In high school, students will be introduced to different branches of science like biology, chemistry, and physics. What Are the Goals for a Homeschool Science Curriculum in High School? Students should participate in a science fair so that they can learn to ask their own questions (curiosity), conduct their own research (careful observation), and relate their findings to others. The middle school years are the perfect time to train students to do science instead of just reading about it. “Meeting” the real scientists will satisfy their curiosity but will also inspire them to ask their own scientific questions and seek answers. Middle school is a good time to study the history of science. Read: “How to Make Homeschooling Fun: Ideas to Keep Your Learning Lively” What Are the Goals for a Homeschool Science Curriculum in Middle School?Īnother sad deficit of science curricula today is the lack of talking about scientific history, of introducing students to the real people who devoted their lives to scientific discoveries. Let them start early to make their own science notebooks. In other words, take a nature walk armed with a field guide, a sketchbook, and colored pencils. Finally, parents should train these little students to spend time looking, really looking, at the wonders around them. Small children need to see scientific wonders, not just read about them. In addition to seeking out resources that spark wonder, parents should plan to spend time outdoors observing nature. It is often better to choose science encyclopedias written for children or whole books about something they are interested in (plants, planets, insects) than it is to give them a textbook crammed with random, shallow, boring facts about a wide variety of subjects. The most important consideration for curriculum for these ages should be whether or not the book encourages them to be curious. They won’t do either of these if they are bored to tears. In the early years, we need to train our children to be curious and to observe carefully. One of the most disappointing things about science curriculum for the youngest grades is the lack of wonder. What Are the Goals for a Homeschool Science Curriculum in Elementary School? In other words, we need to train our students in the skills that form and inform the scientific mind. Instead, we should focus on training our students in the skills listed above: curiosity, careful observation, and copious recording of thoughts. The modern reaction to studies, which show a country testing behind others in science and math, is typically to teach those subjects at younger and younger ages.
In addition to being careful observers of the world, these scientists were classically educated which means they were constantly trained to put their thoughts into writing. After all, it’s difficult to translate Latin sentences from Caesar’s Gallic Wars if you don’t pay close attention to the details. Secondly, their studies led them to be attentive to details so that they became careful observers of the world around them. How did this education prepare them for making such important scientific breakthroughs? First, their educations fostered a keen intellectual curiosity so that they learned to ask good questions. Most of them, like Galileo, Copernicus, and Isaac Newton, came of age in a time when students focused almost exclusively on education in the language arts of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. It’s a curious fact that most of the world’s scientific innovators were educated at a time when science was not even a school subject. They were almost all classically educated.They were all careful observers of the world around them.They were all curious about the world around them.
There are a few things to note about scientific pioneers. Perhaps it is time to set aside our concerns about careers and focus on the educational system and methods that produced great scientists in the past. Searching for the Best Homeschool Science Curriculumīut perhaps we are asking the wrong questions when we look for the perfect science curriculum. It can be confusing to wade through the options and to consider the standards of each state. With so much emphasis on STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), it can be daunting for homeschool parents to choose a science curriculum for their students, particularly during the high school years.
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