From
elementary school to now, I have never really liked science. I do remember some
specific experiments and activities I had in my science classes, but besides
that all I remember is boring, long lectures with a ton of worksheets. Science
is one of those subjects in school that you either hate or love. Those who love
science tend to become doctors, scientists, and researchers. Those who don’t like science, may become lawyers, historians, chefs, and architects.
My science teachers were never
really those enthusiastic teachers you hear about. I had teachers that loved
their job, but when they taught they didn’t seem to teach with that same
passion. The first memory I have of science that I remember is in 5th
grade, my class had 2 different types of “special students”. In my classroom,
we had caterpillars and eggs. Yes, eggs! Before the eggs came, we would observe
the caterpillars and log their actions and their journey through metamorphosis.
I was so excited to come into class each day and watch my caterpillar change
and transform. Besides the logs we would incorporate our caterpillars in our
math and English lessons. For example, I remember measuring our caterpillars
and estimating the amount of food that they need. I also remember reading a
story about caterpillars and learning what the word metamorphosis means and how
to spell it. When metamorphosis became our bonus word on our spelling test and
I got it right, I was ecstatic! Once the caterpillars formed their cocoons,
that’s when our class received a special delivery. When I came into class and
saw the big box on the front table, I was intrigued and so was many of my
fellow classmates. We tried to ask our teacher what was in the box, but all she
would say was “You’ll see!” Everyone was whispering about what could be in the
box and I remember one of my classmates sitting next to me who was convinced
there were poisonous snakes in the box. Soon enough, my teacher told us that
she was going to tell us what was in the box and everyone was so excited. But
first, she wanted us to tell her our predictions on what could be in the box
and why we think that. After hearing everyone’s predictions, she opened the box
and revealed the eggs. Most students had a confused look on their faces and
some even asked if we were going to cook them. My teacher continued to explain
that these egg will soon hatch and become chickens. We again spent months
watching the eggs and recording when they started to crack and hatch. We
learned about incubation, their life cycle, and where they are on the food
chain. Incubation was another vocabulary word we learned and it was also used
as another spelling test bonus. While we had our caterpillars and eggs at the
same time, we compared and contrasted a lot. Whether it was how long one
person’s egg took to hatch or how long one person’s caterpillar was compared to
another, we took note of all changes, similarities, and differences. When our
caterpillars became butterflies we went into the garden outside of our
classroom and we let them go. I remember watching the butterflies fly away and
it was like magic. I was amazed at how beautiful they were. When our eggs
hatched, we took a field trip to a local farm and learned about chickens and
how they are important. I also learned about other animals and how they give us
meat to eat, milk to drink, and wool to keep us warm. The trip to the farm was
really fun, especially when we got the opportunity to try and milk a cow, but
the smell at the farm was not fun! This was probably one of the most fun and
engaging scientific experiences that I remember vividly from in or out of
school. I still didn’t like science, but these activities didn’t make it seem
like science.
Looking back, I learned a lot from
our classroom eggs and our classroom caterpillars. Each activity presented was
engaging, fun, and was very educational. Because my teacher linked each new
activity to other topics and activities, I was actively engaged and interested.
Each day lead me to a new discovery and I looked forward to sharing my
experiences with my fellow students and my family. I have never been really successful with
science because, like I said, most of my teachers were mainly focused on
worksheets, tests, and lectures. Those type of classes lacked my attention
because they were plain boring. I never left my seat or actively participated
in the lesson. Since the eggs and the caterpillars were both such hands-on
activities that lead to other topics and other content areas, time flew by and
I had fun. It’s not very common that a student will say they had fun in science
or in math or in any subject. More classroom activities and lesson should be
fun. Students learn better and retain more information when they are actively
participating in the lesson. When trying to obtain stored information, it is
easier for students to remember information when they are actively engaged in
the lesson that provides the information. For example, if I was asked in 5th
grade, “what is the life cycle of a caterpillar?”, I can easily remember that I
first saw the caterpillar then it formed a cocoon and then it became a
butterfly. From seeing this cycle first hand, I can understand information
better as well. It is so important that students engage in activities to not
only have fun and take a break from sitting in their seats, but also to better
retain information and recover that information more effectively.
To me, science is a way to examine
life and discover new things around you. Science isn’t solely something that
happens in the classroom, it happens every day at any time. For example, you
mix together chocolate syrup and milk to make chocolate milk, that’s science!
Not many people realize how much science is demonstrated in our daily lives. I
think in some ways, maybe just simply viewing that caterpillar turn into a
butterfly or watching the chick hatch from its egg taught me that science happens
all the time and we cannot stop it. If you think about it, why would you want
to? Science gives us life and science shapes the way we live our lives.
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