How to be a superhero

As a scientist, I have always wanted to invent something great that would improve the future of the world. I chose to study chemistry because I wanted to discuss ways to improve the environment, remove toxic chemicals, improve water quality, etc. but I realized that our efforts were meaningless if the people were not educated. For instance, I am currently working for the Iowa DNR collecting and analyzing water samples from urban and rural streams around Cedar Rapids. From the analysis of these samples, the streams are being polluted immensely by the people around them who do not understand the harm their actions have caused. I have realized that change and progress will not be possible if people are not educated. In order to change the world and improve the future, it all begins in a classroom. In this particular case, water quality is not a high priority in the curriculum, but the topic addresses our most critical means of existence, water. Which inspired me to develop a way for water quality to be included in the curriculum. For my research project, I developed an educational website that was easy and accessible to teachers, filled with links that addressed water quality and were applicable to lesson plans.

This past Summer I traveled with eight nursing students and three biology students to Swaziland for a May Term. We spent our days traveling with parish nurses through rural and urban towns, visiting many families in need of medical care. These families had poor nutrition and were not able to travel to receive the medical care they needed. I spent the night with one of these families and was welcomed into their home and experienced their way of life for a day. I traveled with the mother and her younger daughter to preschool. They lived at the top of a mountain and the pre-school was four kilometers south; normally the daughter completes this hike by herself every morning. After an hour of hiking we arrived at the preschool. This school was made out of concrete blocks, had two rooms, one big and one small. The big room was empty, but the smaller room was filled with educational posters on the wall and had a few desks. At the front of the room was the teacher's desk and table. The big room was used for activities. The students would learn the curriculum in the small room and then go in the big room and perform a song to help them remember. The students were very excited to have a visitor and performed all of their songs. The first song was about their arms, left vs. right, then their feet, etc. Singing is an important part of their culture and the teacher was able to incorporate the student's needs to help them understand the curriculum.

In addition to expanding the curriculum,  I also believe that every student should be challenged, not just a particular gender or race, but every student. As a female student, I have experienced what it feels like to be discouraged from the math and sciences because of my gender.  I learned at a young age that I needed to motivate and encourage myself. Because of this experience I have dedicated my time and energy to teaching young women the power of science. In the fall every year, Coe College sponsors a program, “Open Minds, Open Doors,” for female middle school students. During this program, female students attend a variety of workshops where different female employers explain their career, in either the field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics. At this program, I have participated in chemistry and physics demonstrations for the students. I enjoyed asking questions and gauging the students’ knowledge before showing them the demonstration and I received much reward from their learning experience after the demonstration.

I also believe that a student cannot be appropriately challenged if the student is not provided with the tools they need to succeed. Another experience I had in Africa was at a secondary school. We traveled with parish nurses to the rural middle school to do an annual physical. We administered physicals to one class and separated the class by boys and girls. The class was soon transformed into five stations: the first was a counselor, second was weight/height, third was an optometrist, fourth was a dentist, and fifth was a pharmacist. The counselor would talk to the students and ask about feelings, abuse, etc. At the second station, I measured and recorded the circumference of the student's bicep. The third station, the students were checked for Glaucoma. The fourth station, the students were checked for rotting teeth, cavities, gingivitis, and periodontitis. The fifth station, the pharmacist would provide the students with the medicine they needed such as: ibuprofen, vitamins, supplements, ointments, etc. The downfall of the pharmacist was that the students were putting the medicine they received in their pockets. There was no way to ensure that the vitamins would be administered appropriately, or even to the right person. Once all the students completed their physicals, there were some students who had rotting teeth which needed to be removed. The dentist grabbed a chair and placed it along the back of the room and administered Novocain and extracted certain teeth from four students. This experience made me realize how hard it is to help a student succeed. 

In this experience, the parish nurses were providing the students with medicine, but unfortunately this only happened once a year. In order for a student to be healthy and successful the student needs to be supported constantly. These students needed more than just a one-time visit. They needed someone who could provide them with their medicine and toothbrushes daily. I could only think of one person that these students would see every morning and that was their teacher. The teacher is already responsible for washing their lunch dishes and keeping them in a clean lunch bin. The teacher would now be responsible for keeping his/her students healthy enough to survive the next year. In America a teacher will not have a full class of students with rotting teeth. But there are students in the classroom who will be unable to focus on the curriculum and the teacher needs to use resources to make that student succeed. If the students in Africa need to be healthy to focus on their studies, then the teachers are the leaders who can help these students attain their health status and education.

In the classroom, I would like to provide the students with multiple experiences and resources to capture their attention and help students gain a better understanding of any conceptual idea. I believe that a conceptual understanding has more reward than any correct calculation. I would like to embrace the challenges of teaching by creating different ideas and experimenting with different learning styles. I am curious to explore the world of education, to know my students better and curious to find the best way for them to learn. As teachers we need to provide insight and we need to provide for our students with the tools they need to succeed. I would like to have the opportunity to teach because I believe that education is the most crucial element to changing the world.