Start young...

I was talking to my roomate (a third grade teacher) about what she is teaching her kids in science and math. She was writing lesson plans about measurement. It hit me how important it is to teach correct principles in the early grades. A lot of elementary teachers I have talked to recently have said that they dislike teaching science, even to the point of avoiding it as much as they can. Especially the physical sciences. Part of the problem may be that it is hard to teach physical science without the math background, but maybe the teachers just aren't prepared for it. I don't know because I am not an elementary teacher, but maybe if elementary teachers weren't so disinclined to teach physical science, kids would have a better foundation by the time they get to high school and show up in my chemistry classes. It is so important to build on the sense of wonder children have. The math can come later, but children need to see and touch and build conceptual ideas about what things like gravity, friction, heat, energy, reactions, etc. really are. If children have a strong foundation of correct principles, they will be so much more prepared to take more formal science classes in high school.