The Modern Scientist

When you think of a scientist, who do you think of? If I had to guess, you are probably imagining a middle aged, caucasian male in a lab coat and goggles, performing some kind of chemical experiment right? This is actually who the majority of people think of when asked this question. Some may even go as far as adding in that crazy, mad scientist look to go along with all of the other traits.

However, everyone can be a scientist! So try to start picturing all different kinds of people as scientists. All different ethnicities...and females too! If you ask questions about the world and want to find out more about it, then you can be a scientist!

There are all types of scientists in our world. In fact, our world depends on them for survival. With the global economy the way it is today, scientists are trying to find ways to make our lives better, easier, and cheaper by developing a new energy source to fuel transportation. Scientists are studying global warming every second of the day to measure the rates at which the polar ice caps are melting. Scientists are studying bees and how their population is declining. These are just a few of the many, many jobs scientists do on a day-to-day basis.

You see, there are a lot of important issues we are faced with that need curious, caring people to study them. Will our schools be able to provide the children, who will be filling these jobs, with the important critical thinking skills that are necessary to create newer technologies in our country? I sure hope so.

It is important for students to develop that sense of curiosity where they are asking questions about how and why things work and happen the way they do. Observations may need to happen over a span of time, diagrams may need to be drawn, calculations may need to be made...but it is that desire to get to the conclusion or solution that students really need to want!