08.12.2026 - Wednesday - Recap

 08.12.2026 .  - Wednesday - Day One

     Science and Math was both an introduction to class procedures and a practical introduction to how those procedures look each day. The most important routines were the seating (groups), the interactive student notebooks, and today’s mini-labs meant to give a preview on what a typical day might cover.

     In science we had a few notes that began with supplies but quickly covered a “fact.” “The universe is, about, 14 billion years old.” Most students dutifully wrote this but I wanted to remind students that science is not a collection of facts. Facts are useful and our text book is replete with facts yet that is not science. I once taught a wonderful student who knew every element on the Periodic Table by symbol, name and mass. When I worked as a computer programmer with chemists, at Chevron Corporation, the chemists would, often, look up information on elements and compounds using the Periodic Table. While knowing all of the “facts” about elements is fun and useful, it is absolutely not “Science.” Science is a way of problem-solving. A way of thinking. A way to work in teams and with peers to solve problems and uncover deeper truths about the nature of reality.

      A simple Science experiment, today, was the “Golf Ball Bounce” experiment. We used it not only because I enjoy a good round of golf, but because it will introduce the students to a important concepts in science; variables and experimental error. (Along with unit conversions.) 

      In math the goal was similar; introduce students to problem-solving in a small team while addressing a question that seems simple, at first. “How many different ways can a manager, in baseball, arrange nine different players in a batting order?” The problem-solving includes drawing a diagram or picture; solving a simpler question that is similar. Finally; finding a pattern. 

     Today’s introduction, in all classes, introduced procedures and routines while giving a small taste of what a typical day might include. Science and Math are a process and way of understanding our complex universe. On to a year of discovery ….