Bringing Science and Math Into Writing?

I am an eighth grade English teacher. As much as I love my subject and believe in the value of skillful writing, I also believe that there is a terrible lack of interest in the sciences and maths among students in general. In some sense, I believe English to be a support subject for the others classes at this grade level. At my school, the average science classroom has time for labs and note taking, but reading and writing on the subject (beside textbooks) is usually limited. Math is in a similar situation: they have time to learn a concept and practice, but not to linger on possibilities. Therefore, I have two questions for the readers of Slashdot: which books / shows / movies caused a curiosity towards these subjects when you were young, and what suggestions do you have for incorporating these subjects into writing?

Comments

Re:You're doomed

[PopeRatzo]

Harmonoius, I'm betting you don't have kids. As any parent can tell you, books, movies, games can have a huge influence on a child's interest in science (or music, or literature, or art).

Plus, not many parents, or men who had much respect for women in general, throw around the word "cunt" in answering a question posed by a schoolteacher about how to best inspire schoolchildren.

Or, you might just be an asshole. That's always a possibility.

Re:Why?

[Hatta]

How many Americans can quote even a single poem?

Why would we want to? What value is there in poetry? It's just all flowery crap. If someone has something to say, I'd prefer that they just come out and say it in prose without hiding their meaning behind layers of symbolism and making the reader work hard just to understand what message is being conveyed. Language is about communication. How can poetry be an effective means of communication when the best experts in the field can't even agree about what a poem means?

This teacher is on the right track. IMO the only value in English class is making sure students are fluent enough to properly do word problems.