Towards being a Science Teacher in 2022

I apologize that is has been so long. The past two weeks have been a time of going back and forth between the Twin Cities and the Northwoods, followed by a time of catching up with myself. While this has allowed much time for thinking and reflecting, it hasn’t left much for writing. I’m pretty okay with that, and I’m hoping that I may be able to devote more time to my writing self soon, as I have six whole things I would love to write. Not just yet though, because big life changes are happening.

Within just a month or so I will be starting a position as a science teacher at an amazing charter school in an urban/suburban setting. I’ve always been opposed to seeing myself as a science teacher. When I am asked what I’m going to school for, what I will do to earn a living, I always answer “Environmental Education” which is sometime always met with (when talking to folks in the traditional education system), “Oh so you want to be a science teacher, good for you!” a response I am endlessly annoyed by and yet suddenly find myself in the position of being. All of a sudden I have to ask myself some questions. What is this whole Science or STE(A)M thing? And how do we practice teaching science while preparing students to honorably interact with the world around them?

My class starts as students file in, expecting a video and a worksheet as they have done for the past couple years. They are surprised when we find ourselves in a circle, with the questions on the board being “What is Science” and “How do we practice science?” My objective in this class is to give my students the tools they need to notice the interactions within the world they live in, and document the phenomenon they sense everyday as interesting and noteworthy. Rather than discovering facts about the world around them, I want them to be able to see the world through the perspective of a geologist, chemist, or physicist. I want to take my students to the park nearby to do real science, through curiosity, observation, and an app called iNaturalist. I hope that I can show them how different types of scientists view the world, and ask them how they view the world in a similar or different way. I want them to question the western scientific method, and ask how science is to be best conducted in the 21st century. Most of all I want them to do four things.

Notice the thing

Get curious about the thing

Document the thing

Think about how the thing connects to other things.

I honestly have no idea how similar or different this philosophy of teaching science is from any other teacher out there. I have no idea if it will work in practice. Maybe I’ll write about it. For now I focus on actually getting there first. And amongst it all I want to keep writing for anyone who would like to read. Mostly to hold myself accountable my next few subjects for this blog are: how place changes us, simplifying our expectations for a just world, challenge hikes, using gardens as a teaching tool, and maybe the conference I’m going to next week.