Stump the Scientist
Answering the questions only eight-year-olds can ask
2012 · Lenses: Words, Narrative, Public Weirdness, Actual Sincerity · Roles: Writing
After college, I spent seven years as an elementary school science teacher. I taught enrichment programs at over a hundred LA-area schools, and at the end of each of my classes, I'd do an activity I called "stump the scientist" where kids would ask me questions, trying to find one I didn't know the answer to. I'd write down the best questions, research the answers and answer them the following week.
I wrote a piece about this attempt to foster curiosity, and it was featured in a now-defunct literary journal called Morkan's Horse. You can click below to read it.