When I was in high school, I remember friends who were jealous that my parents knew math and science – since obviously that meant I could ask them for help with my homework. What my friends didn’t know was that my parents treated the most straightforward question as an invitation to a freewheeling Socratic dialogue of no less than 30 minutes. While I would have been happy just to finish my assignment with time to watch some TV, my parents wanted me to understand how things worked. Isn’t it funny how we do to our kids the very things our…
The Science Creative Quarterly
By janetdstemwedel
Janet D. Stemwedel is a former physical chemist who, despite her status as a card-carrying philosopher (and assistant professor of same at San Jose State University), cannot seem to leave science alone. Her teaching and research focus on issues in the philosophy of science and responsible conduct of scientific research (issues about which she also blogs about at scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience). Where she really rolls up her sleeves to talk science, however, is in the parenting of her children (currently ages 5 and 7).