The STLP participants from Palmerston North had the wonderful privilege of a tour the Hopkirk Institute science labs and the opportunity to hear about the research they are doing into different pathogens that affect our agricultural industry. We also had the opportunity to have a Q&A with the scientists there.
In asking why or how some of the scientists ended up in science as a career, I believe there was a strong connection between their opportunities to genuinely investigate and discover things (knowledge?) for themselves through their education and them discovering a passion for science. This reflects many of the conversations I have had with my colleagues in the IFS. Some teacher, some mentor, somebody somewhere provided them with just enough tools and knowledge to be able to conduct their own investigations and they built their own knowledge from that. It was a good reminder of how important our work is.
Another key idea that I have come to realise is that a career in science is tough. It depends on being able to source funding which can be hard, to be an academic scientist you need a PhD as a minimum, and the money just isn’t that great. It requires real dedication to be a career scientist and even then, it doesn’t always work in your favour. But it’s not all doom and gloom for us science teachers because we aren’t trying to encourage all our kids to become career scientists.
What we do want is for all of them to be scientists insomuch as we want them to be able to think critically, ask for evidence, look for patterns, and be genuinely curious people. I think that this then extends well outside the bounds of science learning and is essential in being a responsible, contributing member of society. It just so happens that science is the perfect vehicle to drive them there.
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