I have mixed emotions (and mixed rational thoughts!) about student
postings. Let me digress just a little first with a short memory/story:
As a youngster I was interested in science from an early age, but my family
lived on a farm near a small town with a typical "small town" school system. I
found a book that suggested a project involving the staining of bones in whole
vertebrates and then clearing them so the skeletal details were visible. The
project was very interesting to me, but I could not get the clearing and
stining process to work for me- undoubtedly because of poor technique and lack
of tech quality chemicals. I asked everyone available about the tech. but no
one, including the High School biology teacher, had even heard of such a
technique. There were no colleges within 100 miles of my home, and my parents
couldn't afford the time and expense of driving around looking for someone to
give a boy help with his questions.
I was not able to figure out how the staining process worked until many years
later not able to learn this technique until later in college. The process was
simple one- all I needed was some quick advice and some direction to the right
Questions from student
Questions that appear to be only a lazy attempt at getting someone else to
do their thinking for them are irritating! As an instructor I have heard them
over and over. I refuse to re-enforce the poor thinking/learning habits of
lazy people, student or otherwise.
BUT
B I do feel that we that we who have benefited from the help and guidance of
others, and we who are educated all have, have a responsibility to provide some
guidance for those coming after us.
I know that this sounds like a lot of noble "blah, blah, blah", but it
is not intended that way. I think we should encourage and celebrate these
questions from students. Every person, future scientist or otherwise, that we
can make more excited and positive toward our chosen field is a future boon to
science in general. Those students may not "grow up" to become scientists, but
each one will be showing support for scientific endeavors and educational
instutions when they vote for representatives who hold power over funding
decisions. They show confidence in our "advice" when they recycle, protect
endangered land and animals, and when they make life decisions that lead to
less pollution.
I am not suggesting that we do their work for them!! Definitely NOT!!
What they need is a few sentences that point them to appropriate literature and
a word of encouragement. This doesn't take more than a minute or two of you
time. ...and think how impressed that student will be to get that slight
minute of notice from someone who KNOWS, someone who is in the forefront to the
scientific community (which, of course, we all think we are!).
I know that this post is long..and please excuse the editing, my program has a
bug that only lets me edit sporadically (I think it works only when there are
no typo's on the line!).
I am probably not as noble as this all seems, I just have a very great
reverence for curousity and science and don't want to squash even the slightest
glimmering of either in people. I know how important science was, and still
is, to me and want to encourage those feelings wherever I find them.
I would suggest only two small things from you all:
1. If you don't want to help the student, don't! Its your choice, but
don't put them down either. Leave the answers and comments to those who would
like to answer. Some people derive great pleasure from offering suggestions,
etc.
2. If you do answer a student post, please don't give them all the
answers, just point them in the right direction, give them a word of
encouragement, and give them some suggested reading or pertinent literature
citations. Help them to THINK for themselves by giving them something to think
about! Remember, you don't teach a child to swim by keeping it away from the
water OR by throwing it in the middle of the ocean!
Scott Monks | ...as they say on NPR "...all of |
| the questions are thoughtfully |
(scottamy at kuhub.cc.ukans.edu) | written and painstakingly researched,|
| unfortunately, the answers are not! |
feel that we that have benefited from the help and guidance of
others, a
ut,
someone
now
