- Discovery of human life on other planets
- Discovery of water on other planets
- An asteroid on a collision course with Earth
- Imminent eruption of the Yellowstone Volcano
Their answers indicate that most people pull together in the case of startling or life-threatening events. I think we need to make the average citizen understand that we are in danger. Danger of losing our competitive edge. Additionally, I think the effort to make change begins in our classrooms. As teachers, we are in the most influential positions, because we work with the leaders of tomorrow. McGinnis and Robert-Harris (2009) suggest that for curriculum to succeed, students need to be motivated to learn. Difficult as it is, it is our jobs to find ways to help show our students the relevance between STEM education and their lives.
Reference
McGinnis, J. R. & Robert-Harris, D. (2009, September/October). A new vision for teaching science. Scientific American Mind, 62-67.
I like how you asked your students to answer the question and I find it interesting to see their responses. Your students view their Sputnik in terms of a catastrophic rapid response situation as opposed to a technological advance that could change the way we live. Although discovery of water and life on other planets is not dangerous. What grade do you teach?
ReplyDeleteI never thought of posing this question to the families at my school, but am intrigued by the answers you received. I attended a science teachers conference in the fall and listened to a guest speaker by the name of Dr. Philip Plait, an astronomer, who stated that in the year 2020, there is a small chance that we could be hit by asteroid DA14. He urged us to continue to encourage students to pursue STEM disciplines as it will be our these students who will have the potential to prevent these types of occurrences from happening.
ReplyDelete