Shar Levine
Special to the Sun
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Let's start with two facts: The B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education says that enrolment in science and math courses is down. And a recent study concluded that 100 per cent of children loved science in Grade 1, but by Grade 12 that number had dropped to 11 per cent.
So the question is: Why? Why in this age of exciting technological advances and remarkable scientific achievements should kids not want to pursue careers in these fields?
There are three simple reasons that explain the drop in students choosing science education and three simple solutions.
The first reason that students don't love science is that primary school teachers don't love science. Teachers are not equipped with the necessary education and tools. And whose fault is that? Well, education faculties in our various universities that do not require elementary school teachers to take any science courses. How can they teach science if they don't have this basic knowledge?
The Ministry of Education does not require any special training for primary school educators, so the why should a teacher take any additional courses?
Finally, the school boards may not have an expert on staff to train teachers or assist them with science lesson plans. This means that in many schools science is being taught by educators who have no love for or understanding of the subject.
What can be done to motivate and excite kids about science?
First, make universities include courses on how to teach science and require some courses in science before graduation.
Second, help teachers, librarians and schools to implement exciting, hands-on science programs that will motivate kids to pursue careers in science. If you don't have an expert, bring in one to develop these programs.
Third, support science books. Libraries are stacked with fantasy books that tell tales of witches and wizards, but are woefully lacking in trade books on science. Librarians need to nominate hands-on science books for information awards. Not a single such book has won a national information book award in the past 20 years.
The kids who are in Grade 1 today will be employed as adults in jobs that may not have even been invented. Those jobs are in science and technology. We are losing out as a nation because we aren't teaching science to children.
Shar Levine is co-recipient of the 2006 Eve Savory Award for Science Communication from the B.C. Innovation Council.
