The growth of science education at the elementary and high school level may be the result of the explosive growth of knowledge in the various scientific fields or the result of younger students’ ability to access more information. Either way, materials for science education are prepared for younger and younger students.
School
Text books are available for all grades with the very lowest grades receiving material on preparation for science education. Today’s children are expected to observe their surroundings and understand some of the scientific principles that they see everyday. The biology of butterflies, the chemistry of cake baking, and the geology of the neighborhood park are all things that even very young children can understand. Teachers are trained to expand their students’ creativity in scientific areas and use technology to increase their understanding.
Science in lower grades includes information that is practical for the lives of the young students. They learn about the dangers of drugs and smoking as well as about living with common ailments like asthma.
Home
Most parents aren’t prepared to answer the question asked by their science-savvy children, but that should not be a barrier to continuing their science education after school. There are many books available to help parents communicate scientific information to the youngest of children or to the more advanced high school students.
Even more information is available online. Entire courses and tutorials are accessible for free. Best of all, these resources have reliable content and current information. Homework help can also be found easily online. This will enable parents to help other parents who feel they are over their heads to keep their children from falling behind in their school work and to take part in their science homework as easily as in their math or English work.
Remember that students can handle the theoretical aspects of science after they reach the high school level. For younger children, keep it practical to keep it in their grasp.
