My journey with science has been up and down. Thinking back to my own time at primary school, I don’t remember learning anything about science other than the difference between solids, liquids and gases (and I only remember that because the new interactive whiteboards had just arrived at school and we got to play a new science game). Apart from that it’s a blank. I obviously learnt the information at some stage during my primary school years but I just can’t remember it.
Moving into secondary school, my relationship with science seemed to change every time I had a different teacher. Year 7 started off strong, years 8 and 9 were ok, my GCSE years were a hit, and I got an A* in my exam. Thinking all would be ok and that I clearly had a love of science I took physics up to A Level. My teacher was unenthusiastic and didn’t inspire the love of learning I had enjoyed so much in the years before. I lost sight of that love of science.
All I’ve taken forward from those A Level years was a dislike of physics, memories of struggling through the forces topic and an understanding that no matter what my physics teacher told us, pasta was not meant to be crunched (that’s a story for another time*).
When I left secondary school and headed off to university to study illustration I thought I’d never be thinking about science lessons again. How wrong was I! It’s funny to think of the full circle I’ve come with science. Here I am, about to finish my Primary PGCE with a Primary Science Enhancement Award and a passion for teaching active science lessons.