Teaching is ART

I have a Diploma; it’s hanged on the most Southern wall of my house as required by Feng Shui. The Diploma says that I am a Master of Art in Teaching Science. At first I was laughing at it; how can a person be an artist and a scientist at the same time. It took me almost twenty years to understand and really feel it. The job that I am doing IS ART. It requires inspiration and can inspire. I think about how I can make it better all the time. Some ideas can come in my sleep. I deal with people and their emotions all the time. I can affect many lives. Yes, my job is ART.
Many of these conditions are true for science too, but science itself has no emotions, it deals with the world around more than with the people. People are affected only when the scientist discovered and explained something that would trigger the technology to move to the next level. In most cases the science affects all people in the same way. “Good” science brings more useful technology; “bad” science brings more harmful and destructive technologies. This is a traditional view, in reality there is no “good” or “bad” science they both at different stages of their development can bring us useful or destructive technologies, sometimes at the same time. For examples, batteries that are so good for the environment when new and working are extremely poisonous to the landfills when dead.
Art is like people it also is affected by technology not the other way around. Each artist has different effect on different people. One piece of art can turn your life around, the other you’ll pass without even noticing. And, of course, Art causes turmoil of emotions on both sides: the artist who creates it and the viewer who is affected by it. In reality it can be a viewer, a listener, an observer, a reader, a pupil.
I think I do understand it now. I am an artist who works with live human beings, not paint or ink. The result of my inspiration will affect many of my students. Without an inspiration I will not touch them at all. If I allow my sadness, or anger, or hate control my teaching I can affect those young lives in a negative way like nobody else. No parents or friends can affect those lives as I can.
I must be kind and forgiving to teach these qualities by example. I must be understanding and caring to be able to help them grow. I also must treat each of them as an individual, recognize and respect their differences even when the state requires them to pass the same test. Each of them has different needs in order to pass the same test. My art is to find this little something that will help this one student learn what he or she needs to learn and pass this next exam, sometimes without them even noticing what I did for them. And then I have to repeat the process of the search with each next student in each next class.
Of course, there are tricks and strategies that work with more than one student. This is why it is possible to teach how to be an artist. There are rules of perspective and the color wheel. But like any other art teaching can give you this moment of inspiration when you know that you created a masterpiece, when all little parts fell in place, and you affected this person life forever, and he or she will be a happier human being from this moment on. Like I remember I became a happier person when I first saw how the fishes in the Matisse’s aquarium started to move;or when the pink sand on Gauguin’s Hawaiian beach turned alive and vibrant.

Open Cover Letter

To whom it may concern:

I am an ATR (Absent Teacher Reserve) in New York city 2009-2010 school year.

I am looking for a position of a Science or Math teacher at a New York City public middle or high school. I have two NYS and two NYC licenses to teach Chemistry and General Science and Mathematics. My licenses allow me to teach students from 7 to 12 grades.
I am a veteran NYC teacher with 22 years experience working at two South Bronx public schools: one was Martha Neilson School (Bronx site of the Program for Pregnant and Parenting Teens) and the other New Schools for Arts and Sciences. I am out of job for no other reason than closing of my schools by current city administration. I am one of those bad teachers who worked at those bad schools and who deserve to be out on the street without pay according to the city proposed new contract.
Let me tell you how bad I am and how bad were the closed schools.
I was the only science teacher at my school, so I taught all science courses required by the state. I can teach and I was teaching all of the following: Living Environment, Earth Science, Regents Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Physics – all Regents high school courses, in addition Foundation of Science and Physical Science for 8th Graders, Foundations of Math, Math A, Math B. I also taught science and math for special ed. students. After being in my classes the students were passing State Tests, but more importantly they had more positive attitude towards learning and education in general. Many of them were first generation in their families with a high school diploma. I am very proud of each and every one of them.
I am also very proud to be a colleague of so many other bad teachers who worked at my bad schools. They all were and are devoted to the job and the kids. They are my heroes. I love them and I am one of them. We really made a difference in so many lives. We were not just people who delivered some info for the test; we delivered a better life, sometimes in a form of food or clothes, sometimes in a form of shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. We helped to file job and college applications. We took them to museums and theatres, to parks and to Washington D.C. Yes, our students talked to the congress people and to the senators, to superintendents and judges.
All our students were computer literate. They could, of course, type a paper, but they also could create great Power Point Presentations, Publisher Brochures, Blog online, make glogs, take tests and quizzes online, search Internet, and get around the city blocking (the latter they did on their own). Our students kept their work in virtual portfolios in digital format. The same applies to the teachers: all bad teachers were computer literate, all teachers used either Dell or Apple computers or both for the instructions, and all of us used Smart White Board.
Yes, I am one of these bad teachers from the bad schools that deserved to be closed.
I am looking for a job. I want to continue teaching for another 3 or 4 years. I know I can do a good job teaching for the test because I have nothing against the tests. I know that new schools will be open to replace the closed ones and new young teachers will be as bad as we were. I also know that the city students didn’t suffer too much when I lost my job. I am nobody special, just a bad teacher from a bad school.
I am looking for a job for me. I don’t want to lose my house – I love it. I want the security of a twice a month paycheck so I could do something I love – teach the kids science and math. I want to keep doing the bad job.

