Need an answer to your students’ question “Why do I need to take science? I’m not going to be a scientist!” On June 1, 2008, Brian Greene, physicist at Columbia University and author, wrote an op ed in the New York Times with your answer. Early in the two page article, he says

When we look at the wealth of opportunities hovering on the horizon — stem cells, genomic sequencing, personalized medicine, longevity research, nanoscience, brain-machine interface, quantum computers, space technology — we realize how crucial it is to cultivate a general public that can engage with scientific issues; . . . These are the standard — and enormously important — reasons many would give in explaining why science matters.

. . . The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional.

Read this article to its end and get affirmation of the efforts you are making to help your students become positive contributors to society, culture, and government.

A nice follow-up article appeared in the June 3, 2008, Times. This one conveys the experience of the author, Dennis Overbye, as he participated in the World Science Festival in New York City, organized by Brian Greene and his wife. Overbye writes that the event consisted of

. . . 46 shows, debates, demonstrations and parties spread over five days and 22 sites between Harlem and Greenwich Village . . . . Jugglers and philosophers, magicians and biologists, musicians and dancers — a feast one couldn’t hope to sample fairly.

Of course, I cannot fault Dr. Greene and Ms. Day for doing such a good job that I wanted to see much more than space and time permitted. In fact, you cannot help loving them. They are the first couple of New York science. And by their boldness and energy, they seem to have created a new cultural institution.

So keep working toward science literacy in your classrooms with your students and, in combination with the cultural changes scientists like Brian Greene are initiating, change is imminent!