Oct 12 - Welcome and Un-Welcome in Science

Science is definitely a field I think students often feel less-than-welcomed into as there is a great deal of jargon used and required to understand the subject. In the past I felt confused and alone when listening to lectures because often times I did not understand all the words our teacher was using. I also felt that there was a feeling of exclusion if students didn't have the same knowledge as some others who may have read science articles or kept up to date with scientific news. I often remembered feeling "not smart" in some of my science classes because I simply did not possess the same amount of knowledge that others had, nor was I aware of current science events that seemed to be important or a big deal to my teachers or classmates. I feel if you did not grow up in a family that keeps up with current events or uses science in their everyday life then some students can feel left out or under-prepared for a science class and therefore "un-welcomed". I do often feel science can be welcoming in the sense that it tries to apply concepts to everyday life. This ultimately gives students the chance to relate and find comfort in the things they are learning because it is something they are familiar with. So I guess in the same way science can make some feel un-welcomed, it can also act similarly to make all individuals feel welcomed and that science is something that is part of their every day lives whether they realize it or not. I think when science teachers related concepts to things that practically everyone had experience with, it gave us more of a direct relationship with the subject. However, when teachers related it to things that not everyone knew or had experience with, then I felt left out, ignorant and uninformed. I also feel in a general sense, public humiliation can make students feel un-welcomed, whether its calling on a student in class when they don't want to be, being unsupportive to student ideas, making students feel ignorant in front of the class among many other ways. So alternatively, teachers can make all students feel supported by encouraging alternative methods to assessment in class (maybe not in front of everyone) and also allowing students to be wrong or feel comfortable with being wrong and knowing that does not define them and it is just a natural part of learning.

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