my little brother wants to be an astronaut and swim in the shadows of titan and calypso in the silk sheen shadow of saturn but sometimes we face-off across the little coffee table with the etch marks i made when i was ten and the ones he made when he was ten.
“i have so many questions,” he says.
“i know. i want to talk to you about gravity waves. but you have to learn about the nitrogen cycle now.”
his science book is splayed open hopelessly on the table between us. plants and animals need nitrogen to live. it helps plants make chlorophyll, which lets them make food and energy.
“read that again,” i urge.
“i don’t get it…” he’s eleven.
“do they just want you to memorize it?”
“i think so… it’s so hard.”
he huffs, crossing his arms. i decide to try something different.
“ok…” i venture. “what do you wanna learn about?”
instantly his eyes alight. “black holes… and dark matter… and why haven’t we found aliens yet?”
“whoa there buddy… one at a time. let’s see… let’s start with something simple. do you know how the seasons work?”
“yeah! i read about it in encyclopedia brittanica. it’s because earth is kinda tilty so one side is closer to the sun in the summer and the other side is far away from the sun in the winter.”
i chuckle. “you know, it isn’t really about how close it is. it’s all about how much direct sunlight it’s getting.”
“ahhh….” he leans back heavy in his chair, he is chubby. “that makes sense ok. now gravity waves i saw it on your facebook.”
i spend the night telling him all i know about “gravity waves”. how they were theorized by einstein 100 years ago and how we can finally hear them. how two black holes got married more than 1 billion years ago and this is the whispering of their love. i tell him he should read more brittanica. i am frustrated. why isn’t he allowed to talk about how cool science is at school? instead of memorizing the nitrogen cycle without understanding the science behind it, why don’t they invest in the inherent human curiosity that these kids clearly have? instead of squashing it out like an ant or a cockroach? here in my hometown of beirut, there is a painfully apparent lag in scientific literacy among all age groups. people don’t understand global warming. they don’t think evolution is “real” to “provable”. they don’t understand the scientific method. they want to stay in their bubble and ingest blindly the politics of their religious leaders. they don’t want to look up at the sky and wonder. in the pedagogy seminar we talk a lot about the importance of instilling a love for scientific curiosity and inquisitiveness at a very young age. if we can’t satiate kids’ curiosities, at the very least we ought not to siphon them dry by wrongful and misguided attempts at teaching science.
Beyond the Move 
This was a really pleasant read! I really enjoyed the pedagogical message you gave through a personal narrative. My favorite subject throughout school has always been history because I always seemed to have history teachers that satisfied my curiosity when it came to the people, places, and events that were being discussed. In history class, I remember my teachers putting aside the textbook from time to time to tell a story about the peculiarities of General Patton or the fascinating cultural elements at play in Latin America. I think we will always have to memorize things like how photosynthesis and what year the Declaration of Independence was signed. But the coloring in between the lines is what keeps students like me engaged. Thought provoking post!
What a great reflection on the reasons we teach and learn science! Not because you have to know it to get through life, but because there’s something in it for everyone that will make their lives richer. I completely agree we need to do this better for children as well as adults, and it sounds like you’re learning as much as your brother is.
Monica