On teaching science

In the next few paragraphs, I will try to share my view on the current situation of how our country is carrying out the teaching of science.

John Nash (1928 - 2015)

Currently, we have a serious problem with motivation in the teaching of science. It seems that today's students have very little interest in knowledge, intellectual effort, or education in general. We enter a vicious cycle in which students do not learn due to their lack of motivation, but at the same time, they are not motivated because they do not learn.

The motivation is not only the responsibility of the students but also a result of the education they receive. What happens to many students is that they let themselves be carried away by the inertia of not changing. The students are motivated, but they move for other things and in directions different from those that the teachers would prefer.

Cristiano Ronaldo (1985)

Moving the students for extrinsic reasons requires a system of rewards and punishments. This type of motivation does not ensure that the students will remain interested in science after finishing their studies. Teaching students to continue learning after leaving school and not lose curiosity is more important than what they learn in the time they are academically enrolled.

It will also help that the media shared some more news about successful researchers and show them as models to follow for teenagers. But like today, it seems the only models to follow are people like Cristiano Ronaldo, we are near to have lost the battle. Lower tuition fees and a school program improvement are also needed.

From my point of view, the evolution of the teaching of science in the last 50 years in Spain reflects that we are stalling.

To conclude, I would like to say that this is not only valid for encouraging science studies but to encourage studies on any other topic, too.

In the loving memory of all the teachers I've had.
I just try to keep learning :-)