After decades of not being in a classroom, I’m teaching again and I’m having the time of my life! It’s not your ordinary classroom. I’m teaching the staff of a new daycare center for mostly minority children. The director of the center, Raymond Thomas Jr., believes that upward mobility for disadvantaged minorities lies in education -- specifically education in finance and in science and technology. To this end, he’s been involved in founding the afterschool program Xposure, the New Hope Academy Charter School in Brooklyn and now he has added the Lanza Learning Center in Yonkers to his portfolio as a social entrepreneur. I met Ray several years ago when he was interested in using my book "We Dare You!" for his afterschool science curriculum. And now he’s pressed me into service to train his daycare staff, (who knows basically nothing about science) to enable them to shape scientific behavior and interest in science in their young charges from the ages zero up.
Sort of sounds like a pipe dream, doesn’t it? But Ray doesn’t take no for an answer. And I don’t have to come from a dead start. I’ve written four critically acclaimed picture books for children called “Science Play,” plus a series of books on hands-on investigations into all five senses that can be adapted for young children. If I teach one book per session: ta da! I’ve got a course! So I’m meeting with 20 very warm and caring women every other week to teach them how to use each book and how to watch the children and spot and reinforce scientific behavior when they see it. Children are natural scientists; they have an empirical approach to their world, constantly exhibiting intrepid and innovative manipulation of their environment, and absorbed contemplation of each discovery. Unfortunately, these behaviors are bred out of most children by the time they are 17, so, yes, daycare is a good place to begin.
I meet with my class every other week at 6 p.m. after a long workday for them. My students have varied educational backgrounds. Most have some college but those who have degrees don’t have them in education or in science. These students are not certified to teach in schools. But Ray has a knack for hiring only committed and dedicated people (including me) so my overwhelming impression is that this group is hungry to learn. And for the teacher in me, that’s all it takes.
This week we discussed my book "I Fall Down," which is about gravity for 3-year-olds. When we got into doing the hands-on experiments from the book, I got the ultimate reward as a teacher. The light went on in their eyes and they started playing and exclaiming. In effect, I tapped into the children they once were by showing them the magic they could bring to their own students. One activity from the book is to see the effect of gravity on a drop of honey or molasses as it slowly drips back into the jar. If you’ve never really looked at this you’re in for a surprise. It’s fascinating! My students were all under the impression that heavier things fall faster than lighter things (a common misconception for most people who have had no exposure to physics). Dropping races with an assortment of small objects proved to them that all objects fall at the same speed regardless of weight. We discussed the distinction between mass and weight and they learned how to measure weight with rubber bands and shoes.
I showed (not told) my students what it is like to look at something familiar and see it with fresh eyes, behavior common to both scientists and children. They got the message! What an aphrodisiac for this teacher!
Photo: Lizanne Jamison weighs two sneakers with rubber bands while Ghada Almalouf looks on.