BVIS Science Week
What does “Science” mean for BVIS students here in Vietnam?
This week we have set students the challenge of showing us what they think of Science in relation to their home nation, be it Vietnam or Korea.
We have been receiving photos throughout the week with brilliant captions from the students; I was even interviewed myself by five girls in our Year 7 cohort – a very intimidating but proud experience indeed.
The Science assembly shown to KS3 on Friday had the intention of focusing students on the true goals that a Science education brings. “I love Science because we get to blow things up”; Science teachers would be very rich if we received 10,000VND for every time we heard that! This is indeed a great part of the Science education experience; however, it is by far the least important aim of science. What just happened? Why did it happen? How can that help the world be better? What can we learn from it? These questions are far more relevant to the reason we study science.
Understanding that science is all around us is the first step in any individual’s level of curiosity in science. Without this realization, it is often difficult for a young person to believe that they too can be a scientist. And by scientist, we don’t mean wearing a white coat and goggles, and owning a chemistry kit; by scientist, we mean being that person who is able to truly think – independently, critically and analytically. Through being that sort of thinker, a BVIS scientist will not allow the rapidly expanding world of science to accelerate away from them, whether here in Hanoi, in Vietnam or beyond.
I’ll leave you with the challenge I gave your own child in assembly this week: “How much can you talk intelligently about a potato?”
Mr William Murray-Smith - Science & Maths Coordinator
