“Wait, what?” having past-tense dismissèd /
(Giving up on the stories unlisted), /
These posts can revisit– /
To questions exhibit– /
A chem-course path now reminiscèd.
This is not a precisely timed anniversary post, for this website. At the same time, I strongly associate the earliest posts with an eventful March 2020, so it’s been on my mind recently. It’s difficult to believe it’s been six years since then. This is a non-NaPoWriMo poem that addresses a big-picture theme, so I’ll give it more words than I typically do.
“‘Wait, what?’ having past-tense dismissèd /
(Giving up on the stories unlisted)…”
In her foreword to The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015, guest editor Rebecca Skloot comments insightfully on the importance of the “Wait, what?” encounter: the moment when someone hears an unexpected piece of information, then takes the time to follow up (“wait…”) and clarify (“…what?”). Skloot states that, in her role as a science journalist, such pauses can lead to insights that are immensely valuable. (Famously, the research process that led to Skloot’s award-winning book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks arose from a question she began asking in high school.)
Something I’ve discussed in the past is the challenging way in which science curricula introduce such moments but move past them seemingly intentionally– certainly, at a minimum, resolutely!
My go-to example is always the statement that the metric system was introduced in the midst of the French Revolution: a tangential comment in many intro STEM books’ first chapter. That’s a fascinating point that would benefit from discussion. However, by the next paragraph (if not the next sentence), students are tasked with learning and applying all the metric prefixes. What’s more, those applications are the objectives that will show up on the end-of-chapter assessments and exams.
In terms of my own experience, I note an unintentional challenge of dismissing the stories and histories behind each concept (“giving up on the stories unlisted”).
“These posts will revisit– /
To questions exhibit– /
A chem-course path now reminiscèd.”
Having seen this effect now from both sides of the teaching lectern, I understand how it happens. Intro STEM courses are also classified as service courses, which by definition need to cover a wide range of concepts and techniques for a wide range of post-graduate pathways. I do think, though, that it’s worth directly acknowledging that the scientific stories that go unacknowledged in purely content-based STEM courses are quite compelling.
I retroactively consider the stepwise path with which I’ve approached my interest in the overlap of science and writing. I saw developing fluency in the “language” in which the questions were expressed as a prerequisite step for writing more creatively about the content. Moreover, knowing myself, it’s difficult to imagine how I would’ve found a more concerted route, as a student.
I’ve thus felt fortunate over the past six years to have a space where I can revisit some of those questions (i.e., the “chem-course path now reminiscèd”). I likewise look forward to the road ahead.
Chemphasis 