Last Blog

I am in eighth grade this year so this will be my last year of blogging and science class with Mrs.G. Next year I will start high school but I do not think the classes will be that difficult because I have been taking high school science for three years. Earth and Environmental science can be challenging, but I worked through it the whole year. Even if I had not studied for the final I think I still would have done well. Any final exam is just the basic concepts and topic taught throughout the year. In my opinion, it is almost like every single day of the school year is preparation for the final. While taking the final, I understood all the topics and processes involved with picking the right answer choice. This final made me have to apply my knowledge of the topic to the questions. After taking the final I felt good and this class will be adequate preparation if I choose to take this class again in high school.

It is hard to physically do a lab pertaining to some of the topics taught this year. It is not possible for us to just go through the Earth's layers to see the order or take a field trip to the mid-ocean ridge.  A lot of labs we did this year only simulated the processes that occurred on or in the Earth. The lab that most prepared me in the sense of lab analyzation was the soil sample lab. This lab helped me not only understand the components that make up soil but also the proper way to organize and set up a lab analysis. Before this lab, I had some prior knowledge but this lab helped me actually learn how to create data tables, charts, and written conclusions in a more hands-on way.

The other activity I enjoyed doing was much more recent. In our unit about space, one concept that was important to master was the order of the moon phases. Before doing the Oreo cookie moon phase lab, I did not really grasp the concept. Seeing the phases all laid out helped me visualize how it actually might look on Earth. This activity also helped me on the final because it helped me once again see it more clearly in my head.

Earth and Environmental Science was not my favorite science class I have taken at WAAS. It was not as hands on as some of the other classes such as Biology and Chemistry. I also feel as though there was more information being covered this year compared to past years. I have acquired knowledge on a broader range of topics that have to do with daily life and the past. I have learned now how my actions can affect the environment in both positive and negative ways.

My thoughts on science have changed in the way I felt while taking the class. At the beginning of the year, I was excited. I wanted to learn about the world around me. I loved science and the school I attended. As the year went on though, my opinion of science as a whole changed in a negative way as well as the respect I had for it and the respect I had for the school I attended. I was no longer excited to learn  when I walked in the doors. The same joy for learning I had in sixth grade disappeared. Not because of the changing topics but the changing attitudes of the person teaching these topics. So much can change in two years which is one of the most important life lessons I learned while taking this class.

Science next year will hopefully allow me to enjoy learning again and this is what I am most looking forward to. To be honest I do not know what I need to improve on for next year. Each week I have worked on something to improve on and it seems to be working. The main goals I have for next year is to do my possible best and rekindle the love for learning I lost this year. I am not considering pursuing a career in science but hopefully, next year I will have a better grasp on some of the topics that could not be taught at WAAS.

My advice to the future classes taking Earth and Environmental is to study hard and stay on top of things. This is important in this class because there is more information this year than any other year. Another important piece of advice I took back from this year is to enjoy a subject if you truly love it no matter how a teacher may negatively affect your opinion of it.  I am glad this is my last blog because it represents my time at WAAS being finished.