Why Natalie Hates Studying

"I don't like studying. I hate studying. I like learning.

Learning is beautiful."

—Natalie Portman

What is the reason behind hating studying? Initially, the definition of studying is "reading, researching, or attending school to learn." In contrast, learning, on the other side, is defined as "gaining knowledge of a subject or skill by experiencing it, studying it, and being taught." Therefore, studying is the first step in learning any subject. For many students, science is a subject that has bulky, heavy, and reliable materials to study and memorize. In school, we receive a message telling us that science is a bulk of information and facts. We should learn a lot of information without understanding how to use or apply it in our lives, why people don't see the beauty behind the science! Science should inspire us to look into details, think deeply, and examine natural phenomena.

Kids are passionate about playing, and they also like to listen to stories, the same as adults. Therefore, how can we make science a more exciting subject to ordinary people? The solution is storytelling. Sci-fiction, the literature of ideas, has a significant role in developing and improving mental skills, such as imagination and critical thinking. This essential type of literature should not disappear in schools. Although, these skills play a vital part in science literacy and how the scientist adopts the ability to observe the problem from different perspectives and generate solutions.

Let's talk about one of the most misunderstood science, physics. Physics is an exceptional science because it tries to explain the universe and every scene in the universe." Physics is a place that hosts magic, but usually, most of the people and students don't seem like that. When people hear the word 'physics,' they typically think of formulas that are impossible to memorize. So, they are right. It is impossible to remember all those formulas. However, they don't have time to learn what they don't know. It's not necessary. They need to know their stories. People say, "If you want to know someone, you need to know their stories." I'm telling you that if you want to learn physics, then you need to know the stories behind formulas.

As scientists and teachers, if we want our students to learn physics, we need to start telling them the stories behind formulas, and we need to give them real-life stories. Physics is the most amazing thing that I have ever learned, but it's not like that for students. They have other interests, like playing sports, listening to music, etc. I realize if I connect my physics classes with their interests, they are also interested in a class and want to learn more. Through the years, I realized most of the students are not scared of the idea of learning physics; they are afraid of the idea of memorizing all those formulas. Once they get over their fright and connect physics subjects to their day-to-day life, they can succeed in physics.

Moving forward from physics to chemistry. How to tell a story in chemistry? First, we need to understand the harmony observed between the atoms, like how the atoms create their harmony and generate a bond. People can communicate, connect, and understand each other; their language is electrons, while electrons are being transferred or shared between the atoms. However, let's create another story: imagine atoms are gangs or groups that deal and negotiate by gaining, accepting, or sharing electrons and so on, create stories.

I wonder how to make science a more engaging, practical, and helpful subject by creating a story that helps students love studying and learn it quickly.

Finally, imagination is a great skill that can help the students and learners to create and innovate such knowledge and products by encouraging them to read sci-fiction. It can change their understanding of how hypothesis and theory work in science and technology and how to enhance them to think critically.

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