Leslie Cesia Boc, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
UWC Costa Rica is a campus surrounded by nature. If you walk a few meters, you will be able to find every kind and color of flowers, baby lizards hidden in the shrubbery, raccoons, cats, and hear the singing of birds you did not even know existed. The diversity of Costa Rica mixes with our campus creates a fresh air during Covid times, and of course, it makes UWC Costa Rica a perfect place for Biology students.
As an SL student, I confess I did not end up in Biology Class led by passion or love for nature. The idea of memorizing and pass hours reading books and concepts that my English as Second Language background will not allow me to understand seemed tiring and detrimental for my mind. Furthermore, if there was any spark of curiosity in me, my past experiences in the subject had annihilated them completely. It was, then, the conspiration by the universe and schedule problems that made me one more student in Biology class, Room 15th.
Nonetheless, I have the fortune that my Biology professor, who is clearly very passionate about his subject, does not think that biology should be limited by books and online platforms.
When the pandemic situation finally allowed us to have in-person classes, he introduced us to the little jungle that he created at the doors of Room 15th. Although of about 2 meters of longitude and one-half of width, my teacher’s creation was impressive. Composed of a variety of plants, rocks, and soil, it was the home of many animals and insects that made up a whole niche together.
In that little space, my teacher told us something that I could not forget ever since: Biology is about stories. Every process, every cycle of life, tells a story where cells and enzymes are the main protagonists; a new approach of Biology that fascinates me. Not only he taught me what biology could be, but he also taught me that it is not limited by books and articles but it is constantly happening around us, and we can be part of it. Learning in nature gave me a different perspective and awoke the curiosity and interest I believed dead long ago. While it will certainly not be enough to make me start a whole career in Biology, it has certainly opened my mind to a new understanding of the world.
One year later, I still keep one of the poems my teacher shared with us in class. I share it here as a reminder of what Biology is really about.
As an SL student, I confess I did not end up in Biology Class led by passion or love for nature. The idea of memorizing and pass hours reading books and concepts that my English as Second Language background will not allow me to understand seemed tiring and detrimental for my mind. Furthermore, if there was any spark of curiosity in me, my past experiences in the subject had annihilated them completely. It was, then, the conspiration by the universe and schedule problems that made me one more student in Biology class, Room 15th.
Nonetheless, I have the fortune that my Biology professor, who is clearly very passionate about his subject, does not think that biology should be limited by books and online platforms.
When the pandemic situation finally allowed us to have in-person classes, he introduced us to the little jungle that he created at the doors of Room 15th. Although of about 2 meters of longitude and one-half of width, my teacher’s creation was impressive. Composed of a variety of plants, rocks, and soil, it was the home of many animals and insects that made up a whole niche together.
In that little space, my teacher told us something that I could not forget ever since: Biology is about stories. Every process, every cycle of life, tells a story where cells and enzymes are the main protagonists; a new approach of Biology that fascinates me. Not only he taught me what biology could be, but he also taught me that it is not limited by books and articles but it is constantly happening around us, and we can be part of it. Learning in nature gave me a different perspective and awoke the curiosity and interest I believed dead long ago. While it will certainly not be enough to make me start a whole career in Biology, it has certainly opened my mind to a new understanding of the world.
One year later, I still keep one of the poems my teacher shared with us in class. I share it here as a reminder of what Biology is really about.
Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.
Willam Wordsworth
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.
Willam Wordsworth
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