(33.) N is for Nature

(33.) N is for Nature

“To see a World in a grain of sand, and a Heaven in a wild flower.” (William Blake). If there is a mortal sin in science education, it would be killing a student’s natural wonder at the world: Taking art out of science; Reducing creation’s miraculous complexity to an abstract system of analysis; Replacing one’s rightful awe with a scientific method; Limiting knowledge to mere technical information. Francis Bacon provided a wonder-full testimonial that should be at the threshold of every science classroom/lab: “It is as if the Divine Majesty took delight to hide his works, in order to have them found out; and as if kings could not have a greater honour than to be God’s play-fellows in that game.” Unpredictable miracles are waiting to be discovered around every corner, and all we have to do is open our eyes and playfully, skillfully pay attention.

Discovery science assumes that creation has both order and mystery, the tangible and the intangible, “all things seen and unseen.” So, intuition and imagination are just as important as logic and reason; the poetic is on equal footing with the analytic; the disciplined fact-gatherer holds hands with the creative fantasy-lover. Frontier science like this is not held captive to quantifiable or articulate knowledge, since in fact creation itself communicates quite effectively without any words or numbers at all. (Psalm 19).

As hinted at by Bacon earlier, this science class is fit for a king: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25:2). One could say that these are the royal marching orders for every science teacher: Get their feet wet, hands dirty, curiosity sparked, logic tested, facts ordered, objects measured,imagination inspired, and discover what God has hidden in his works.