EDUCATOR’S CORNER
of Earth science news and developments in the media (Sorkhabi, 2019). There are also a large number of well-written popular books on geoscience (Sorkhabi, 2023). It is also important to note that geoscience topics constitute a large part of best-seller science books for the public. Here I introduce three such books, which I have myself enjoyed reading.
The first book is Asimov’s New Guide to Science (Asimov, 1984).
First published as The Intelligent Man’s Guide to Science in 1960, the 1984 edition is a massive book of 940 pages written by the legend- ary science and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. The Asimov’s New Guide consists of two parts: the physical sciences and the biological sciences. I read this book on bus rides over a period of two years in the late 1980s and still consult it because not only is it comprehensive, it also presents subjects in the context of science history. Three of the book’s 17 chapters can be easily recognized as “geoscience” (chapter 4: The Earth; chapter 5: The Atmosphere, and chapter 16: The Species), but in fact many other chapters — such as those on the universe, solar system, elements, waves, cells and microorganisms — also shed light on Earth’s origin, materials, and processes. “Most of the elements in the periodic table,” Asimov wrote, “are metals. As a matter of fact, only about 20 of the 102 elements can be considered definitely nonmetallic.” Asimov goes on to say that the long Stone Age of humankind was successively replaced by the Copper, Bronze and Iron ages relatively late in history partly because the metallic elements are not easy to extract from their compounds in rocks. Nevertheless, our ancestors managed to accomplish this feat just as they had mastered the making and using of stone tools.
Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy (1991, 2009 second edition) by Robert Hazen (a geologist) and James Trefil (a physicist) reads like a well-written textbook in plain language. Nearly 40 percent of the book (chapters 13–18) covers geoscience: Restless Earth, Earth Cycles, Ladder of Life, Code of Life, Evolution and Ecosystems. The first 12 chapters also provide a scientific back- ground in chemistry, physics and astronomy to help the reader better understand earth science. In other words, science literacy is largely Earth literacy.
Finally, the 500-page A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill
Bryson offers a lucid narrative of the story of the world from the Big Bang to Homo sapiens. The book consists of six parts; except for the first part (40 pages about the Cosmos) the rest of the book is about the history of Earth and life. The book comes from the pen of an experienced writer and is written in a narrative and witty style. Consider the opening lines of the chapter on “Lonely Planet”: “It isn’t easy being an organism. In the whole universe, as far as we yet know, there is only one place, an inconspicuous outpost of the Milky Way called Earth, that will sustain you, and even it can be pretty grudging,” The book was so widely acclaimed for its acces- sible communication of science that it won the Royal Society Winton
Prize for Science Books and the European Union’s Descartes Prize; Bryson was also given an honorary doctorate from King’s College London. An illustrated edition has also been published.
Compared with the other sciences, geoscience is underrated in
formal education. But here is some good news: Earth science is a large part and parcel of science in general. Geoscience is indeed an integrative science. And we as geologists can use Earth as a pivotal subject to explain science itself to the general public and students. To do so, we also need to place our own knowledge in a larger context.
References
Asimov, I. (1984) Asimov’s New Guide to Science. Basic Books, New York.
Blough, G.O., and Schwartz, J. (1990) Elementary School Science and How To Teach It, 8th ed. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., Fort Worth.
Bryson, B. (2003) A Short History of Nearly Everything. Broadway Books, New York.
Center for Geoscience and Society (2015) Education in the Earth and Space Sciences in U.S. Secondary Schools: Key Indicators and Trends: Earth and Space Science Report No. 2.1. American Geosciences Institute, Alexandria, VA.
https://www.american-
geosciences.org/sites/default/files/education-reports-Second- aryES_Report.pdf
Hager, D. (1951) Geology in the grade school. Science, 114 (2949): 19.
Hazen, R.M., and Trefil, J. (1991) Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy. Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York.
Sorkhabi, Rasoul (2019) Good news: Earth science is most popular with the public. The Professional Geologist, 58 (3): 44-45.
Sorkhabi, Rasoul (2023) How to refresh your geology. The Professional Geologist, 60 (4): 40-42.
Tillery, B. W. (1991) Physical Science. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, IA.
Trend, R. (2005) Individual, situational and topic interest in geoscience among 11-and 12-year-old children. Research Papers in Education, 20 (3): 271-302.
Tulip, D., O’Connell, D., and English, L. (1994) Children’s interest in geology and biology. Research in Science Education, 24: 331-337.
Zim, H.S. (1951) Geology is in the elementary schools. Science, 114 (2966): 468-469.
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Mentoring
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