Reflective Essay: My Love Of Science

Science has never been my strongest subject, nor my favorite. When asked why my responses usually vary slightly, but include a common theme: my interested in the content was never sparked. Although my teachers’ attempted to display enthusiasm and help me develop a love of science, I do not have many positive memories from science classes. However, some people are simply more inclined to appreciate the science in everything based on other interests they might display, but this was not the case for me. Nevertheless, I do have some positive memories from science lessons that taught me information that I can still recall. Even though my science experiences weren’t always positive, I hope that I am able to spark a love of science in my future students.

I came out of that class each day feeling that I didn’t know anything more than when I walked in. This was not a positive experience in my opinion. I felt that my teacher thought he was doing the right thing, when really we were not absorbing any of the material. Because this was the year before high school, we all went into our higher level classes feeling completely underprepared, and our teachers were confused. I feel that if my 8th grade science teacher would have exerted more effort into teaching us the material, we would have been better equip to succeed in upper level classes.

Aside from school, I would sometimes participate in STEM activities at our local library, while also being engulfed in science education at summer camps and things of that nature. These experiences were positive, and helped me to enjoy science without placing the label of ‘academic subject’ on it. The people conducting these activities were always very eager to share their love of science with us, which then made us as students more excited to learn. These experiences were very enjoyable, and I intend to carry some of the characteristics of the lessons into my future teaching