One of my first memories of science during my school aged
years was in the third grade. One of the third grade teachers loved amphibians and
reptiles and kept many of these animals in her classroom, which all of the
students loved! I loved to peer up at the different tanks in the classroom to
see what animal was living in there and she would incorporate her animals into
the lessons. Her enthusiasm for animal science caused me to become excited
about it as well! I also recall a time in middle school when we were learning
about space and the solar system. One day in particular stands out to me when
we had a giant blow up igloo set up in the gym, when we crawled inside as a
class, you could look up and see all of the consolations lit up. Our whole
class laid on our backs as our teacher discussed the stars with us and asked us
to point out the consolations that we knew! Another aspect of my life that
shaped my science background was moving to a neighborhood that was directly
across from a forest preserve. Starting
in first grade, my father would take us on walks and bike rides through the
woods, observing the animals and plant life.
We learned about deer and different types of trees while on our
walks. We learned about erosion, as the
paths would slide away after a big storm. Throughout my upbringing, any given
day was a learning experience full of science.
All of these experiences stand out in my mind
because I was able to get up close and personal with science. I believe science
is a subject area in which you cannot simply read about but must experience. Because
of this, I want my students to realize that science is all around us and can be
incorporated in different subject areas, such as literacy or social studies. In
my classroom, science will be student centered and focus on their
interests. While I have warm memories of
science in my younger years, as I reached high school, science became less
interesting. I believe this is partially
because I am a female and I fall under the female stereotype that I prefer literacy over the math and
sciences. I tended to gravitate towards my more creative and artistic side and
it is possible that my teachers saw that and encouraged me toward those
subjected areas instead of helping my math and science skills develop
further. At first, I was intimidated to
know I would be teaching math and science to many of my future students, I feel
that my outlook has been altered having had my education courses at Illinois
State. The professor that taught our
math course was full of enthusiasm towards math and whole heartedly wanted us
to feel the same. This has made a huge impact on how I hope to influence my
students’ math and science experiences as well.
I plan to put forth a positive attitude toward every subject area taught
in my classroom, math and science included!
