, soda bottle tornado… etc.). Mastering our experiments as elementary school students and observing our peers’ experiments kept our interests alive.

I have recently had a discussion with a friend of mine about a similar topic. Throughout one’s school years, his/her brain is constantly developing whether in or out of school. This of course includes the summer. For much of my elementary and middle school summers, I was given summer homework to complete. I was only required to read one or two books and complete a small book of math problems. The math book was completed typically two days after it was received and the required reading was often started and completed less than a week before it was due. For two months, learning is at a minimum. This is where fun learning needs to step in. Anything mandatory has a bitter taste no matter how fun it might be. On the other hand, spending a day at a museum or zoo can be just as educational. During times of the year when there is vacation from school, it is often the parents’ responsibility to encourage this extracurricular learning.