Respectfully,

Business Model

I have been very lucky. I have been working in 2 very good schools in the last 22 years. First school, The Program for Pregnant and Parenting Teens, was closed because of the tightening budget in 2007. The other school was closed in June 2009 by Bloomberg-Klein administration.

Why am I saying that the schools were good? It’s because we really served the kids well. The teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, community services, nurseries for the babies, clinic – all of us helped the kids find the way out of difficult situations and become independent and self-reliant human being. In both schools we had great stories to tell. In both schools we had kids who needed help in breaking the cycle and being the first generation in their families to graduate from a High school, move on to a college and achieve a new level of success.

In both cases the schools were closed because the city was trying to save some money. They say they use a “business model” of accountability. They say our numbers were not good: either attendance was low or Regents Tests scores didn’t measure up.

My question is: why would you use the failing “business model” that brought the entire country into an economic recession to schools and replace some more humane model that worked for those kids?

I really don’t understand, why somebody would proudly say that they use this “business model” when everybody knows that the model makes rich richer and poor poorer. Would you use this model if you were poor? Bloomberg became richer when he closed our schools, the city became poorer.

Because of this “business model” the greedy executives, who would make profits even if their clients lose money, got so much that banks do not have any money to lend any longer. Would you use this model if you were not this executive? Bloomberg and Klein are those executives who make those decisions.

I have been lucky, in the last 22 years I made a difference in so many lives for the better future. I hope the kids in the new schools get as much help and understanding from young and new teachers and principals as we were giving to our students in our “bad” schools.

Piaget and Standards

My daughter wrote this paper, when she was in college. I think she makes a good point: Is there any sense in our NYS “standards”?

It has been found that the American school system is not as strong as the rest of the worlds in math and science. There have been articles written on this subject across the country for the last few years. In June of 2005, in Ohio at a national PTA meeting, Margaret Spellings, the education secretary said that “poor attitudes and low test scores nationwide continue to plague the system and limit progress.”(p.08.A) Shortly before this meeting Spellings had made a trip to Japan, where “the Japanese are investing in math and science courses while Americans are worrying about the ink color teachers use to grade papers—preferring purple rather than the ‘angry red.’(p.08.A) American children score lower on average on performance assessment exams. An article from a newspaper in Colorado reported in December of 2004 that a comparison held by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study found that of 29 countries, America came in 24th. “The usual pattern with international comparisons is that American students do worse the longer they’ve been in school.”(p.7.E)

Everyone is pointing fingers, and trying to figure out why are American students failing in math and science? Some argue that teachers are not proficient enough in their fields. Some say that courses are too hard. Some even say that children just aren’t able to learn.

How has this happened? How have we come so far and now see that children are just not able to learn? Isn’t it in their nature to be curious, to explore, and isn’t it this characteristic that drives children to learn, to walk, and to talk?
I remember when I was young (4-7yrs.) and my parents would take me to camp on the weekends and through summers. My sister and I would make friends with other children our age while we chased small animals through the woods, or caught frogs by the water. We brought back any specimen we could find and interview our parents to get every bit of information we could about these animals. We would compare them to other animals we caught, big frogs versus little frogs, fish, which we couldn’t catch by hand but could catch using bait, and lizards that ran away while we still held their tails. These things are all parts of science, and at that age when I was still learning through physical contact, these are easy concepts to understand. I could categorize big, small, green, furry, fast, etc. These are elements we use in studying science, and they’re fun and easy for kids to understand. It is impossible that children are unable to learn.

It may be that teachers and supervisors aren’t proficient in math and science. It may be that standards and teaching methods are not corresponding, complementary or unified. It may be that courses are hard, but are they too hard or are they mismatched according to the stages of cognitive development?

