Applying Science in Daily Life

Requiring students of Pax et Lumen International Academy take up double sessions of science might seem overdoing it to some. As one applicant parent was heard to comment, “ What is the use of studying paleontology?”

This comment may not seem unusual to those who only want to see practical applications of science topics (this does not mean that paleontology has no practical application—but let that be another topic for discussion).

The Middle School or Grades 5 to 8 students have been doing practical science experiments during the months of November and December on materials that can be used in daily life.

After a good harvest of kamias, the administrators of Pax et Lumen brought the tart fruits to the school to be diced and pureed and converted into good tasting vinegar. This vinegar can be used to prepare dinuguan, adobo, or paksiw. Or it can be used as plain sauce for fried dishes. The kamias vinegar was then bottled and distributed to the parents of Pax et Lumen after the Christmas get-together at the school.

The lesson in vinegar making was part of the school’s lessons on acids (for the Grade 8 students who are getting introduced to basic chemistry), on fruits and plants (for the lower grades who are learning their elementary botany), and on food preparations. In short, the vinegar making lessons covered a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching, one of the teaching methods the school hopes to develop among its faculty as they, too, grow with the school.