Date: August 1st, 2012

Title: Dare To Do Difficult Things

Podcaster:Manoharan Karthigasu

Link:www.emaginativeteacher.com

Description:Recent reports from Universities about the students opting for easier courses that takes less time and provides less challenge is deeply concerning. My personal experience with K12 schools also shows patterns of the same trend. Seems like there are many youngsters among us who avoid trying difficult things. Unfortunately Maths and Science often gets the tag of being too difficult. I am not going to challenge that statement, teaching and understanding Mathematics that took hundreds of years to develop in a single semester is indeed daunting. But should we give up and not try? Should we stop doing things that are too difficult? It’s time we dare to do difficult things.

Dedicated to: My wife,whose encouragements has helped me overcome many difficult things in life…

Bio: My name is Manoharan Karthigasu and I am passionate about many things in life. I‘m married, with an amazing wife and 2 lovable kids. They are my first passion. Sci-Fi, Books, Tennis, Squash, Board/Card Games, Photography and a dose of theoretical physics and astronomy fills the rest of my time. But at heart, I am teacher, I love learning, and I love to spread that passion..

Today’s Sponsor: “This episode of 365 days of astronomy was sponsored by iTelescope.net – Expanding your horizons in astronomy today. The premier on-demand telescope network, at dark sky sites in Spain, New Mexico and Siding Spring, Australia.”

Transcript:
It is natural for us as humans to seek the path of least resistance. We know at times, in order to succeed, we need to persevere and attempt the difficult things that life throws at us.

A recent report from Universities about the students opting for easier courses that takes less time and less challenging is deeply concerning. My personal experience with K12 schools also has patterns of the same trend. Seems like there are many youngsters among us who avoid trying difficult things. Unfortunately Mathematics and Science often gets the tag of being too difficult and less enjoyable. I am not going to challenge the above statement, teaching and comprehending Mathematics that took hundreds of years to develop in a single semester is indeed daunting. But should we give up and not try? Should we stop doing things that poses some challenges? It’s time we dare others and ourselves to do difficult things.

These past two months has been an exciting month for science in general with CERN announcing its findings on the Higgs Boson and the impending landing of NASA’s most sophisticated vehicle, Curiosity on Mars. Not to mention the recent amazing Venus transit across the sun. I used my class time to watch the transit together with my class, explaining the finer details of the rare event. Most were not interested, they were more preoccupied with their MacBook’s. In my Math class I shared with them the amazing plan of landing Curiosity on Mars and the possible equations being used for achieve this. Still, it was very challenging to win their hearts and minds towards science and astronomy. Even an astronomy club lured with an expensive telescope only attracted the interest of one student. Well, I rest my case. 

The Digital Natives with all the amazing gadgets at their disposal I believe often are distracted and desensitized to things around them. Engrossed in their games and social networks they may be blinded or not aware to how far we’ve come in the last fifty years. Being born in in the late 60’s myself, I was fortunate to witness the amazing transition that we’ve made technologically as a species. Much we have learnt, yet there is so much more that is still mysterious. It has been difficult and it took the efforts of many men and women who persevered and did not give up.

The interest in Science is lacking among the young generation today. This is a serious issue. Where are the new generation of scientist and mathematicians are going to come from? I believe this is due to two major reasons.

Firstly, in schools we are teaching kids to pass standardized exams way too early and it continues through college. Their sense wonder and awe are crushed, “yes us the adults” very early in their school lives. Almost all boys I know were once amazed and fascinated by dinosaurs and planets and we suck that passion right out of them. Our learning institutions are in need for an overhaul. We are teaching to tests and that’s the sad state of our schools.

Secondly, we are educating the mind but not the character. Doing difficult things are not easy. Doing Science and Math is not easy at times, and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Then again, excelling in whatever we choose to do requires patience and hard work. We need to mold their character and challenge them to do hard things. I personally struggled with Mathematics at school, yet my desire to understand how the world works kept me going at it. 

These are amazing times to be alive, and I glad I lived to see it. We cannot let our youngsters off with mediocrity. We need to inspire them to do greater things than us. I have 2 young kids at home myself, I don’t want them to be drowned in tests and lose the passion, wonder and awe of learning.

End of podcast:

365 Days of Astronomy
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