Piaget is a star in the childhood developmental field because of his discoveries in how children understand and explain their worlds as they learn. Jean Piaget is a Swiss theoretician who discovered that children make similar mistakes on IQ tests according to their age. Using this information Piaget designed four distinct stages of cognitive development starting at birth going on through adulthood.
The first stage, birth until two years of age, is the Sensorimotor stage during which an infant and toddler learns to “organize activities in relation to the environment through sensory and motor activity.”(p. 30) It is during this stage that children learn that just because they can’t see something or someone doesn’t mean it has ceased to exist. Children learn that their actions have reactions and practice and repeat actions to test results.

At age two children move on to the Preoperational stage. This stage lasts until about seven years old. At this stage children are fascinated by everything around them and use play and language to correspond to the things they see and experience, but do not think logically yet. This is the age when language acquisition is extremely rapid. During this period children imitate everything they see and here. They start to ask questions about what is happening around them, although these questions are usually absurd or unscientific, but they are still reaching to understand. Children ask questions like “how do dogs get married,” and “why is the moon following me.”

The third stage starts at age seven and is called the Concrete Operations stage. It is during this stage that children start to think logically. They can apply all the things they learned earlier in more areas because now they can recognize a logical pattern. During the Preoperational stage a child will say a pound of bricks is heavier than a pound of feathers, because bricks are heavier than feathers. It is during the Concrete Operations stage that a child given the same example will realize that a pound of anything is equal to a pound of anything else.
Another example was my mother’s experience in first grade; she grew up in Russia and the system is different, she was seven years old and practicing cursive lettering. My mother remembers that they had been in first grade for a while now and she knew how to write the entire alphabet, and when her teacher asked to right a row of ten little “u’s” my mother was ready for the challenge. She looked down at her paper and started to imagine how she could write the smallest “u” in the class. She wondered for a minute and realized that this request is not possible only one of the students can write The smallest “u” and this is the second that it dawns on her the teacher wants a lower case “u” not a little “u.” She realized her misunderstanding and was about to start her lettering when the student next to her excited by his achievements nudged her to look and see he had managed to write a row of ten of the smallest “u’s.” This story illustrates that transition, how normal it is for children to think this way up until around 7 years of age, and how their thought processes evolve into logical assessments. Although children are able to think rationally they cannot yet think abstractly, which is the ability they gain after the age of eleven when they move from the Concrete Operations stage to the Formal Operations stage.

The Formal Operations stage is the last stage in Piaget’s model of cognitive development. During this stage, children, adolescents and adults learn to think abstractly and philosophically. They no longer need to experience learning “hands on.” Students can now discuss possibilities, create and plan hypothesis and experiments. Earlier children were experiencing and testing their surroundings based on what they could see touch and hear, now based on that information they can understand things they have not yet seen, touched or heard.

Many have argued that Piaget’s model is defective because he underestimates children’s abilities. Some theorists say that cognitive development is continuous opposed to Piaget’s rigid stage theory. These criticisms may be true but do not affect the validity of what he says. In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development children start without any knowledge except that which they can experience, they repeat actions to see if they get the same reactions, they observe their surroundings and ask questions based on these findings, eventually they learn logic and can delve into solving more complex problems eventually solving problems using abstract theories. This model needs to be introduced into the American learning system to make standards that match Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. If children are practicing and learning material appropriate to their age group they would not have problems acquiring and demonstrating their achievements, and especially will not lose their eagerness to learn.

The nation does not have set standards that must be met for children at various stages. Each state develops their requirements for each grade or school level. Very often it is only the teacher that plans what the students will learn. There are, although, nationwide tests given to assess children’s overall academic development. I have the standards from New York State printed and given to teachers in 1999. These books are now seven years old but the system standards have not changed; these are the current standards.

These Performance Standards list what is required of students at Elementary, Middle and High school levels. There are many sets of standards in different areas of the subjects, so I have chosen two sets that have the most general approach to Math and Science teaching and learning. Mathematical Skills and Tools, and Scientific Connections and Applications are the categories I have chosen you can find in the appendix below.

I have labeled each standard with a p, c, or f; these labels are according to the Piagetian Cognitive Development model and so p stands for Preoperational stage, c stands for Concrete Operations stage, and f stands for Formal Operations stage. I categorized the standards as Physical contact/tactile learning (p), Physical contact/ tactile with logical/critical thinking (c), and abstract/theoretical thinking (f). Now my goal is to create an academic system that learns the same material that is required above but in an order that matches Piagetian theory, hoping to maximize the students ability as they learn meanwhile encouraging cognitive development.

