Science Fair

This week is a free week so this post will probably be pretty random...

So our Science Fair Projects are due next Wednesday. Basically you do this giant project and turn in to be judged and advanced if it's good enough. Although this year we didn't have to actually submit it, we just had to do one. Unfortunately, it had to be a BIOLOGY project, aka living things, aka requires forethought, aka I am going to fail. Science Fair, along with Geometry, is the cause of all evil in the world. While I think Science Fair has it's place it isn't as a torturing device for the entire student body. Science Fair works really well if you are seriously interested in your topic and the experimentation process. It provides a framework for students to do serious research on topics they're interested in. It also allows them to be acknowledged and is a great opportunity for scholarships. In short it's a brilliant idea when it isn't being used as a requirement.

However, at my middle school and now here at Anderson, Science Fair is REQUIRED for everyone in Pre-AP classes. This does a number of things. First of it puts a lot of unneeded stress on students already under a lot of pressure. It also warps student's concepts of how actual experiments go and how discoveries are made. But the main problem this requirement causes is that many students take less advanced science classes then they would otherwise. Ironically, this project makes students lose interest in advanced science rather than boost science skills at the school. I know many people who never even think twice before dropping a level in science classes. This not only makes are school less competitive but, in a small way, makes the nation as a whole less competitive.

Okay stepping down from my soap box now... Sorry about that... See you next fortnight.