A grade 7 class was asked to draw pictures of what they thought scientists looked like. Then they visited the Fermilab, and drew the scientists they met. The results are somewhat predictable:
The written descriptions are probably more interesting than the drawings themselves, especially the “after” descriptions:
“Their jobs sound very interesting because they can do whatever they want and they still get paid for it. They can dress in casual clothes and decorate their offices however they want.”
“Scientists must love their work because they work an awful long time on one project. ”
“A scientist can have a family of their own and go on vacations a lot. . . . ”
“The scientist I saw doesn’t wear a lab coat. . . . The scientists used good vocabulary and spoke like they knew what they were talking about.”
This is almost giving the opposite wrong message… Go on vacation a lot? Do whatever they want and still get paid? Sorry, kids!
1 comment
You start to wonder what they told these kids! Either it was incorrect or I should try to get a job at the fermilab 😉
I liked the last quote best! It finally deals with the prejudice that scientists don’t use good vocabulary and don’t know what they’re talking about… Or maybe the kid confused scientists with politicians there.
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