Why the science skills Center?
Four reasons:
One, We are surrounded by science, yet we do not understand it enough to know and benefit from it, in fact we feel intimidated by it;
two, science based jobs and careers are enduring and sustainable, an important consideration at a time when our economy is loosing many jobs, yet our schools and colleges do not prepare us enough for science based jobs and careers;
three, science enables us to understand life and how to live it fully, physically, emotionally, psychologically, physiologically, metablically and spiritually and how to safeguard ourselves against infectious, contagious and metabolic diseases via preventative strategies so not to get ill and if we do, to recover speedily from such illnesses without much harm to our bodies;
four, Science is the glue which connects all knowledge. Without knowing the basic and applied aspects of science, especially how science is done and how the results of various experiments and procedures are interpretted and what you need to know to do such experiments and procedures yoursself,no matter how much else you know, your intellectual, functional and analytical abilities will remain incomplete and you will be sensing this deficiency and thereby not only not feel good about yourself but also be loosing much of your self esteem.
SEE IF THIS IS NOT HOW YOU FELT ABOUT SCIENCE AS YOU WERE LEARNING IT IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES AND ALSO SEE IF THE SAME FEELING IS STILL LINGERING AROUND YOU AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR FULL POTENTIAL.
During my almost fifty years of teaching and learning science, I have not met a person, young or old, who did not want to know and understand science who also inwardly regretted for running away from it because "after a while it just did not make sense to me."
They enjoyed it, they would say, until the end of the eighth grade when science was General Science about things they could see and understand such as the environment, the rain and the clouds, the plants and the animals and the functioning of their bodies; these they understood fairly well, even entering and winning one or two science fairs.
But in the ninth grade, forget it, science suddenly became chemistry,physics and biology with concepts so above my head that I just could not deal with them. So rather than suffer and feel sorry for myself for not understanding them, even to the point of blaming myself for not being smart enough, I quietly switched my major and got out of it and here I am now,surrounded with science influencing all levels of my life and still not understanding science as much as I would like it to be; still hoping though to understand science one day but do not know how and where to go to learn it.
Also based on what I know now, I do not want my children to go through what I went through. I would like to see that they get a better, more logical introduction to science than I did.
That is precisely the purpose of the Science Skills Center.
As a matter of fact, science, per Albert Einstein is supposed to be a hobby and we treat it as such at the center where you can learn it systematically at your own pace and catch up where you left off but this time without the confusion and the stress and the anxiety that made you run away from it.
I also want to put your mind at ease and urge you to stop blaming yourself for running away from science.This blame at the subliminal level of your psyche is eroding your confidence making you feel less of a person than you actually are.
Also know that you ran away from science because the way it was taught to you,not because you were not smart enough.
You ran away from it because even now scientists and educators have not thought of systematizing science so it could be taught to the beginners much like we teach music, art and sports. These popular areas of our knowledge are so systematized and have so well tried and true rules and procedures that anyone can learn and with practice get good at them.
Science Skills Center is perhaps the only center which is doing the same for science. Here we found, even to our surprise, that science appears difficult not because it is difficult but because it is all spread out. Sift, sort,integrate and interconnect it and it shrinks getting reduced to mere 150 simple concepts and skills. These are the basics for science like the chords in music. Learn these first and the whole of science becomes a joy to learn. And if you take it in stride, treating it as a hobby, you will find the experience reducing stress and anxiety even depression!
The fact is that there is nothing more calming than being fully involved. This in essence is the true form of meditation and science learned the systematic way does that for you.
And for the seniors who need to "use it or loose it", this is not mere staying busy with cross word puzzles; it is a joyous and a fulfilling hobby something they can also enjoy with their grand children while sharing with them the wisdom of their life long experience while reconnect with science they regrettably left behind.
I said enough already, don’t you agree! For the rest you just have to come and find out for yourself. And the best way to do that is to come and take a tour of the Science Skills Center.
Sincerely,
Riaz-ul Haque, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor (Emeritus)
University of Illinois at Chicago
Founder Center for General and Applied Education and
The Science Skills Center
729 South Western Avenue
Chicago Illinois USA 60612
Phone: 312-243-7716; Fax: 312-243-2041
E-mail: rhaque@uic.edu OR haqueriaz@aol.com
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