STEM texts can overemphasize the lingo,
And walls imposing build, unseen, in limbo.
We need other pages– stat!
Note from the stage is that
“Someone oughta open up a window…”
The summer always passes rapidly, but this year has seen a dramatically faster pace than the last few. I wanted to at least use this space to reflect on the conferences I have had and will have the chance to attend this year, and thus record at least two summer 2024 posts before classes begin again next month.
My first conference ended earlier this week; set in Philadelphia at the phenomenally interesting Science History Institute, the meeting had focused on the importance of storytelling in teaching science.
This non-Twitter poem builds toward a famous line from a famously Philadelphia-set musical, the historical drama 1776, in highlighting some of the themes I saw as a chemistry educator attending the conference. (The post title is intended both to note the interdisciplinarity of the conference and to imply the importance of “reading,” or story, in doing so!)
“STEM texts can overemphasize the lingo, /
And walls imposing build, unbid, in limbo.”
A common theme in this space is that of jargon, the specialized “lingo” necessary for scientists to communicate efficiently. Introductory STEM textbooks often involve a tremendous amount of challenging vocabulary without (in my experience) convincingly illustrating to students that they are doing so. This can result in unintended but challenging barriers as one is learning: “walls imposing buil[t], unbid, in limbo.”
“We need other pages– stat!”
The phrase “other pages” stands in for novel approaches: here, the use of narrative storytelling exploring the history and concepts of STEM, as discussed at the meeting. The use of “stat!” notes the importance of such creativity (and sets up Line 4’s rhyme!).
“Note from the stage is that /
‘Someone oughta open up a window…’”
The stage musical 1776 is set during the meetings of the Second Continental Congress leading up to the Declaration of Independence. The opening number is entitled “Sit Down, John,” as a generally frustrated Congress exhorts John Adams to be silent. Several lines comment on the heat wave ongoing in the city and the hope for some relief, as with: “Someone oughta open up a window!” (Lines 1, 2, and 5 in this limerick build on the memorable rhythm of this lyric.)
I’ve seen jargon characterized as a potential wall before, and it’s been intriguing to consider routes contending with such a barrier, from turning it onto its side to convert it into a bridge to (here) “opening up a window” within that wall. Borrowing that “note from the stage” seems apt, as interdisciplinary conversations can allow glimpses of other fields… and provide some fresh air.
Chemphasis 