A day of running 2 different science programmes online has fueled my non-enthusiasm towards them.
The inability to run actual physical activities for a science programme that is non-abstract is a real sticking point for me.
I get that schools are apprehensive about running full-scale programmes, and I appreciate the comparative simplicity of teaching life skills and even coding skills through a virtual format.
But physical sciences require physical activities to learn them properly.
Virtual labs are alright at a pinch, but there were so many incidents during the programmes when I was thinking,
"This would have been so much more impactful and enjoyable if we were doing the real thing".
Again, I understand the situation that we are in, but it's really not doing the students any favours.
Science and Research Have Trends Too. I Think It's Problematic. This is Why.
In view of the current pandemic, I imagined that there would be a surge of interest in the fields of microbiology and immunology.
And there was. To a certain extent.
Unfortunately, unlike about 15 years ago, biology and biotechnology are no longer ‘trendy’.
It’s most visible in the way the term STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is used by schools (in Singapore) today.
Today, it is almost always used to refer to AI, programming, and robotics.
And if this is what the students grow up with, they will continue to automatically associate STEM with these areas.
There is no doubt that these are important fields to advance in and educate the next generation in.
At the same time, I wonder why there is so much focus on them and so few resources dedicated to other areas of STEM - chemical sciences, biological sciences, etc.
And then, I heard a comment on a program on TV that mentioned that science, like all other fields, goes through trends. And this happens because the scientific landscape is heavily influenced by the mighty dollar.
Whatever makes money becomes what the scientific community is pushed towards.
This is why I have great respect for scientists who work in fields that are “non-money-making”.
Think scientists deep in the rainforests collecting and cataloguing beetles, or out for weeks at a time on research vessels peering at fuzzy screens for signs of elusive denizens of the deep, or maintaining and attempting to grow endangered plants.
They may be poking into the quantum mysteries of the universe, tinkering with substances to come up with better insulating material for jackets, even testing new ways of preparing bouncy, sustainable fishballs.
Some research seems mundane, others feel incomprehensible.
Whatever the case, I feel that science should really be less about money and more about exploration and testing.
Yes, by all means bolster efforts to advance in the "current" things, but give some coverage and attention to the other areas of science as well.
There are so many, you'll never run out of things to be awed by and fascinated with.