Category: Article

Teaching students the nature of science My former student Finn, when asked the cause of some chemical property or reaction, would often answer by saying, “SCIENCE!” This was pronounced in stentorian tones with expansive gestures, which, together with his jumbo-sized hairdo, created an impression.  It was tongue-in-cheek, of course; he did not literally believe that Science was some sort of mysterious and powerful agent causing physical phenomena–it was just a humorous way of admitting he didn’t know an answer. We sometimes do encounter, though, people who speak of Science as…

I taught middle school for thirteen years before moving full-time to the upper school here. In that time, I noticed that interest would ebb among students and reach what I thought was an all-time low in eighth grade. This was in part caused by a new-found awareness of freedom: the boys had the choice about what homework they would do, what readings they would do, what notes they would take. The motivation had to become their own, and many would choose to take a pass.  In the high school, I…

 All worthwhile courses try at some level to explain why things are the way they are. What’s distinctive about history is that the answer takes the form of a story: Once things were a certain way, and then certain things happened, and then in response certain people made certain choices, until eventually people were living differently than before. Even historical determinists, who are inclined to think of historical acts and events as caused rather than chosen, are obliged to support their theories by showing how their alleged causes match up…

…all roads point at last to an ultimate inn, where we shall meet Dickens and all his characters; and when we drink again it shall be from the great flagons in the tavern at the end of the world. —G.K. Chesterton Don’t Forget the Laughter This essay is on laughter, an often-crucial note in application essays self-forgetfully awake to the magical joy of falling on your face, and living to laugh about it. Laughing at yourself shows maturity, an ability to see a situation from another’s perspective, one that isn’t…

The first several days… Mr. B starts the course in a way similar to his friend Mr. P, the eighth grade Physical Science teacher (first reading at least the introductory part of the article A Sound Beginning: Mr. P and Physical Science is recommended). He greets the students as they meander into his Biology class. Administrative details take up about half the first class and then the real teaching begins. The logical starting place is for Mr. B to explain what Biology is and why it is worthwhile to study…

It’s the first day of school. Students arrive at Mr. P’s Physical Science class with a mix of anxiety, interest and uncertainty. What will this year be like in science class? How difficult will the class be? Where are my friends sitting? Who are these new students I do not know? I can’t believe I’m sitting in class right now when just yesterday at this time I was fishing at Bear Creek with my best friend Justin, enjoying the last day of summer vacation… Thoughts are also racing through Mr….

The power of models Although each science in the curriculum has its own lens through which it looks at nature or society, they are united by a common approach. Modern science can be described as an ongoing process of developing and deploying models—not model airplanes or runway models, of course, but simplified representations of complicated objects or systems. Models help us understand things by focusing on their essential features and leaving out the incidental or less important details. Developing a model involves applying inductive reasoning to things or phenomena to…

Not scientific? A serious problem in science education today is an ironic one: science education too often fails to be scientific. This is admittedly an odd statement. How can science education be non-scientific? Isn’t anything to do with presenting scientific knowledge necessarily scientific? Science education today too often fails to proceed in a scientific manner, in a manner that fosters both scientific understanding and thinking. The problem is not with what is being taught. For the most part, the scientific knowledge that is being conveyed is accurate and scientific enough….

I once heard someone say there are at least three reasons to become a teacher: June, July, and August. This response, I suppose, is true, but not because the summer is a time for laziness; rather, it is because the summer offers an opportunity for recreation in the truest sense of that word. It is a time to be made anew and, by this, to live fully. Whether your summer has, up to this point, been full of life or full of languor, now is the time to begin again….

I worry a lot about the current state of free speech. It’s literally my job to worry about it, because I teach a class on the topic of free speech. But after reading through my students’ final exams, I’m feeling a lot better. If you’re also a worrier, maybe you’ll feel better if I share the good news. Three days before the exam, I gave the students the final essay question in advance, and it was nothing if not topical: In April 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”)…