Tanner Bexson

Science Autobiography
ED3602
09/05/2015

I like to think I have a very different take on science education than most teachers do.
Given this, I find it quite difficult to fully describe my own journey towards science education
and my justifications for staying with it. From the beginning, (well say junior high), I excelled
in all of my subjects. Math, art, music, English, French, science etc. None of them did I ever find
difficult; none of them did I ever find unlikable. School came naturally to me and therefore, I
naturally did well in all areas of the academics. As I got into high school and started learning the
higher level science courses (physics, chem etc.) I noticed that not much changed except for that
I was being pressured by everyone, family, teachers and friends, to try and pigeonhole my career
goal. What do you want to do? What do you want to become? I was met with questions like
this every week in grade 10-12. Ill never forget how I felt about it, because I have not changed
how I felt about it even today. I thought to myself: I love everything. Music, literature, science
and all the rest. Why do I have to settle for one thing? When I voiced this opinion I was
typically met with shrugs or haughty laughter. So I just picked the course that I excelled in the
most, physics, and enrolled in the first year Bachelor of Science program in physics at Red Deer
College. Some clarification here would go a long way I think: I would have been happy doing a
degree in literally anything; I just enjoyed being in school, I just chose physics because I did
really well in it and there were some questions I wanted answered still that my high school
teacher could not really provide.
And so I embarked on my journey through the bachelor of physics program and finished
my first two years at Red Deer College. I should mention that I do really enjoy physics. The
challenges it presents to human cognition are absolutely phenomenal to try to overcome.
Cosmology, quantum mechanics, general relativity they are all things that I believe more

Tanner Bexson
Science Autobiography
ED3602
09/05/2015

people are interested in, but lack the motivation to try to fully understand them. They truly push
the limits of human intelligence and for that, I commend physics and its progress through the
human mind.
Its at this point (the end of my stay in Red Deer) that I realized I still didnt really know
what I wanted to do with myself. I realize now it is because of the way society seemingly sets
itself up to younger people: Go to school, get a bachelors degree, go to grad school, find a job,
pay off your debt, and become a professor. By this time you might be 40 years old with a family
and have forgotten to live your life! I wanted more out of life, but I couldnt figure it out because
I thought for sure that I had to simply slip into one of these categories: Im a musician; Im an
engineer, Im a doctor etc. So I decided to broaden my scope and attach a B.Ed onto my B.Sc
and enrolled to finish both degrees at the U of L. Again, I had no idea if becoming a teacher was
really what I wanted to do, and if Im honest with myself, I still dont want to be a teacher for my
entire life, but Ill explain all of this soon
After arriving at the U of L, one of my first courses was called Liberal Education 4850
Critical Approaches to Knowledge. This course changed the way I think about everything. A
simple GLER course is all it was with 6 students taught by Professor Richard Delisle. It was a
course unlike anything I had ever experienced because it didnt teach you about quantum
mechanics or general relativity. It didnt teach you about Barre chords on a guitar or arpeggios on
a piano. It didnt teach about derivatives or integrals in mathematics. What it taught went a step
further. It taught us how to think about these topics instead of what to think about these topics. In
any other course you are subject to learn exactly what someone else thinks is the truth. To be
frank, this is complete BS. In essence, what I was taught was how to be a skeptic. I was taught

Tanner Bexson
Science Autobiography
ED3602
09/05/2015

how to think critically of absolutely everything. Especially science itself. Now this is where I
start to really understand why I want to be a science educator
I have witnessed what it would be like to be a scientists these days. The dream of
discovery and experimentation is flawed in its current stated in research today. Money, human
bias and desire, elitism, political influence and economic gain are what influence the results we
get in science today, even if it is completely wrong. This is why I chose science education over
strictly science. The problem lies within the way we bring up our scientists from the day they
step into kindergarten. How is it that an exceptional student like myself was not taught how to be
a critical thinker until my 3rd year in University? How is it that my high school teacher was not
able to answer questions I had about the very subject he was teaching? How did none of my
teachers know how to successfully teach critical thinking to us in high school? Why was I never
told that it is ok to want to try doing everything I want in my life instead of subscribing to a
specific career path? Why is the theory of evolution still taught as a myth behind the theory of
creationism is some school districts? Why is Newtons theory of gravitation taught as absolute
fact in high school when it is clearly apparent that the physical world does not work in absolutes
and the theory of general relativity has surmounted the theory of gravitation for decades? Why
are there teachers teaching subjects they have no idea how to teach in the world? Why is no one
ever critical of our university professors, as if they are the absolute paragon of perfection and
integrity? Why, I ask, are we bringing up our students the same way we have been for decades?
Question everything; subscribe to no one. This is the key to life that I have found to
enable me to become who I truly want to be. It is this notion that I want to try and push the
educational system, not only in Canada, but around the world, to take up. Teachers have probably

Tanner Bexson
Science Autobiography
ED3602
09/05/2015

the greatest influence on the entire worlds next generation, yet it is easier to become a teacher
than most any other university degree. Why?
Science education, I believe, gives me a chance to show people how to be better humans.
People are naturally curious about the world, it just takes a little guidance to help understand it.
But, anyone can teach that gravitational force is equal to Gm1m2/r. How many of us can teach
students to question whether the gravitational constant, G, is actually constant?
Lastly, I want to mention that I dont want to have my life enveloped by this. Granted, I
feel very passionate about it, I want to enjoy my life, not have the system use it for me. I want to
travel, listen to music, play music, blow things up, surf, snowboard, learn new languages, read
books, watch films, hang out with friends and anything else that gives me joy. I know I have a lot
I want to offer the next generation of students, but I also want them to know that you cant forget
to enjoy your own life as well. This is something most people forget to do but, this is the most
important lesson anyone can teach.
This is my path towards science education so far. It is probably a little ambitious and
different, but the greatest achievements in humanity were never easy and typical.