Improve Education
Henry Ford once quipped that history was just “one damn fact after another.” Unfortunately, science education can be similarly characterized. And the number of facts in history and science has grown exponentially in the last few decades. Students study for the exam and quickly forget the material. The content of science seems fragmentary and certainly disconnected from their lives. It is difficult to remember, let alone appreciate, a lot of disjointed facts.
Our Common Story is the antidote to this problem. The new integrated narrative of the universe, the evolution of life, and the human drama offers itself as the obvious solution. It provides a context for students and adults to understand and remember the many details of science. In this approach, human history is less about the rise and fall of empires, and more about the co-evolution of humans, environments, cultures, agriculture, disease, technologies, and trade.
Without this big picture, we will continue to be small minded, mistaking parts for the whole, misjudging our limited perspectives for a more comprehensive truth. Moreover, the world needs more people trained in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), if we are to solve the great problems of the twenty-first century. If democracies and civil societies are to survive and thrive in the future, then all citizens must possess general scientific literacy.
Our Common Story can help inspire students and adults to appreciate the awesome beauty of science and the grandeur of the human adventure.The new narrative places students existentially front and center, as we all seek to better understand our rapidly changing world and solve the challenges of our global civilization.