An Expert Answer
By Peter Barnes

"Mr. Barnes, why does helium make your voice squeak?" Twenty-three pairs of eyes stared expectantly at me, awaiting my wise answer. "I have no idea," I answered honestly. "But I know someone who might." We wrote down the question and put it in the "Ask the Physicist" box, to be answered later by my father, a retired medical physicist. Three days later an e-mailed reply arrived (helium causes the vocal cords to vibrate faster) and an excellent question was answered satisfactorily.

Research and discovery
This best case scenario does not reflect a typical day in my classroom. I'm often confronted with difficult questions that stump me. My students seem to think that because I am their science teacher, I should know the answer to every science-related question they construct. This is frustrating when I consider all of the topics we cover in physics, biology, geology and chemistry during the school year. How can I possibly be an expert in all of these areas?

The easy answer is that I don't have to be. The teacher's role is to help students along on their learning journeys, not to spout information like a talking encyclopedia. I encourage my students to be curious and to answer their own questions through research and discovery. When more knowledge is needed, parents, other teachers and community members often come to my rescue with guest lessons and demonstrations.

The more you know
This does not let me off the hook completely, however. I don't want to be the know-it-all teacher who has an answer for everything, but I do want to have a strong command of my subject. The more I know, the more engaging my classroom will be. Classroom discussions often veer away from the core concepts designated by our curriculum. These digressions can be fruitful learning opportunities if I'm prepared enough to lead them.

When feeling overwhelmed, I try to focus on learning more about one topic at a time. For example, after taking a JASON project class and reading books on ocean science, I felt better prepared for our ocean unit this fall. This year I hope to beef up my knowledge of sound and light before we start these units in the spring. I'll never be able to answer all of my students' questions, but that's not the point. It's fun to learn along with my students, and it makes me feel more confident when those hands start waving in the air.

Peter Barnes teaches fifth grade at Rawls Byrd Elementary in Williamsburg, VA.

January, 2004, Vol.34, No.4