Part III: A Life in Science

In Part III of “Letters To a Young Scientist”, the author Edward Wilson talks about his work with ants. Through all of the chapters in the section he returns to the work he did with ants but I pulled out several key topics that I think can relate to the classroom.  The first think that I want my students to understand is that their work should be distinguished. Meaning, that students should not be satisfied with being able to reiterate the ideas that I share with them. Students should look to apply and adapt the knowledge they have to make new observations. Wilson also mentioned that he was originally working in mediocrity. He was reclassifying and documenting ants in an area of the United States. It was not until he had a mentor who asked Wilson why he was classifying ants when there was so much more they did not know about them. Sometimes it is terrifying to work outside of a comfort zone but the zones need to be pushed, sometimes it take a teacher to give the little push.  

One chapter is titled, ‘ A Celebration of Audacity’. Within this chapter Wilson mentions a student he had who was unafraid to show what she loved. He had ants and their classification tattooed onto her body. Seeing this, Wilson encouraged he to apply to Harvard and made sure she was accepted. While I do not expect my students to go this far to show their love of a topic but I want to encourage students to pursue what they love. I can relate almost anything to chemistry and my goal is to try and know the students well enough to be able to incorporate what they like into the class.

Wilson also puts a huge emphasis on commitment. He found the answers he was looking for when he was studying ants. Once he was finished, he asked a new question and solved that one. Lifelong learning is essential. Commit to a subject and do not be satisfied with just knowing one thing about it. Learn the answer and then keep searching.

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