James Barron, Chemistry teacher at Bronx Theatre High School in Bronx, NY

James is a part of the SSP Fellows Program, funded by Intel, which provides training to selected U.S. science and math teachers who serve under-resourced students, to enable interested and motivated students to perform high-quality independent scientific research.

Hi Inspired Readers,

I will be blogging about what science means to me, and what I do to attract more students to pursue science careers. 

Science starts at home! Can you remember the first time when you disassembled a game console or used a magnifying glass to observe the tiniest animal near your feet?  My first experiment as a child was taking apart and reassembling my sister’s doll after trying to figure out why it spoke.  Well, this is what science is about!  As a science teacher in Bronx, New York, I search for new meaningful ideas to attract students to learn about science.  Learning science doesn’t always happen in the classroom, but at places where you are free to explore, and conduct experiments.  This is what attracted me to science but more importantly working with young adults who believe science is not fun.  Some of the challenges I face is changing student’s perception of science and overcoming student’s fear that it is a difficult subject to master. 

In high school, I was encouraged to pursue architecture or automotive mechanics, but it wasn’t until I took a photography class that I realized that I was really interested chemistry.  Now, I hope to encourage students that science is fun.  The first five days of school, I always do several demonstrations that wow the kids and let their imaginations run wild.  Getting the kids out of the classroom is always the hardest when doing experiments but also the most rewarding and fun.

Every year, kids ask the same questions the first day, “when do we get to blow up things?” And my response is: the first day of lab.   They never believe that I would allow them to do that kind of experiment. As a teacher, I encourage kids to participate in my after-school robotics or web design program.  Kids get to learn to build robots that can be controlled using their cell phone, as well as engineering concepts and computer programming skills.  The goal is to have kids discover new interests, but more importantly give them an outlet to socialize and learn from each other outside of the classroom.

This school year, I plan to introduce students to an after-school science research program by allowing them to discover real issues with the New York City Hudson River.  Each kid will have an opportunity to speak with a scientist, visit science research facilities, but more importantly explore conduct real-application research at the school.

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