Teach your child to wonder Sadly, far too few/very few schools make science
appealing/attractive/interesting/charming. Courses introduce more new vocabulary/words than foreign language courses. Textbooks are as dull/boring as dictionaries. As a result, too many children think that science is only for people as clever as Einstein.
The irony is that children start out/begin as natural scientists, instinctively eager/anxious to investigate/explore the world around them. Helping them enjoy/like/love science can be easy—there’s no need/demand for a lot of scientific jargon/professional words or expensive/dear laboratory equipment/instrument/facility. You only have to share your children’s curiosity/curious. Try these simple techniques/methods:
1. Listen to their questions.
I once visited a class of seven-year-olds to
talk about science as a career/work/job/occupation/position/professio n/vocation. The children asked me textbook questions-about schooling, salary/income/wage, whether/if I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing each other in silence. Finally/at last/eventually, I said, “Now that/since we’ve finished with your lists/namelist/shopping list/menu, have you got any questions of your own about science?”After a long pause/short break, a boy raised his hand. “Have you ever seen a grasshopper eat? When I eat leaves/leaf/root/stem/trunk/bark like that, I will get stomachache/backache/headache/toothache. Why?”
This began/lead to a barrage of/ a large amount of questions that lasted/continue nearly two hours. “What makes tears?”“Where do little spiders get all the stuff to make their webs?”“Am I just a bag of blood?
When I cut myself, I see blood.”
You may not know the answers to your child’s questions. It’s all right to say, “I don’t know but maybe we can find out.”Then you can explore the questions together.
2. Tell stories, don’t recite facts.
Even if/even though you know the answer to a child’s question, resist/stop the impulse to respond/react quickly, leaving no opening/time for discussion. That reinforces/strengthens the misconception that science is merely/only a set of facts stored in the heads of adults. Science is about explaining. Science is not just facts but the meaning that people give to them-by weaving information into a story/make up a story about how nature probably operates/works.
The best way to respond to a child’s question is to begin that process of story-making together. If she asks why it’s dark at night, try, “let’s think of what is different about night that would make it
