Science requirement classes need to be re-evaluated

posted November 9, 2009

by Christine Koepnick of Campanile

For freshmen students at Palo Alto High School, they spend the year transitioning from middle school into high school. However, after the first year--if not sooner-- students are expected to be able to have the ability to cope with large amounts of homework, multiple tests and quizzes within a week and the demands of the more advanced curriculum. While grades are important no matter what year a student is in,

It is the beginning of sophomore year, when grades are first taken into account for state schools. Students only have minor authority when it comes to deciding their classes because they have to meet certain requirements. At Paly, students are required to complete two years of lab science, with options including biology, chemistry and physics.

One course which should be offered as a core science class is environmental science.

The grade point average for many students is especially important and for students who decide to take advanced classes the decision can prove to be stressful and sometimes an unfortunate mistake.

While students for the most part are given the opportunity to decide which math and English lanes they enter, and the electives they want to take, there are certain requirements at Paly that deter students from having complete control over their classes; thus not leaving the fate of their grades entirely upon their personal decisions to take certain classes.

While arguing that a certain course is too difficult or challenging may be popular among students, a more important reason why an additional required course, such as environmental science, should be added to the requirements list for science is because of its importance in our future. The study of environmental science would benefit any student who takes the class because of the understanding they gain about how their decisions affect the environment and how they can prevent such impacts from taking place.

For most students, the material will be easier to comprehend because they can use real life examples instead of conducting simulated labs in chemistry or physics. Environmental science is a topic that relates to the past, now and the future. We are currently living in a generation that faces pollution, species extinction, deforestation and climate change. By ignoring the consequences of our actions we are further accelerating these outcomes. However, environmental science brings some much needed attention to these developing issues and how we can change our future to have a more promising outlook.

Senior Lauren Traube, who is currently enrolled in Advanced Placement Environmental science, agrees that environmental science is a class that allows students to make connections between what they learn in class and current events.The ability for students to apply what they learn inside the classroom to the real world also makes the topics learned in class more interesting.

"When we talk about things like global warming or acid rain and its effects, we can relate it to current events and in response, change the way we live to help improve the situation," Traube said. "We get to see how events are all linked together, but we also learn about prevention and initiatives we can take as individuals and communities."

As of right now, there is more and more attention being promoted towards growing concerns about global warming. In response to growing concerns and interest, more and more jobs have been created to combat, prevent and understand the causes of global warming and climate change.

Therefore, if students are introduced to the field of environmental science they may also benefit in the future with the opportunity to pursue a career in the environmental science field, possibly playing an influential role in the prevention of global warming.

Environmental Science is a topic that will never become outdated, there are and always will be situations occurring throughout the world that can only be remedied with information gained in an environmental science class.

While there are some occupations that require knowledge and experience in the fields of in chemistry, physics and the biology, the classes should remain viable options for students to take in high school versus college, other classes, such as environmental science should gain more acclaim because of there paramount importance to the world's future.