"Who can be a scientist?"

I tried envisioning what a scientist would look like, and I came to the same picture as the one in Koch's text. I envisioned a white male with crazy hair, someone like Albert Einstein. Because he is such a renown scientist, it's hard not to think of him when I think of scientists. However, upon reflecting on my recent readings from Koch's text and my own image of a scientist, I realized how such stereotype of what a scientist looks like can have harmful effects on students.

When I reflected upon my past experiences with science as a child, I know the thought of being a scientist has never crossed my mind. No one has ever brought it to my attention that it could be a possible career path. Science was simply a subject in school that we learned, and sadly, that was the end of it. So I hope as a future teacher, I could do more for my students.

In Koch's text, she mentioned that when students asked, "Who can be a scientist?" she raised a mirror, so that they can see they all can. I would like to do the same for my students. I want to break the stereotype that only white male can be scientists and provide the idea that anyone can, regardless of gender, background, or ethnicity. I would like to supplement this with examples of women scientists as well as scientists of different ethnic backgrounds. I could use technology as I've mentioned in my previous blog to help me bring these samples to life for my students if I could not invite a scientist to come to the class.

I would also like to incorporate the idea of having science journals, except it would not be just for me, but for my students. It would be used as a free writing tool, where students' grammar and spelling aren't most important, but rather their observations and analysis. The goal is to bring awareness as well as help them reflect on the connection between their lives and nature.