My Science History

              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!