Monk Wisdom Series ; Fun in Science

I started the Science Club in 2004 to help my son and a bunch of friends understand the extensive,amazing and distinct character of learning about the matter around us.

It had seemed to me then, that we spent entirely too much of our education on the accumulation of unusable and disjointed facts. I felt our goal should not be knowledge for academic sake but develop the skill of using knowledge to solve problems, to spend our early years of education learning “how to think” and not “what to think”.

I have approached my mission with tools and the passion I have. My own passion for continuous learning and a sense of giving back to the kids around us sparked my interest. I am still grateful for these tools my teachers helped me shape. As I still learn and continue to make so many mistakes, that a sense of humility is sometimes all that stands between me and the vast ocean of knowledge that exists around us. Today, technology has helped us see how minuscule we are in this vast ocean.

The guiding principles or credentials for my FUN Science Club are many and extremely different from what one might expect from a mainstream educational perspective.

I want my Science Club to represent those who do not thrive in traditional school settings. Having studied in India in a traditional school where mugging up and memorizing was the hallmark of a bright kid, I want FUN Science Club to be the pool of knowledge where kids can touch and feel the marvels of this universe.

My vision for the FUN Science Club is to continually amaze even the most cynical educators with its ability to create an enthusiasm to learn that empowers even the most reluctant children.

Kids love to learn. This is no secret. The idea of Fun Science Club is to get them excited and then we get out of the way.

Learning is what our species does and does well. Some kids love it, the way they engage, some others are constantly trying to find new ways to engage. Our job as educators is to find them the right engagement model

What the Science Club will do is to remind kids how much fun it is to figure stuff out. Any stuff. Not just science but history, and literature and social studies as well.

My statement is "Science is a FUN way of approaching the unknown” can be applied to approach any subject.

I have heard all of the lamentations about the miserable state of our
Economy and its impact on education. Impact on education is an impact on our children. I am personally seeing and smelling the decay in many of our schools.

And yet I remember the story of the little boy in Indonesia who, after the recent Tsunami wandered out onto the desolate beach and discovered the shore strewn with the still live bodies of millions of starfish that had been stranded there to die. The boy reached down and flung one into the safety of the water and then another and another. When a old man approached him and kindly offered the wisdom of son you will never be able to save all these poor starfish the boy paused looking at him and then replied, no sir I guess I can’t but I can save this one and returned to his task. The old man said nothing and joined the boy in returning the creatures to the sea.

Soon others joined them, then hundreds until all of the starfish had been rescued. Like that little boy I have no concern of the magnitude of the project I am only concerned with what I can do..http://funscienceclub.webs.com/

The disciple opened his eyes and saw the amber skies from far away slowly descending over him as the dream faded and reality dawned. He saw the Master in his amber suit disappearing into the horizon.