KLEIN's
GUIDE TO
SCIENCE EDUCATION
PHOTO CREDIT: Nadene Klein at Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park
Kids can't learn if they don't feel safe. That is the second level according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Even as a student teacher, one learns strategies for fostering a safe learning environment. This includes things such as a zero tolerance for bullying, access to the nurse or counselor, developing a caring community, limiting access to dangerous materials/items. We are expected to practice fire drills and tornado drills. These are things we've all experienced and consider normal.
As science teachers, we all begin the school year with our safety lessons. We whip out those Flinn Scientific Safety Contracts. We demonstrate how to properly wear goggles and make sure everyone knows where the eye wash station and other safety equipment is located. Today, helping kids feel safe isn't what was normal. I literally found myself teaching my students how to use a fire extinguisher as a weapon should an attacker enter our classroom. While we still practice fire drills, lock down drills are more frequent and more serious. We need to have time away from lessons to debrief tragedies that happen in our nation's schools. These are the new normal tasks to help our students feel safe today so that they can learn. Instead of emphasizing safety from ourselves in terms of not paying attention during labs, we are emphasizing safety from criminal acts of violence. Sadly, this is the new normal of "Safety First!" Scientifically yours, Nadene
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AuthorNadene Klein, M.Ed. has been an educator for over 25 years. She brings a passion and love for science to the classroom and through this blog to you. Archives
March 2024
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