FORYOURCONSIDERATION
BY JEFF HESTER
Gifts
to the
future
Amateur astronomy
can change lives.
Y
ou amateur astrono-
mers out there are an
odd lot. (I get to say
that because I started
out as an amateur
myself.) Think about it. You
dump tons of time and money
into telescopes, cameras, and
the like. Every chance you get,
you head off into the hinterland
where you sit up all night, freez-
ing your keister, and stare into
an eyepiece to catch a glance of
some ghostly apparition. Your
family thinks you are nuts.
Aren’t the spectacular pictures
on Google Images enough?
Of course they aren’t!
Astronomy is a passion, and that
Messier collection means some-
thing. I understand that. But
where did your passion come
from? What got you hooked?
I’m going to hazard a guess that
it didn’t have much to do with a
classroom sage on a stage. Don’t
get me wrong, classrooms are
important. After a quarter-
century of teaching, at least I
hope they are. But as a student,
my own attitudes and interests
had more impact on what I got
out of a class than anything a
teacher or professor said.
Experiences are what matter.
Since time immemorial, uni-
versity faculty members have
bemoaned the “sorry state of
affairs with today’s students.”
How is it possible, we astronomy
professors ask, that after years
of math classes, students can’t
figure out a simple inverse-
square law? I’m going to go out
A beautiful deep-sky object like the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), viewed at a star paty with a moderate-size telescope, can spark people
to see the universe in a new way. Just one telescopic look has altered the future of many young folks. BOB FERA
on a limb and say that maybe
those thousand hours or so sit-
ting in math classrooms could
have been better spent. Granted,
if you don’t own a tool, you can’t
use it. But if you don’t need a
tool for something you care
about, why bother to pick it up?
None of this surprises teach-
ers who are worth their salt.
When counseling undergradu-
ates, I made it a point to discuss
what college is about: “You
aren’t really here to get a job or
even a degree. You certainly
aren’t here to collect A’s, or at
least I hope not. What you are
here for is to start becoming
who you will be for the rest of
your life!” To quote Plutarch
(a.d. 46–120): “The mind is not
a vessel that needs filling, but
wood that needs igniting.”
What is new is a growing
understanding of what’s going
on behind the curtain as we
learn, deep inside our brains.
The sum total of your life’s
experiences blends together into
your own unique internal
model of the world, different
from that of any other person.
Your brain uses that ever-
changing internal model to
construct the predictions and
simulations that become your
conscious reality. That internal
model is what largely makes
you you.
It’s good that we are coming
to better understand this stuff,
because the times, they are
a-changing. Watch an IBM
Watson commercial, catch a
self-driving cab, or read a news
story written by a computer.
Day after day, more and more
jobs are being taken over by new
and rapidly evolving technolo-
gies. Today’s student won’t have
a single career; she will likely
have dozens of job titles, most of
which have yet to be invented.
The future doesn’t need workers
who have been trained to put
nut B on bolt A. The future
needs interesting, capable, cre-
ative, curious individuals
shaped by diverse and wide-
ranging experiences.
Schools are beginning to
catch up with this need. “Project
Based Learning” is fancy jargon
for curriculum that is built not
around chapters in textbooks,
but around authentic, engaging,
and complex questions, prob-
lems, and challenges. It is messy,
creative, collaborative, draws on
individual strengths, and always
produces something to show for
the effort. More than just
another fad, Project Based
Learning is a real world
approach to education that
works with rather than against
how our brains are wired.
This is where you come in.
BROWSE THE “FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION” ARCHIVE AT www.Astronomy.com/Hester.
16
A ST R O N O M Y • MAY 2018
I’ve known many amateur
astronomers and spoken to
countless clubs and gatherings
over the years. You are an
interesting and passionate lot
with a great deal to offer. Cool
science, hands-on hardware,
recording and working with
data, star parties, questions
that have intrigued humankind
for millennia — your hobby is
tailor-made for Project Based
Learning. Places like the Buck
Institute for Education and
Edutopia (the George Lucas
Educational Foundation) have
what you need to get started.
Your chance to help shape the
future might be as close as a
phone call from your club to a
nearby school.
You are the sorts of people
whose passion inspires. I know,
because when I was a kid, you
inspired me. Very few of the
students you work with will go
on to become astronomers. But
what you share will become a
part of who those students are,
how they think, and what they
do for the rest of their lives.
They might just change the
way that you experience the
world, too.
Jeff Hester is a keynote speaker,
coach, and astrophysicist.
Follow his thoughts at
jeff-hester.com.