Page 182 - 2002.Millard.North

pages by Amanda V/est

I
t's first ho. ur and you're barely awake. You'v.e just taken five pages of
notes, and now you have to listen to your teacher lecture. Just when
you th1nk 1t can't get any worse, you're ass1gned an eight-page paper.

[f only class could be fun for once ... adding a lab or experiment to the
curriculum always helped.

"Experiments are fun. V/e do a lot of labs in chemistry, and it's a
nice break from lectures and notes. They make class more exciting,"
junior Wyndham Jones sa1d .
Wh1le experiments and labs were fun, they also taught a lesson.

"My students get to experience the feel of a real chemistry lab,
so they have an idea of what to expect when they go to college . [t's

more fun for the students than books," chemistry teacher Viann
Zabawa said.
Safety precautions were required to participate in labs.
"We try to keep safety first and to do that, we have rules we

follow. Teachers often model the labs for students before they do it
themselves, so they get an idea of what to do," Zabawa said.

Labs and expenments also taught students to take what they
learned in books and notes and apply it. It helped students see the
lessons in new ways.

"We did an experiment 1n psychology where we blindfolded each
other and d1d taste tests. [twas interesting to see what people
thought they were eating. [took something [learned in class and applied

it," sen1or Stephen Lambert said.
Experiments added fun and exciting experiences to classes.
Among the pages of notes and piles of homework, labs made the school

day more memorable and worthwhile.
"[ have done a lot of experiments 1n the last four years and most
of them were in my favorite classes," sen1or Sarah Sturm sa1d . '1

have learned a lot from the labs [have done and [ look forward to doing
them in college . They have always been fun and worthwhile."

Hands On

Students leal "n through

labs and expedments

Tl7s

Academicsl