Since in the first, Preoperational, stage children do not think but are able and even enjoy collecting data I would start their mathematical and scientific educations using these inclinations. We would not discuss topics too complex to understand without being able to see and touch the matter being studied. Anything labeled p would be studied and mastered before finishing second grade (at which time most students turn seven).

Math could be practiced counting sides and naming shapes, (i.e. Octagon has eight sides) since language acquisition is very rapid at this stage of development this is the perfect age to practice math vocabulary of observable materials. Measuring can be used to learn to add, and multiply as students learn about length, area, volume, weight, etc. Measurements do not require logical or critical thinking, and would be easy for preoperational children to stay on task with. Children can practice reading clocks (i.e. what time is it now? What time will it be in 20 minutes? In one hour?)
In science children can learn the physical aspects of science. They can practice reading thermometers, and show what is cold and warm. The can watch the weather. Leaves turn colors in the fall; snow always falls in the winter, and during the spring flowers bloom, and leaves grow back on to branches. They can go to zoos and botanical gardens with identifying books to label animal and plant varieties. Students can find their way to a prize using a compass. Science that children can physically experience is best during this stage because their appetites are already whetted and their thirst will grow through their discoveries.

After second grade, more complex problems can be introduced. The teacher can go on to the next step in all subjects introduced earlier. Our weather corresponds to our seasons which define our climate, but in Arizona, in the desert, their climate is different and so is their weather. The animals that live in New York are also different from those that live in Arizona, or Africa, Russia, etc. Students can study Biomes, Food Chains for each Biome, Life Cycles for many plants and animals. Human Anatomy can also be studied, this is when we can introduce the organs, and eventually nutrition and drug effects on the body.

Math can also become more complicated. Before students were measuring to find length, width, height and weight, now the teacher can explain how to learn volume, area, and circumference, through measurement meanwhile also explaining the formulas that find these answers faster. The point is to learn that the formulas are logical and easier than measuring the entire block over and over again. At this age children understand logical and spatial realities and these new abilities should be put to use right away so students can further the development of these skills. Higher levels of previous problems can continuously be introduced. If a student has problems understanding a problem, go over an earlier version of the problem to show how similar the work is and that only the numbers vary in each of the problems.
By the time students are in high school, when they are entering the Formal Operations Stage, they will understand that the numbers are a small part of the subject of math, and will be able to discuss it in abstract ways in which there could be days that no numbers are mentioned. Students wouldn’t have to discuss shapes or areas anymore since they will be committed to memory as well as formulas with which to describe them with.

Science in High school can also go further to explain the theoretical. Students can study cells, atoms, DNA, complex abstract problems and speculations in fields from Biology to Chemistry to Physics and Astronomy.

According to Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory students need to learn in order or observations, logic, and then lastly theory. In the New York System now children are expected to learn “big ideas and unifying concepts” from an elementary school level, before they even know of the possibilities in their own classrooms. In math children are given problems that are easy at first, but math does not evolve from the calculations they had to go through in first and second grade. They are ready to learn the reasoning of math but are denied and forced to study shapes and computations over and over again.

In America people blame teachers, supervisors, parents, and even children for not learning math and science as well as the rest of the world. The explanation to why in America students don’t learn these subjects as well is buried beneath layers or politics, funding and red tape. Anyone can explain how teachers aren’t able to teach their subjects; supervisors can set rules against any creativity; parents might not be available to answer all their children’s questions. There are many issues at hand here. I am only posing a question: Why do we study Piaget in Childhood Development if we don’t apply his theory to our children?

Appendix: NYS Standards:

The state requires that at the Elementary school level a student should be able to “demonstrate fluency” in basic math concepts and use appropriate methods of solving problems as follows:
* Adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides whole numbers correctly; that is; (c)
i. knows single digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts;
ii. adds and subtracts numbers with several digits;
iii. multiplies and divides numbers with one or two digits;
iv. multiplies and divides three digit numbers by one digit number

