Science: Are Students Interested?

The outreach of science displayed graphically. (Wikimedia Commons)

We all know the feeling of being in biology class freshman year. The struggle to grasp certain topics, the seemingly endless slides of notes, and the horrors of unit tests. For some, however, all of this is lessened by their interest in the subject, and science in general. Some students love science and its applications to everyday life. Some students want to pursue careers in science-related fields. Some students love science so much that they even go as far to take all of the science classes offered at BHS. 

Regardless of your position on science, the trend of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related majors in colleges has increased over the past few years. In 2020, degrees in Biology and Biomedical Sciences increased 47%, Physical Sciences increased 31%, and Computer and Information Sciences increased a whopping 245% (Nietzel). However, in BHS, the advent of dual enrollment classes with LCCC lowered the credit requirements for science, reducing enrollment in science classes.

“This year is lower than normal…Honors Chemistry has 20 per class…” said Mrs. Sirota.

“Last year there was not a lot of upper-level [science] electives offered,” said Mr. Dodge.

Science could best be described as a method of describing natural phenomena. The vast majority of natural events, and nature itself, can be described with science, such as how earthquakes are caused by movements in tectonic plates, or how a protein can change shapes to perform functions essential to life. Humans have answered century-old questions about nature with science, such as how old our planet is, and how life lives. 

“Science is how we make life better,” stated Mrs. Sirota.

However interested you may be, the student body overall seems to have taken mixed interests in science. 

“I think science is a very interesting subject and very broad…everyone should be able to find something they’re interested in,” said Bella Pistoia.

“I like science but I don’t think I’m going to pursue it as a career,” stated Camden Wasielewski.

University enrollment for science-related fields has seen some increase over the past few years. For example, at Bloomsburg University, the amount of Bachelor’s Degrees awarded in Nursing, Psychology, and General Biological Sciences have seen increases between 2012 and 2021, and Bachelors’ Degrees awarded at Bucknell University in Animal Behavior, Information Sciences, and Psychology have increased between 2012 and 2022 (Data USA). Careers in STEM are highly recommended in today’s world. In fact, on CareerProfiles’ Top 100 careers, the top 10 are all STEM-related careers.

“In general, STEM fields are higher paying,” said Mrs. Sirota.

“There are a lot of job opportunities,” said Mr. Dodge.

This uptake in scientific interest can only mean improvement for the world, as science studies the inner machinations of how the world works. People should take an interest in science- it improves our lives little by little with each discovery and innovation. New discoveries could change our lives and the lives of future generations in ways we can’t even begin to imagine.

“[Science] is more versatile than people think and it’s the single most important thing for future innovation,” explained Camden Wasielewski.

“If you look at death rates 200 years ago, 50% of children would die before the age of 5. [Science] is the reason we don’t have that kind of death rate anymore… we’ve figured out how to make people healthier, how to cure diseases…” stated Mrs. Sirota.

“Medicine is generational and has improved so much over the years due to scientific breakthroughs,” commented Bella Pistoia.

“Pretty much everything that we take for granted in terms of technology comes from science… scientists somewhere came up with an idea, and some engineer worked with it,” explained Mr. Dodge.

As stated by these people, the innovations scientific exploration provides improve our lives significantly. A large portion of our everyday lives comes from science, from biochemistry and nutrition in the food you eat and how you digest and use it, to geology and magnetology in how our planet can support life, to computer science and electronics in the technology we use on a daily basis. And if you’re one of those people who finds science completely boring, I encourage you to explore it. You may find it more interesting than you think.

Sources

“Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.” Data USA, datausa.io/profile/university/bloomsburg-university-of-pennsylvania. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

“Bucknell University.” Data USA, datausa.io/profile/university/bucknell-university. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Nietzel, Michael T. “The Five Most Significant Ten-Year Trends in College Majors.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Oct. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2022/07/24/the-five-most-significant-ten-year-trends-in-college-majors/.

“Top 100 Careers.” Explore the Top 100 Careers, 2024, www.careerprofiles.info/top-100-careers.html.