Philosophy of Teaching Science

I have known since the sixth grade that I wanted to be a scientist. By the eighth grade, I was sure that I was going to be a biochemist and find a cure for cancer. While my career path has taken a slight detour, I still consider myself a dedicated scientist. I still have an awe regarding the world and how it works and am continually amazed by all of the ‘science’ going on around me. As a gardener I am constantly experimenting with what fertilizers work at particular rates or how plants adapt to various amounts of sun. As a graduate student, I am constantly testing the human body’s ability to thrive on coffee and four hours of sleep. The reason that I decided to become a science teacher was so that I can infuse my students with my love and respect for science and all that it has to offer.

Too often science education focuses on learning and reciting facts without actually experiencing firsthand how things work. I want my students to be excited about learning and about science. I want to instill in them a sense of how science influences every aspect of their lives. I do not want their knowledge and comprehension of science and its wonders to be tied to a book. I hope to encourage them to think critically and use the skills they obtain in school to help them become productive members of a technologically advanced society. I also hope to convey my enthusiasm realistically so that it will be something they can feasibly assimilate into their working knowledge, especially if they have had less than desirable experiences with science in the past.

I sometimes feel that my philosophy of teaching science is rather idealistic, but my goal is to maintain my idealism and temper it with realism so that I can provide my students with a practical, working knowledge of science that will guide them throughout their lives