I just ran across an amazing essay by physicist Ethan Siegel titled, Why do I have to learn this? It's a wonderful piece of persuasive writing that must be shared.
Ethan has a very good blog called Starts with a Bang in which he answers mostly science questions in an informative and entertaining way. I like his breezy style, which usually never shorts the reader on facts, but still keeps the eyeballs moving quickly. With rare exceptions his posts are uniformly excellent.
As a parent, former student, and former physics instructor, I find his latest piece to be a true marvel. It's easily the best answer to the age-old student question that I've ever read, and I wish I'd written it. I think every 5th or 6th grader should read it, and then read it again in high school. No doubt some kids wouldn't be moved, but they should all be given the chance.
His full essay of the subject can be found here. Enjoy!
