While teaching a Primary School Science lesson recently, I had the opportunity to observe the quality of Science we currently offer our school students, as well as to discern something of the true status of Science as it currently operates in our world. I was struck deeply by the omission of building upon children’s natural and vital sense of awe and wonder.
The lesson itself was ‘textbook’ best practice and ticked many boxes from the perspective of what is considered as good Science teaching. It was a hands-on activity with a sound theoretical foundation: students would be engaging in real life experimental design, manipulating only one variable – they were to work in teams of three with clearly assigned roles, and were outside the confines of the classroom. In addition, the students would be sharing their findings in a report.
The topic under investigation was the effects of tidal action on beach erosion, an issue common in our local area, and we had previously viewed this phenomenon at length, online.
Each group of students had constructed a model in a plastic box of how the land is eroded by the wave action of the ocean and each group was actively engaged in pushing water towards a 20cm bank of sand, using a small piece of flat plastic.
The students were having great fun with the activity but, as I observed them ‘making’ the sand bank in the tray collapse, I became acutely aware of how far short of the truth this ‘model’ of the wave phenomenon actually was.
Water contained thus in a box cannot be said to faithfully replicate the rhythms and movements of water in the oceans. Moreover, accurate measurements of beach erosion can only typically be made by a longitudinal study over an extended time period – observations naturally offered by those who have lived on a coastline for many, many years. On an even grander scale, we know that shorelines, and even landmasses, change monumentally over longer periods of time – on occasions, even disappearing completely.
A single point in time measurement of a controlled model, like this one here, is an extreme example of reducing down the truth and the grandness of Nature’s cycles quite literally, into a box.
Moreover, where was the science of the moon’s effects on the waves, or the acknowledgement that the moon’s effects are actually the Sun’s effects? Where was the understanding of the blessing of this solar gesture, or, indeed, the reasons behind intense land erosion? What about the Science of the origins and movements of the intense winds that usually accompany this activity and their purpose? Where was the sense of this synchronous interconnectedness? In short, where was the sense of awe and wonder readily felt by observing this phenomenon, an awe and wonder that children easily connect with when inspired to do so by adults?
Reducing down such a multi-faceted phenomenon to a box, as well as excluding its relationships with what lays beyond the Earth, falls far short of the Science we could be offering our children in school, a Science which could easily build upon their natural sense of awe and wonder. It is this sense of a much bigger picture, this feeling of a universal magnificence in life that we are all a part of that, as a teacher, I know children resonate with deeply.
Why does Science in general and Science in Primary Schools insist that our world and its wonder always be confined, reduced and constricted into controlled, measurable laboratory settings, whilst outside the box we observe the intricate grandeur of the Universe with an innate awe?
What are we teaching our students in Science? Is it to unfold our innate sense of appreciation, wonderment and awe at all that we are a part of? In spite of the fact that we cannot measure it…? Or is it how to reduce life to whatever can be measured singly, in isolation to everything else (1)? If we constantly reduce life, what effect does it have on us, given that we are part of the life that we are reducing?
Are we schooling children to cut themselves off from the wonder of themselves in relationship with an awe-inspiring Universe? Have we ever stopped to consider investigating this mentalisation of children’s innate impulses and are we avoiding the possibility that:
“An awe-willing outlook is just as important if not more so than what we call and or consider having an open mind, for an awe-willing outlook may further open one’s mind.” (‘Time, Space and all of us; Book 2, Space’, Serge Benhayon, p. 297)
Could it be that the suppressing of this awe in childhood is potentially as damaging as suppressing other innate impulses like love and affection? This is a discussion we educators and parents must have.
By Coleen Hensey
References:
Further Reading:
The True Purpose of Education – One Size Fits All or Evolution?
Science is beauty
The true foundations of education – our future
This is Science
321 Comments
Beautiful Coleen, this experiment you describe perfectly summarises the way we curtail and box ourselves in, instead of letting Love be felt and living in a way that lets the world know we are Universal through and through. This knowing of our multi-dimensionality is true science we can do.
Science that makes sense-I love that.
Without first confirming the wonder of everything and how it is all interlinked, our knowledge and learning is at best just a small slice of the truth. We don’t need to investigate further but zoom back and see the universe as infinitely larger – then life’s mysteries start to make sense. Thanks for this lesson Coleen.
Great that there are some teachers like yourself who naturally teach and inspire the sense of wonderment of ourselves and nature, ‘What are we teaching our students in Science? Is it to unfold our innate sense of appreciation, wonderment and awe at all that we are a part of?’
There is so much that science can teach us, about the incredible universe we live in and the order, precision and laws that guide nature to be in perfect alignment – things that cannot be conveyed by a cut and dry curriculum based on recall and not wonder.
It seems that everything comes in boxes these days; science experiments, parts of the human body, fast food take aways and our thinking and looking for solutions. What is outside the box gets brushed aside, to the detriment of the vastness and universality that wisdom, awe and wonderment can so easily deliver.
Very true, children have a massive capacity to observe, contemplate, express and be in awe of many amazing things in the world. When we reduce this down to ‘simple’ science lessons it does not ask for their connection to all of this, but instead it asks for a linear perception of it and this takes away the wonder and grandness of science and the child’s relationship with the world.
What if we have education as not about reaching a goal but allowing us all to unfold and deepen our understanding and wisdom of life, what if we then saw that we are always learning and that school has a specific purpose and is not the main part of our education. What if we realized that trying to get everyone to fit into the mold of the way we have society setup will not allow us to truly grow and evolve, as there are many things in society that are not true yet accepted as normal. What if we would then be able to be in awe of the magic of the universe, of nature and indeed of waves and water instead of needing to reach an outcome and complete a task.
