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WEEK of January 22, 2007 |
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Inside
a Middle School Science Class: by Jeffrey Stanley “Did you do the homework?” asked Middle School science teacher Kevin Cooney as his sixth grade class filed into the classroom and took their seats. “No! It made absolutely no sense to me,” answered one exasperated student, while a few others proudly called out their answers. Today was a lab day but first they needed to discuss the previous night’s homework. “Did you do the homework?” repeated Mr. Cooney. “We’re going talk about it.” “Let’s see what the confusion was here,” he continued. “A lot of you have no excuses.” Mr. Cooney, in a brown jacket and white corduroy pants, his deep and melodious voice commanding attention like a church organ, paced energetically in front of the room.
“The first question,” he intoned. “How does an ion form?” “When an atom gives up or gains an electron!” “That’s right, Selena.” The teacher moved to the periodic table and pointed to the element sodium. “If sodium loses an electron what kind of charge does it have?” “Positive,” called out another student. “That’s right, Tim.” “But I just don’t get it,” said another student. “Okay, remember...” Mr. Cooney said, moving to the whiteboard. Soon the space was filled with terminology and a green marker drawing of an atom resembling a tiny solar system with electrons orbiting a nucleus. “How many electrons does oxygen need, Amara?” “Two.” “Right. Why does oxygen need two?” “Because it needs a full layer.” “That’s right.” Mr. Cooney moved back to the periodic table. “We call it the periodic table because the whole pattern repeats again and again.” “Can carbon react with itself?” another student asked sheepishly. “Sure. All the time. Can you see a carbon atom?” “No.” “What about a billion carbon atoms, what would that look like? It’s something you see every day.” “It’s the very tip of a pencil,” said one quick student. “Exactly. When you write some of the atoms break off and stay on the paper.”
Mr. Cooney, now in his second semester at BFS, came here in the fall from St. Bernard’s boys’ school in Manhattan. A graduate of the University of California with a master’s degree from Columbia University, he is also a painter. His favorite part of teaching science to Middle Schoolers is their “curiosity about the world and their creativity.” The classroom conversation flowed from a discussion of ionic compounds to electrical currents to a brief history of the battery. “Does anyone know who invented the battery?” Mr. Cooney asked. “Battery! Battery!” various students called out the battery inventor’s presumed surname. “Count Volta. From which we get the word volt.” “Aren’t we doing a lab today?” asked one student, her interest in the homework and batteries waning. “Yes, as soon as we get through the homework.” Soon the lab had begun and students were assembling water and methane molecules from small metal springs representing ionic or covalent bonds. Students occasionally hopped up to chase after runaway atoms rolling across the floor. They worked noisily in pairs, forming their own bonds, as their teacher cruised the room offering tips and inspecting their work. “Excellent. Perfect.” |
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