* Estimates numerically and spatially (f)
* Measures length, area, perimeter, circumference, diameter, height, weight, and volume accurately in both the customary and metric systems (c & p)
* Computes time (in hours and minutes) and money (in dollars and cents) (c)
* Refers to geometric shapes and terms correctly with concrete objects or drawings, including triangle, square, rectangle, side, edge, face, cube, point, line, perimeter, area, and circle; and refers with assistance to rhombus, parallelogram, quadrilateral, polygon, polyhedron, angle, vertex, volume, diameter, circumference, sphere, prism, and pyramid (p & c)
* Uses +, -, x, /,$,%, and decimal point, correctly in number sentences and expressions (c)
* Reads, creates, and represents data on a line plots, charts, tables, diagrams, bar graphs, simple circle graphs, and coordinate graphs (c)
* Uses recall, mental computations, pencil and paper, measuring devices, mathematic texts, manipulatives, calculators, computers, and advice from peers as appropriate, to achieve solutions; that is, uses measuring devices, graded appropriately for given situations, such as rulers (customary to the inch; metric to the centimeter), measuring cups (customary to the ounce; metric to the milliliter), and scales (customary to the pound; metric to the gram) (c & p) (p.168)

The state requires that at the Middle school level a student should be able to “demonstrate fluency” in basic math concepts and use appropriate methods of solving problems as follows:

* Computes accurately with arithmetic operations on rational numbers (c)
* Knows and uses the correct order of operations for arithmetic computations (c)
* Estimates numerically and spatially (f)
* Measures length, area, volume, weight, time, and temperature accurately (c)
* Refers to geometric shapes and terms correctly (p)
* Uses equations, formulas, and simple algebraic notation appropriately (f)
* Reads and organizes data on charts and graphs, including scatter plots, bar line, and circle graphs, and Venn diagrams; calculates mean and median (f)
* Uses recall, mental computations, pencil and paper, measuring devices, mathematic texts, manipulatives, calculators, computers, and advice from peers, as appropriate, to achieve solutions (c) (p.168)

The state also has requirements for High school level students to be able to “demonstrate fluency” in math as follows:

* Carries out numerical calculations and symbol manipulations effectively, using mental computations, pencil and paper, or other technological aids, as appropriate (c)
* Uses a variety of methods to estimate the values, in appropriate units, of quantities met in applications, and rounds numbers used in applications to an appropriate degree of accuracy (c)
* Evaluates and analyzes formulas and functions of many kinds, using both pencil and paper and more advanced technology (f)
* Uses basic geometric terminology accurately, and deduces information about basic geometric figures in solving problems (p)
* Makes and uses rough sketches, schematic diagrams, or precise scale diagrams to enhance a solution (p)
* Uses the number line and Cartesian coordinates in the pane and in space (c & p)
* Creates and interprets graphs of many kinds, such as function graphs, circle graphs, scatter plots, regression lines, and histograms (c)
* Sets up and solves equations symbolically (when possible) and graphically (c)
* Knows how to use algorithms in mathematics, such as the Euclidean Algorithm (f)
* Uses technology to create graphs or spreadsheets that contribute to the understanding of a problem (c)
* Writes a simple computer program to carry out a computation or simulation to be repeated many times (f)
* Uses tools such as rulers, tapes, compasses, and protractors in solving problems (p)
* Knows standard methods to solve basic problems and uses these methods in approaching more complex problems (c) (p.168)

A New York state has separate standards for “Scientific Connections and Applications.” These standards require a student to produce demonstrations in understanding as follows in Elementary school:

* Big ideas and unifying concepts, such as order and organization; models, form and function; change and constancy; and cause and effect (f)
* The designed world, such as development of agricultural techniques; and the variability of technological designs (f)
* Personal health, such as nutrition, substance abuse, and exercise; germs and toxic substances; personal and environmental safety (f)
* Science as a human endeavor, such as communication, cooperation, and diverse input in scientific research; and the importance of reason, intellectual honesty, and skepticism (f) (p.202)

In Middle school the standards for the same category are:

* Big ideas and unifying concepts, such as order and organization; models, form, and function; change and constancy; and cause and effect (f)
* The designed world, such as the reciprocal nature of science and technology; the development of agricultural techniques; and the viability of technological designs (f)
* Health, such as nutrition, exercise, and disease; effects of drugs and toxic substances; personal and environmental safety; and resources and environmental stress (f)
* Impact of technology, such as constraints and trade offs; feedback; benefits and risks; and problems and solutions (f)
* Impact of science, such as historical and contemporary contributions; and interactions between science and society (f) (p.202)

Finally, the High school standards of scientific connections and applications are as follows:

* Big ideas and unifying concepts, such as order and organization; models, form and function; change and constancy; and cause and effect (f)
* The designed world, such as the reciprocal relationship between science and technology; the development of agricultural techniques; and the reasonableness of technological designs (f)
* Health, such as nutrition and exercise; disease and epidemiology; personal and environmental safety; and resources, environmental stress, and population growth (f)
* Impact of technology, such as constraints and trade-offs; feedback; benefits and risks; and problems and solutions (f)
* Impact of science, such as historical and contemporary contributions; and interactions between science and society (f) (p.202)

Old Things: trash or treasure?

