With the 2025 Williston school year coming to an end, teachers are working hard to make the 2026 school year just as exciting.
“Science and Society” is a new course addition to the Williston science curriculum from 2026 and onwards. John Doll, science teacher who joined the Williston faculty team this year, is the creator of the course, and will be teaching it for the foreseeable future.
Science and Society is on how science supports our current society of eight billion people, with highlights in topics like food production, disease and medical care, archeology, and a final unit in subjects that students get to choose themselves.
Doll thinks that the course is a great way to have non-science focused students get acclimated to the study of science.
“The class is designed to let people see how science shapes our world every day,” he said. “It’s meant to be a fun course for people who don’t see themselves as science people, and for them to learn why they should care about these topics.”
Sophia DiTerlizzi, a senior who is majoring in Pre-Veterinary Science next year at the University of New Hampshire, thinks that the course is “grand.”
“I think the course is cool for people who want to take a science course but don’t want the heavy course load that comes with a typical science class,” she said.
Parker Brown, a senior, thinks that the course will be very helpful.
“As someone who is not really a science girl, I would love to see how science impacts my world, especially when it comes to social justice issues,” she said.
Parker is planning to double major in English and Education with a minor in African Studies and Human Rights next year at Haverford College.
“I would love to better understand how to interpret the world through a scientific lens, and learn how to find scientific solutions to social issues,” she said.
Doll revealed that the inspiration for the course itself was tied to social justice issues.
“It was actually an old student of mine who took a class like this in college that told me I should create this course,” Doll said. “She was originally just going to study medicine, but this class encouraged her to get into community outreach and do HIV work in rural Haiti. Now, she’s providing gender affirming care to underprivileged groups. Her work is a great example of how science ties into community.”
One challenge Doll faced while creating the course was conveying the full breadth of the course in the course name.
“The name of the class doesn’t really cover what it is. It’s not your typical course, it’s more halfway between a history course and a science course,” he said.
Doll emphasized the importance of having more fun and non-rigorous science courses at Williston.
“I think people here are driven and they’re taking a lot of AP courses, but we need more electives that add variety, spice, and interest, and we need more classes that aren’t as overwhelming,” he told The Willistonian.
Doll compares the type of atmosphere he wants to achieve in his class to consuming science fiction content.
“Think of sci-fi,” he said. “I love the show ‘Firefly,’ it’s my favorite sci-fi franchise, and it’s very bingeable and fun to watch. But, you also learn a lot of science content through it and all other types of sci-fi series, so it’s really just mixing learning with fun.”
Pittman Alley, a senior, is sad he won’t be able to take the course.
“The course sounds really cool, and I would’ve taken it if I wasn’t graduating,” he said. “Schools always make good things right when you’re about to leave.”
