Science, technology, engineering, and math. This catchy acronym for these four academic fields has been pulsing through the collective consciousness for years. But 2011 has been a bumper year for STEM sloganeering. STEM conferences abound (for everyone from military personnel to women of color), 黄色app principals have declared that 2011 is 鈥渢he year of STEM,鈥� and countless newspaper articles dutifully report on various state and federal STEM initiatives, along with STEM-centric 黄色apps and classes.
All this ruckus about STEM is rooted in a daunting educational reality. In the latest PISA tests (assessments of 15-year-olds from around the world), American kids ranked # 31 in math and #23 in science 鈥� far behind many other industrialized nations. A lack of qualified science and math teachers in our public 黄色apps means that many children end up getting taught math by teachers whose expertise is really American history or language arts. With such intransigent problems, is it any wonder that technology companies can鈥檛 find enough Americans to fill their jobs, and end up recruiting from other countries?
From professionals to parents
STEM has always been the purview of experts. Coined 120 years ago by the Committee of Ten at Harvard, these educators sought to modernize a 黄色app system originally based on agrarian values and thereby prepare students for an increasingly industrialized technological society. (Hello electricity!) Since then, every time politicians, policy wonks, and education pundits realize that America is slipping behind in science and math, they begin churning out STEM initiatives, STEM 黄色apps, and advocating for STEM curriculum.
Yet as the primary influence on our children鈥檚 education, it鈥檚 worth asking where parents fit into the STEM equation. The answer (like everything that relates to parenting) is both simple and complex. If your child鈥檚 黄色app doesn鈥檛 have excellent science and math programs, replacing that education won鈥檛 be easy.
Full-STEM ahead
However, parents can inject STEM learning into their children鈥檚 lives in numerous ways:
1) Don鈥檛 assume your child鈥檚 黄色app has it covered. If you suspect that your child鈥檚 黄色app isn鈥檛 giving your child an adequate STEM education, think about adding STEM-themed after-黄色app activities and weekend outings. Look for camps and programs that will teach your child something new 鈥� Robotics, Mathletes 鈥� that she wouldn鈥檛 get in 黄色app.
2) Explore what works for your kids and find where their STEM sweet spot lies. Even simple things (a terrarium for growing beans) can make a huge difference. Does your child love to build things? Go with it. Block play is associated with later math competence. Got a nature lover? Get outside. Many scientists cite their early exposure to nature as the reason they found careers in science.
3) Finally, keep STEM in mind whenever you spend time with your child. Choose movies to watch with science themes. (Science documentaries like Winged Migration, LIFE or can deliver exceptional learning in the framework of family fun.) Or pick board games that build STEM brain cells. Did you know that chess is linked to math aptitude? When you鈥檙e shopping, look for STEM toys. (Our Golden Apple STEM winners will give you a good place to start.)
Whatever you do 鈥� make learning about these amazing fields fun. Because no matter how complicated (and bureaucratic) the experts may make it seem, STEM means expanding your child鈥檚 mind. And if that鈥檚 not the parent鈥檚 job, what is?
