Science in Politics

Abstract

All teachers face the classic struggle of convincing students that material learned in class is important and relevant. Often, students seem to believe the only reason to understand a topic is to pass the next test. Science teachers are fortunate because much of the material we teach comes up in everyday life. For example, the science involved in political issues is covered by daily newspapers, internet news sites, and the nightly news. Using the science in politics--particularly during a presidential election year--is a powerful method to engage students in science and demonstrate that the material they learn in class applies outside the classroom as well. As a physics teacher, I work with juniors and seniors. An occasional focus on the involvement of science in politics is particularly relevant to these students, as a number of them will vote in the November elections. Feedback from students--through both conversations and surveys--has revealed that they grasp the importance of science when it is connected with solving local, national, and global problems. Last fall, I had a group of juniors brainstorm current political issues that also had a clear reliance on some area of science. They were encouraged to consider the interdisciplinary nature of modern science. The list we developed included such topics as * quality of air and water; * disposal of solid wastes (including everyday garbage); * new energy sources of all types and better energy efficiency and conservation; * climate change (both at a fun damental understanding level, as well as preparing for future consequences); * transportation infrastructure and new types of transportation (e.g., transportation involving less pollution, hybrids, alternative energy reliance, and magnetically levitated trains); * medical treatments for diseases (e.g., stem cell issues, genetic engineering, drug research and development, prevention methods, and vaccination research) and potential safety concerns; * food supplies, including genetically engineered crops that can grow in warm and dry climates, as well as quality control and food safety; * disposal of nuclear wastes, nuclear detection, and proliferation issues; * nanotechnology as a relatively new and expanding field of study with countless anticipated applications and potential safety conerns; * implementation of educational strategies and structures based on cognitive research and learning theory to best prepare the next generation of workers; and * materials science and development of new materials. …