by Ryan P

Created on: May 26, 2008

Science classes are of the utmost importance, especially in high school. The classes are important for two main reasons: critical thinking and implanting the seeds of interest. These classes encourage students to not only think about problems in society, but ways in which to solve them. Future scientists are born in the high school classroom.

I cannot stress enough the importance of science education in the formation of proper problem solving techniques. Within the various scientific disciplines, students are given a set of "rules" to follow, from which conclusions must be derived, or at least attempted. If not for a future education, these problem solving skills are most definitely translatable to real world situations. I doubt the average person ever considers a chemistry problem outside of school, but the method of determining what information is known and transforming that information into something useful is a skill learned in a chemistry class.

Almost all science involves both math and reading comprehension, which I claim to be the most important skills developed in high school. Science classes challenge students to read information they are given, and solve problems based on what they have learned. Many of these solutions require mathematical calculations. Writing scientific papers is commonplace among all fields of study. Science provides a means for tying together all the knowledge gained in the plethora of high school courses.

The second major benefit to science in high schools is introducing students to the subjects. I believe it is important for students to be introduced to these ever important fields of study before they venture off into a collegiate world. Science classes in college can be quite intimidating, even if they are only introductory classes. If a student is interested in the subject beforehand, that student is much more likely to retain interest and perform well in the class. The future scientists of America depend on high school introductions to continue producing men and women educated in scientific fields.

Science in high school rarely provides knowledge beyond that of high order trivia, but the processes used to learn these facts are the truly valuable skills gained by these classes. I simply disagree with the argument that the information learned in these classes is necessary for a well rounded education.

Although my opinions could be seen as discrediting the value of the knowledge learned in high school, that is simply not the case. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to explain natural occurrence to my friends and family. That enjoyment is ultimately what led me to my studies in physics. It all started in a high school physics class.

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