Over the past two decades, America’s technological and science supremacy has eroded, and we are now lagging behind other industrialized nations including Japan, China, Britain, France, and Germany. This comes at a critical juncture in an increasing science and technology-based world. Both our Congress and the new administration have called for the funding of science initiatives to draw more young people into the math and sciences to secure our future well-being as a nation, and that most decidedly includes our economic well-being. In order to do this, many like Dr. Seethaler have claimed that we need to change the way science is taught; retain the core principles of science needed for a broad understanding of how science works, but also make it applicable so that students understand the role of science in their lives, as well as their role in shaping the future direction of science. So as a stakeholder in our nation’s scientific endeavors, as a parent, a teacher or a private citizen, what would you most want our elementary and grade students to know and understand about science, what issues should they study, and how can we make that happen?

Science and Society     

            The place of science in our world today cannot be underrated. Technological advancement and other scientific innovations have greatly changed the scope of operations in most fields, not only in the nation but also in other parts of the world. The way science is taught determines how individuals are likely to perceive and apply it in advanced stages in life.

           Most students in schools tend to have a negative attitude toward scientific concepts, especially those related to math and physics. This attitude could be associated with the abstract nature of some of these concepts. To enhance learners’ reception, it would be essential to simplify scientific concepts in a manner that is easy to understanding. Teaching science should be not only educative but also interesting (Callaway, 2013). Having learners look forward to the process of learning science would serve well in improving the application of these concepts at an early age. The other approach would involve laying adequate emphasis on the essence of science. Apart from introducing the science concepts, learners ought to be exposed to the crucial place of science in their lives and society as a whole. Through this approach, their reception and attitude towards this process would be greatly improved.

           The learners should be sensitized to the importance of science and how it can be applied to enhance longer life spans, improve living standards, and enhance efficiency at work. Even though there are various downsides associated with science, introducing it to learners from the perspective of its important place in society would lead to better outcomes. In addition, the teaching approaches ought to include better models that make learning science more interesting and informative.