Mister Pip's Corner: Weekly Blog Post

Dear Mister Pip,

What are your thoughts on the way that science is presented in the classroom? Do you feel that by teaching biology, chemistry, and physics we are showing a fair representation of the field of science? If there are other type(s) of sciences that could be added to the curriculum, what would it/they be?

Sincerely,

Margaret P.

Dear Margaret,

This is an interesting question and one that I have actually thought of quite a bit. I'm going to express my feeling and then explain. I do not think that the science curriculum in the school is giving a fair view of the field of science. According to an article I read on mnn.com a few weeks ago, 49% of adults in the USA do not know how long it takes for the earth to orbit the sun (~365 days for all of you out there), and the USA ranks 48th in science education for our children. These are scary numbers, but unfortunately I cannot say that I am surprised. Children are science illiterate in this country. It's a shame. We teach our students (in most schools, there are a few exceptions) only basic knowledge and sometimes not ev

en that. As long as the child get an 'A' everyones happy. That is until the real world comes into play. Our country cannot support itself and it's economy on workers that do not understand basic science skills. China has now surpassed the US in being the leading technology exporter, and it's all due to a lack of science education. Now I could get into an argument about how all aspects of most public schools need readjusting, but as this is a science blog, I regress. To answer your other question, I do believe we should add some sciences into the education field: Social & Behavioral Science, Basic Engineering Skills, Microbiology, and Genetics. These are the ones that I think would greatly help students although I feel that while adding Botany might not directly help students, it would be rather interesting.

Most Sincerely,

Your Mister Pip

Dear Mister Pip,

Hi, for my outdoors badge (we're in the 4H) we have to be able to identify trees by their leaves. We have this book called Leaf Key for Tree Identification. Could you explain how to use it?

Sincerely,

Dormo S. & Merganta W.

Dear Dormo & Merganta,

I assume your talking about a book where you have several choices and by answering questions about the leaf, you can identify what type of plant this is. I used to have to do this all the time while studying botany. There's a special name for the book, but my mind is blank. Anyways you must firstly understand how the book works. The book will ask you a question (eg. Nodes?) and then there will be three choices or so. Depen

ding on which traits the leaf has (eg. no node) then the book will say to go to another question. This is the process you do until eventually it will say what type of tree the leaf came from. Most books will then direct you to a page where you can learn more about the tree or bush, and if there's a picture (which there usually

is) you can compare the leaf to the picture. They should be rather similar. If they're not you most likely made a mistake, or it is possible that the leaf is not in the book. Go through the process several times if not sure.

Most books are designated for certain areas (eg. Coastal Plains of Texas) so that there are not too many questions and leaf options. Botanist (people who major in Botany) do this sort of stuff all the time unless they have memorized some of the more common leaves. Best of luck on earning your outdoors badge.

Sincerely,

Mister Pip