Reigniting Curiosity through Science Writing

         Scientific progression does not occur through the regurgitation of facts but through creative problem solving. For example, Jonas Salk, creator of the Polio vaccine, was forced to creatively conceive of solutions to the dreaded disease outside of the traditional science box. The beauty of a child’s mind is how free it is to believe in the impossible, to think outside of any box.  Why, then, when students reach middle school, has their thinking been transformed into facts and memorization? Why is a once boundless world confined to what is “conceivable”? What happened to curiosity?

          School is the difference. Rather than encouraging and facilitating creativity, school instead quashes it. One way schools do this is through increasing amounts of standardization. Standardization is a uniform measuring system in which all participants can be compared to. The most popular standardization is in testing. The Keystones are an eleventh grade standardized test in Pennsylvania, the purpose of which is to assess proficiency in a wide range of subjects, including science. The state uses examination as a way to understand which individual high schools are reaching the desired level of proficiency. While tests are the most common, standardization of teaching methods is becoming increasingly popular. Teachers are now becoming required to teach in a specific way, in order for the students to receive as much information as possible, many times for the standardized tests. Inclusion of creativity is now a risk to their career rather than a way to enlighten students.

          Standardization implies that there is one way to teach a child and one way for a child to learn. This is simply untrue. Testing is the easiest method for the state to evaluate student education, but this does not mean it is the best. Test taking is only one type of educational recall. Students who do not excel on tests may better express their knowledge and thought through creative methods such as writing or artistic expression. The average classroom is structured as a lecture in which students passively receive information. But research repeatedly illustrates that we learn best through active participation and guided learning. Classes on diversity of learners have become a staple for students pursuing a degree in education. Why then is this rejected? There can be one group of students that reaches optimal learning ability when a concept is taught using only one method. Another group of students might instead need to be able to physically piece together the different parts. When we realize that there is nothing standard about educating students we can then move forward in designing a program that can be adapted not only to the group but to the individual.

          Science writers cannot make the public love science. Science writers can make science accessible. The goal is to make science writing as diverse as the population it seeks to educate. This means knowing the limits on the science writing medium. Writing will not reach everyone, especially those who learn better with visual, auditory, or kinesthetic mediums. This requires science writers to think outside of the box to find ways to integrate their message through other sources. One of the best examples is Planet Earth, narrated by David Attenborough. Scientists and science writers’ worked together to develop a medium that addressed not only visual but auditory learners as well. Science writing in the traditional sense will continue to only address the literate population. When we extend beyond pencil to paper we can regain those we lost to the failing education system and reignite the inquisition and curiosity they once knew.

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