When we are interested in what we are learning, no one has to force us to keep learning: we just do. If you've ever watched kids when they are playing sports, planning a field trip, or discussing their favorite celebrity, you know how different they are when they care about what they're doing.
By now, it's not a surprise that STEM classes are notorious for being an intimidating class. STEM classes can be challenging: memorizing formulas, understanding difficult vocabulary, connecting so many concepts... However, students often say it's the teacher that makes the difference.
From what I can remember till now, labs have always been my favorite part of science. It was fun to engage hands-on with the lesson you're learning about: or watching videos, simulations, or demonstrations. Everything around us is involved in STEM, so how come we don't show that to students more? I don't want to teach from a textbook or be the only person talking in the room. I want to give students the space to learn and the opportunity to explore. I have heard many stories of students being interested in science but turned away because they got too bored or couldn't understand how to connect to the lesson.
Science for me is safety because knowledge is power right? When the world nearly stopped in 2020 due to the epidemic, everyone was so fearful. Within this year, there were students across the nation actively protesting, performing walk-outs from their school, and joining large public crowds. I want students to be safe, and to teach science is to encourage students to think critically. Science is always recognizing a problem and finding ways to explain or test it.