I am a scientist because. . .

Recently on Twitter, people were finishing the sentence, "I am a scientist because. . ."  While I didn't follow the entire conversation, I did see two answers that I found intriguing and that i thought were relevant to NGSS and science education.  The first is below.  

#IAmAScientistBecause "I don't know" is NOT an option.

— Chelsea Hall (@Chelsemae83) April 6, 2015

While there was some debate about this response and the thought that some scientists don't admit that they don't know, for me the statement means something more important to science education.  Just imagine if we bring our students to a place where they are unwilling to accept "I don't know" from themselves. a place where they won't stop investigating and researching until they have answered the questions that plague them.  

Can the NGSS help with this?  I think so.  The science and engineering practices are designed to equip students with the tools necessary to answer their questions (and even tools to develop questions worth asking).  If we can inspire students to ask questions that they care about and refuse to accept "I don't know," then we can inspire future scientists.

The second tweet that caught my attention was 

#IAmAScientistBecause learning to think like a scientist leaves a permanent scar. Like a smallpox vaccination.

— Janet D. Stemwedel (@docfreeride) April 5, 2015

While I don't want my students to feel like they have been scarred, I can appreciate the sentiment in this quote.  Once we teach our students to really think like scientists, their world will look different.  They won't be able to live a life of scientific illiteracy.  Will their test scores improve?  Yes, but more importantly, they will have learned to think for themselves, and this "scar" will influence the rest of their lives--regardless of their chosen career paths.