Every spring and fall I go through my closets and decide what I keep and what I donate. Every time I find something to keep and every time there is something to pass on to others. There is a saying: one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. That saying made the new rules of Green Living possible: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. I can give away some of my old things so somebody else could reuse them and we together will reduce the content of landfills.

In spite of the saying the idea is new for America. More traditional view is that everything new and young is good, strong, energetic, enthusiastic, and brings money; and everything old is really a trash and a waste. Old things must be replaced by new ones; old surfaces must be resurfaced, old houses rebuilt, old furniture thrown out. Same is true about people: the old should just disappear, so they do not bother the gentle eye of an observer. I know, I know, written by an old person ;) But I am not as old as you think.

On the contrary, some old things never become trash, they become classic and antique. Unfortunately, this thought is not a happy one, because so many things do become garbage with age and overuse, and only a few become classic and chic if taken care properly. How many old people are thrown out of our lives? And how many of them become respected authority on a subject? Alas, even the most brilliant of us often become classic only after death. Often we take better care of the things than of the people.

Remember last year, when this old and experienced pilot landed on the Hudson River? I was thinking that he showed to the world that we are not dead yet. We are at the peak of our ability. At this age the experience is already there and the energy is still there. We are supposed to be the most valuable people at our jobs. 50 years old is not old even for Hollywood any longer. Some of us are living classics.

You, Mr. Bloomberg, just don’t know who. You are afraid to waste your money on what you think is old trash, so you are throwing out all experienced teachers when you close our schools. But remember this: you are one of us and in a couple of years you’ll become the same society trash, like you just made of me and others.

No, I am not depressed; I am at a fork on the road of my life. Which way to go?

What is science?

Recently I received an email with the following questions. I decided to post my reply here and send this student a link:

1. How has science change throughout history??
To start we first must agree on the definition.
Science is an observation of the world around and an attempt to find explanations to the phenomena observed.
If we all agree on the definition then we can say that science changed through history thanks to the new tools for observation.
It was science that explained to the ancient people that the sun went around the earth. That was the only possible explanation to the observation of the sun going up and down every day. Technology allowed people to build high ceiling cathedrals that allowed Galileo to observe the daily change in the swinging of the pendulum which in turn allowed him to come up with an explanation that its the earth turning on its axis made the sun seemed to go around the earth. Our days we have planes and satellites flying up there and observe and record how the round earth going around the sun.
You can say the science changed through out the history, I would say that technology changed, but the science stayed true to its definition.

2. Is science based on facts or opinion??
Science is based on objective observations, measurements, and records available at the time.

3. Why are there so many different meanings of science??
I am not aware of any different definitions of science. If you do, recite them and put your references.

4. Is it possible to really prove anything with science??
If it is not proven it is not science.

5. How would you answer the question “What is Science” to a high school student??
I respect high school students enough to tell them the same thing I tell you here. Why should the definition be different for the high school kids?

6. What could be done to minimize the misunderstanding of science??
Nothing. If you don't want to understand you will never understand. The latter apples to everything in life not just to science or math. People "understand" whatever they want or choose to "understand".

7. Can you formulate a theory of how will science change in ten years??
Even more computers and robots will be in use for observations and recording.

8. What is the difference between Chemistry, Biology, and Physics??
You really can use a glossary of a textbook or a wikipedia? Chemistry is a study of matter, Biology is a study of life, and Physics is a study of forces in the world around us.

9. In order to understand science, how important is it to understand the past.?
Some people really need to see how the invention happened, but not all of us. Many people can learn science without memorizing the name of the person, who first explained the phenomenon and the circumstances around it.

10.Is science strictly based on theory?
Not at all. It never is based on any theory. Science is based on observations and measurements. Theory is an explanation for the observation, many theories changed as our observation abilities changed. I mostly admire those geniuses who could predict some of the explanations before the obvious observation was available for the general public. One example I already showed you above how Galileo explained the earth's rotation before any plane flue around.

Another example from biology: the word germ appeared in our vocabulary in 1644 almost 10 years before the word microscope was added. That means some genius while observing some phenomenon around predicted the existence of microorganisms before we could actually see them.

I'll post this now, but I will edit it later.