From ANDREW BREEZE
Of course science is interesting, but I do not know if science as taught
in school is very good at fostering curiosity and excitement in students.
I find this distressing. Science should be enjoyable and exciting. How best
to convey this message to pupils in our schools will, I fear, continue to
be one of the most challenging problems in secondary education. I still
think the media are largely to blame: science is still perceived by too
many people as being unconnected with ordinary, everyday living.
Children in primary school typically find science very exciting. They
are increasingly exposed to computers and other technology from an early
age, and yet so many teenagers see science as the domain of ‘spods’ and
‘nerds’. I do not know what goes wrong between the ages of 7 and 14.
Andrew Breeze University of Cambridge
