I was reading a book the other day about symmetry and tesselations (interlocking shapes) for pattern-making ("Designing Tesselations: The secrets of interlocking patterns"). The author wrote that the classifications scientists use to describe the symmetry of crystal formations is the same classification used in the industry for pattern-making (textiles, wall coverings, etc.) She echoed a long held feeling of mine of resentment for her teachers back in high school who failed to engage and relate to her, and so she had to relearn all that information on her own. Maybe a doodling creative child would have found chemistry much more exciting had the teacher figured out how to relate it to the young artist.

I remember back in seventh grade biology, I had painstakingly spent an entire afternoon drawing a diagram for a paper that was due the next day. My teacher gave me an "A" with a note "next time use your own work." He figured he couldn't prove I'd stolen the artwork but didn't think I'd actually drawn it! That teacher obviously failed in an opportunity to keep me interested in biology.

Since I've gotten more and more involved in many areas of creativity, I have time and again looked back at my school days and been upset and frustrated. Math - geometry, trigonometry, algorithms - and science could have been a lot more palatable had my teachers known how to relate them to me. I've come across things in animation, like realistic physics animation, smoke, fire, water, and cloth simulation; things in drawing like understanding anatomy, perspective... Why did my teachers never connect the dots and engage me??

I tought one year in a local high school for a class which I gave once a week and loved it. If I could impart some of my passion and maybe excite a few kids about something, then I've done my job! It's not just design - many areas of study overlap each other and there is always some way to connect something a kid finds interesting with something he or she had assumed was boring drivel.

[Sigh.]

Oh, well. Maybe my kids will like science.