Learning objectives and outcomes have been created to cover the backs of the governments and teachers who create them. Education has become a box-ticking exercise but there is always room for the awe and wonder to be brought in by truly committed teachers like yourself Coleen.
I have always been fascinated and deeply intrigued by nature and being outside and find it particularly interesting during school that science was always about textbook and very controlled experiments that never gave us room to expand our own natural curiosity and wonder. Giving children the opportunity to engage with the world in a more deeper way will also give them permission to feel what is true and how wonderful the world is and how much more there is to learn and appreciate about the natural world around us.
I would have loved you as my science teacher at school, bringing so much more than what the syllabus asks, which I agree is lacking at present.
Yes true, we make learning so narrow along an already predetermined trajectory and this does not allow for the space of inquiry, exploration, real discussion, sharing of experiences and growing together as there can be no predetermined outcome when drawing out wisdom. It naturally unfolds as the children share and expand on what each other say, you can not determine the outcome of this and because its not something you can ‘measure’ in a standardised way, it is not valued, yet this is actually real learning.
“Why does Science in general and Science in Primary Schools insist that our world and its wonder always be confined, reduced and constricted into controlled, measurable laboratory settings, whilst outside the box we observe the intricate grandeur of the Universe with an innate awe?” A great question Coleen. Schools don’t seem to teach appreciation of the beauty and greatness that is Nature. It gets reduced to the mundane, as you point out
It seems to me that we do not as you say Coleen support children to develop their natural and vital sense of awe and wonder with their surroundings. As adults we seem to have contributed to making life so dull, boring and robotic. Is it then any wonder our children are escaping by playing games on some sort of electronic devise, rather than fully interacting with life.
We generally use science to prove things in controlled conditions so we can refer to it later as a point of validation. But this misses out on the fact that life is science. The way the body works, the planets work, nature works – it is all science – proven simply because we observe and feel it, not because we have lots of research and papers about it.
My favourite science lessons from school were the ones when my teachers would go off on a tangent into an area they were interested or passionate about but wasn’t on the syllabus – the move away from the dry and set topics into a discussion based on true wonder and awe of life
I always loved that too Rebecca!
The best science is one that comes from direct observational experience over one experiments that are done in a controlled manner in a laboratory or classroom. The same way that politicians attempt to manipulate the truth of a situation is similar to how scientists use contolled inputs and variables to come to a ‘conclusion’ on how some facet of Nature works even though they did not take into account potentially hundreds of other inter-relating energies and variables. Also, a true scientist to me is one who can stay in awe of everything observed in an innocent way that accepts the possibility of what was deemed ‘fact’ today can evolve into a greater understanding and be let go of tomorrow.
From experience a lot of students develop a dis-love of Science as a result of the lessons taught at school, and some of this comes about because Science is promoted as a ‘subject for the smart’ and not for everyone. This is such an illusion, and it doesn’t make sense that the Sciences are often restricted at a higher level for those who get certain results in Maths and English because they teach you so much about the world, makeup of the universe and people too.
Reading this I’m reminded of living by the sea and going in it nearly daily for many years. I was fascinated by the sandbanks and how they moved, trying to predict such a complex system was nearly impossible. I used to surf which partly motivated my trying to predict which part of the beach to surf on, when to go in depending on the tide and the waves size etc. Some years the sand banks moved so much it was a mystery. There even was an island of sand created which caused a hazard to swimmers who remained on it and then had to swim deeper waters to shore. And then there was asking why the sand would have huge ripples in it and other times not. So much to appreciate about the ways of the sea.
The magic and majesty of nature, its rhythms and ways would be lost in a box. Reminds me of asking at surf school if the children had been surfing or not and one lad insisting he had but his dad explaining he had only played it as a computer game.
With openness, a sense of curiosity and a willingness to look beyond what meets the eye, is what makes our journey through life such a magical experience.
The education system is so geared towards academic outcomes that there is ‘no time’ to explore things further than what’s written in a textbook. But who gets to decide what millions of children should and should not learn, and how is this decision not made by communities, industry professionals and as a collective? Where have the opportunities gone for children and young people to choose what they want to know more about?
You’ve given readers a lot to reflect on Coleen as you have highlighted just how easy it is to reduce down a comprehensive understanding of something without many people even being aware of what is happening. It just goes to show how important it is to hold a level of awe and wonderment, otherwise we never ask questions and are just ‘herded’ into thinking whatever it is that those with a vested interest want us to believe or know about a topic. Thank you for bringing this to our attention through your example here and I agree that it’s worth keeping the discussion open where and when possible.
I observed recently during the super moon event this month, most talking about the impact of higher and lower than normal tides of our everyday life. Whilst this is true of course, I was pondering whether we are viewing this science and wonderful occurrence purely through a limited eye by only seeing the impact on us and not seeing the event in the whole wonder it truly is.
It’s amazing how the wonder of science can be represented in a box size experiment in the classroom. The challenge is to be able to bring it alive in a way that makes sense for the purpose of learning.
What an amazing example, Coleen, of how much reductionism there is going on everyday, not just in education but when we hold back anything we know as truth and accept a lesser version of the grandness, awe and wonder of life.
When we take away a Childs natural awe and wonder by being harsh or critical, we set them up to fail, their natural joy and zest for life needs to be what leads their way not any idea we have that imposed on them.
Absolutely Sam. Well said.