What are the virtues and habits required to succeed in learning and pursuing science? STEM success in classical education begins with this question.
In an interview with NobelPrize.org, 2018 Physics Laureate Donna Strickland describes the qualities needed to be a successful scientist.
A scientist needs curiosity, they need to be excited about trying to learn something different. They have to be able to communicate well to be a good scientist, because you do have to talk back and forth so that you get these new ideas. I think an experimental physicist needs [incredible] patience….” This opinion is not unique to Strickland. Browse through interviews with other recent Nobel Laureates, and you will see a few common themes: curiosity, perseverance, motivation, asking why, communication, overcoming failure. Consider the three that Strickland called out: curiosity, communication, and patience.
Nurturing Curiosity in a Classical Education
We all know that small children like to ask, “Why?”. The curiosity represented by this simple (and occasionally tedious) inquiry is that first scientific quality. It begins with noticing. The child observes something new. Now, he wants to know its connections to other things: “Why does the sun come up over there? Why do grackles sometimes hop and sometimes run? Why do apples taste like that?”
At CSA, we cultivate the habit of noticing throughout the curriculum. It’s one of the reasons we teach classical languages – Latin and Greek – starting in second grade. The opportunity to notice the roots of these languages in English words deepens and enriches both students’ engagement with and understanding of vocabulary in every subject, from poetry to physics.
In our elementary school science coursework, we focus on observation of the world immediately around us: animals, plants, the sky. Noticing the animals is more than merely acknowledging their presence. It is taking the time to look at the color and shape of the animal, how it moves, and what sounds it makes. If you are close enough, you might get to touch it or smell it, also. Taking time to notice leads to the “why” questions: why is the bear’s fur shaggy; why does the cat stretch its paws; why do goats have such interesting eyes? Our elementary students spend one whole year studying mammals. Naturally, we include a field trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo. At the zoo, instead of trying to see as much as possible, we encourage our students to spend time observing a few animals more closely.
Cultivating Clear Communication: A Cornerstone of a Classical Education
Classical education is well-known for its language-focused curriculum. The ability to organize one’s thoughts clearly and mastery of language go hand-in-hand. At Christ the Savior Academy, students are immersed in beautiful literature and taught the essentials of excellent writing. They are also taught public speaking. Students are asked to give their answers in class as complete sentences. They recite with their peers before an audience. Students present individually at Speech Meet. The capstone project in the mammals course is to prepare, memorize, and present a speech with facts about a chosen animal, previously observed at the zoo, in costume before a hand-drawn habitat.
A school that is intentional about teaching children to read carefully, write thoughtfully, and speak confidently is laying a foundation for success across every field or subject that requires clear and thoughtful communication, including science.
Patience and Perseverance: Keys to STEM Success
The elementary years are a unique window of time in which we must both encourage wonder and cultivate patience. A curriculum that does this must joyfully and intentionally teach children to notice. It must make space for and teach active observation as a habit across subjects (not just in “science” class). And it must emphasize achieving big goals through small steps, reflection, and persistence. Our art program systematically develops students’ technical skills over a period of years. Students get practice in patience when they sketch and re-sketch with light lines (and an eraser close at hand) as they strive first to see the basic shapes in an object before them and then translate them to a drawing. They exercise perseverance and reflection on the archery range where small changes in posture instantly result in hitting (or missing) the target. The barley seeds planted in the fall are visited across the school year as they sprout, grow, ripen, and are finally harvested, ground into flour, and turned into bread. The patience and persistence vital to success in science are intentionally cultivated across the curriculum.
Many schools claim to support STEM learning, but only a school that supports the habits and virtues of a scientist is truly doing that work. The marvelous truth is that the characteristics that scientists really need are characteristics we want to nurture in every student. So, our curriculum and approach are designed to achieve that very goal.
