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Reproduced with permission from the Imperial Valley Press. Originally published 5/8/98.
Our Opinion:
Opening the lab door wider
Kids are, by nature, scientists. From the moment they learn to walk, one of their first reflexes is to walk out of the house and touch and explore the world.
But for some children, the process of exploration ends, or at least slows, when they begin learning about the world through books and books alone.
Imperial County schools now have the unique opportunity to allow students to explore the world of science.
The El Centro (elementary) School District recently received a $3.3 million grant to continue implementing an inquiry-based approach to teaching science.
The district piloted the highly successful program three years ago in two of its schools. With awarding of the grant the district has expressed its desire to help other local school districts implement the program.
Called the Valle Imperial Project, the program emphasizes exploration, experimentation, data collection and recording. The grant will provide all interested area schools with hands-on science kits and pay for the training of local teachers who wish to learn the new approach.
Students in the program learn to formulate scientific questions and discover answers for themselves. Because their knowledge does not come from books alone, they are able to use their imaginations when doing experiments using the provided science kits.
Kudos to those who designed the program and those who applied for the grants. Many of our children in the Imperial Valley may not have the resources at home that students have elsewhere. Such grants even the score a bit for our kids.
While public education has been getting a lot of negative publicity in recent years, we think our local educators are probably among the most dedicated in the nation. And considering the poverty that plagues much of the Imperial Valley, we need our educators to be just that.
The El Centro district could indeed pave the way for all local schools to create a more challenging environment for our children to learn science. We commend their efforts of seeking more ways to better prepare their students and hope that more of our schools follow their lead.
And the idea of sharing resources is one we couldn't encourage more. The Imperial Valley needs to come together as a united force more often, for the sake of our kids if nothing else. This is one giant leap in that direction.
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