Hello SC 200, my name is Luke Visser, I’m from San Diego, California, and I am a finance major here at Penn State. I planned to stay as far away from any science classes as possible until I was informed by my advisor that I had no choice but to take one in order to fulfill my requirements. After she told me this, I think she could see horror in my eyes because she immediately recommended SC200 as the course for those who’d give anything to never have to look at another periodic table again. After hearing that, I signed up without even reading the course description. While it was probably a poor decision to sign up for a class I knew nothing about, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. This class seems extraordinarily different from my high school science classes where I memorized everything but understood nothing.
I have read through the topics of discussion for future classes and I’m genuinely interested in most of them. I’m looking forward to really discovering new things and acquiring knowledge I actually want to know. I think I will enjoy my time in class, stay interested throughout the year, and unlike many previous science classes in my life, I think I’ll actually be able to stay awake. On top of not boring me to death, I think the critical thinking involved with this science course will actually help me be successful in the business field. I appreciate science but it has never captivated me the way business does. For this reason, I have not chosen a major in the science department. I am, however, already beginning to enjoy science more in only two short classes so who knows where my interests will be four years down the road.
Also, I found this website with some great thought provoking questions, so if you need to get those wheels turning to prepare for all the critical thinking in this class, or you’re just bored and sitting in you’re dorm room, it’s worth a click.
I think that what you are saying is very interesting, and it makes me wonder, why? I’ve heard so many people talk about memorization as the key to learning in not only just science. But is that really learning? It reminds me of something I heard in my philosophy class, and it even brings me back to my own first post. That is, that there is something wrong with the way education is set up. It not that we shouldn’t learn, but that in order to really learn there must be an interest in what you are learning. You can not simply memorize facts and expect to gain an appreciation for some subject or aspect of life. And so, a question I have is, why do we memorize not only in science but education as a whole? What in our minds tells us that this is the best way to learn and have an apperication for what we are learning? Is there really anything scientific, that shows us this is the way to learn, or do we simply just take our teachers words for it?
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/when-memorization-gets-in-the-way-of-learning/279425/
Great link. I read most of these and they really are a selection of tough questions that cause a lot of thought. I enjoyed it mostly because they are general questions for life rather than specific or focused groups of them. http://www.fastcodesign.com/3028946/find-your-passion-with-these-8-thought-provoking-questions Here is a link similar but smaller and more thorough, for people that are unsure on their passion.
Great post. I am also a business major and dreaded class when they first told me I had to fill a requirement in science. However this course it not the typical science course with redundant formulas and constant memorization. Critical thinking and being engaged in topics about our world has always been a great interest of mine and I think this course will really be a great exemplification of that. I really never understood how teachers in science, and even in general believed that regurgitating information over and over forcing it our minds made us truly learn. For be and a lot of hands on learners, being involved in discussion while exploring the world in our own way is one of the greatest ways to learn. Think about it, are we more willing to remember information long term if it’s all crammed in our mind for a test or if we can let our mind wonder while also learning of the world of science? HERE is a article that I found interesting on this topic, enjoy!
http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4962/book-learning-vs-experience/