Towards the end of 2015, as a grade nine student, I was forced to choose the subjects that I would take for the rest of my school career, which just happen to determine what I will and will not be able to study post high school. But, this didn't really scare me all that much. I knew I would take drama, Hebrew and history, in addition to the compulsory maths, Afrikaans or Zulu, English and life orientation. At the time, I decided I'd take the easy way out, and not choose science.
A couple of months later, for one of my parents' many annual conferences, they brought out a lecturer from America, Dr Chris Emdin, who happens to be a professor at Columbia University as well as an inspiring teacher, who uses hip-hop music to teach inner city kids science in New York. While I sat at dinner with him and my family, he asked what subjects I had decided to take, and I was embarrassed to leave science off of my list.
As the subject choice deadline crept up on me, my decision felt less and less like the right one. But why? I dreaded science lessons and could not wait for the day I no longer had this massive weight resting on my shoulders, haunting my every move. (Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration.)
Here is the method behind my madness:
Biology was never an option, as I am one of the most squeamish people I know, if not the most. So, although studying medicine has never been on the cards, I don't have a clue about what I'd like to study after school, and I wanted to keep my options open.
I wanted to push myself. I have always been ambitious and have always liked a challenge - I definitely consider science to be one, especially because my brain is more linguistically wired. But, I know the satisfying feeling of understanding a concept and all of it finally making sense, and getting so excited that the Periodic Table seems like one of the most ingenious creations in the world (which it probably is). I also wanted to change my default setting from wanting a full house of distinctions to achieving a well-rounded education, as well as stimulating content rather than easy content.
But, above all, to put it simply: science is everything. On the most basic of levels, it is how the world works: it explains when anything happens in nature, why it happens and how it happens, and is this one reason not enough on its own? Why should one not want to learn about and at least try to understand the crazy, beautiful world we live in, even a little bit. Not all of us can be scientists and neurosurgeons and develop ground-breaking theories, but if we have the chance to understand the world's wonders slightly better, what possible reason do we have not to take it? Even if that means not getting a distinction in matric, because - believe it or not - life after matric does not depend on it.
Over and above the vital role that science plays in our daily lives, why should girls feel that taking science is unnecessary, thus presuming the guys will be the actuaries and rocket scientists? Why are girls not encouraged to take science? Why do we feel there is no place for us in this field? While I can't answer on behalf of the female population, I can say I am proud to be one of five girls in my science class, and sometimes it's nice to give the boys a run for their money.
So, it's still daunting for me, it stresses me out and sometimes it makes me want to cry out of sheer frustration. But I know my reasons for taking the subject, and I know they are the right ones. I value how science has taught me how to think critically and analytically. I know how to question a seemingly legitimate article that appears on social media, as well as check my sources before making an empty statement. Furthermore, it is an attitude that I have since tried to extend beyond my academics, and to my life as a whole.
I most likely won't end up in a career revolving around science, but as I've now discovered, this isn't the only reason for taking science as a subject. So, not only will I take science for the rest of my high school career, but I also encourage as many students as possible, girls especially, to take it - even if it occasionally makes you want to cry.
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