Today’s question in Year 7…
Student: “Sir, what makes you a scientist?”
Me: “Can anyone in the class suggest an answer?”
Students (Various):
“Someone who works with chemicals”
“Someone who knows a lot about stuff”
“Someone who tests things out”
“Someone who invents stuff”
Me: “All good answers … but have you ever wondered why something is the way it is? Do you try to figure out how something works? Do you try to find answers to questions you have whatever they are? Or make a prediction about what if …. and test it? Do you try to learn as much as you can about something and draw upon what you and others already know to come up with a possible solution to a problem? Do you ask how? What? Why? …. Then you’re a scientist. Science is a way of looking at the world, a way of thinking, a way of testing things out to find an answer to a question you have. It’s trying something new to see what happens and if it keeps happening each time you try it….or figuring out why not. Its seeks evidence for the things we believe. It’s observing all that is around you through sound, sight, smell, taste and touch and coming up with an explanation as to why you observed what you observed.. what’s the cause… then making a prediction and testing it. It’s simply being curious and wanting to know more. It’s what you do every single day”
Student: “So am I a scientist?”
Me: “You tell me….”