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As the world’s market for technology and manufacturing increases, many believe educators must spark an early interest in young students to help mold a future workforce that can keep up with the growing number of unfilled Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics positions.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, approximately 600,000 STEM jobs go unfilled due to a lack of skilled workers.
Scott Meacham, president and CEO of Innovation to Enterprise, Inc., a nonprofit organization that fosters technology-based start-ups, is one of the many who believes that an early start in STEM education in schools can help spark an interest in these subjects that could lead to a workforce that keeps pace with the growing number of job opportunities.
“We need a workforce that understands physics, chemistry, computer science, mechanics and problem-solving above all,” Meacham said in an article for NewsOK. “That’s why I am such an advocate of the Oklahoma School of Science and Math, a statewide magnet for STEM.”
Robyn Miller, the chair of the department of education at Oklahoma Christian University, agrees with Meacham that it is important to not just get students exposed to the different subjects early, but train educators to help ignite an interest.
“I would want our teachers to be more prepared to be able to spark that interest in children, which is not only part of Scott Meacham’s recommendation but also President Obama’s federally funded initiative,” Miller said. “The way to do that is not just to go straight to the children and make certain that they have pathways to science and technology and math, but go to the teachers who will teach them because that could be where there is a lot of gaps.”
Senior education major Briana Gibbs, who comes from a family of educators, believes it is the teachers who can help develop a spark of interest into a passion of learning in a subject.
“[Teachers] are with these kids for eight hours a day at least, and if we see that one is interested in the sciences or one is leaning more towards mathematics then we need to push them to pursue it,” Gibbs said. “It really does start with us to take an interest in what they’re interested in.”
Sophomore engineering major Preston Kemp said his interest in STEM began at an early age.
“I think I first became interested in science and engineering out of curiosity,” Kemp said. “When I was about eight, I, at some level, looked at things and wondered, ‘How does that work? Why does that work?’ So I started experimenting. I played with circuits, I built computers and I took things apart and put them back together.”
Kemp would then foster his interest into the realization that he would follow a career path into engineering.
“[My curiosity] finally led to a key realization: technology has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on society daily,” Kemp said. “If you think of something as simple as a fire alarm, something most of us take for granted, yet [it] has saved countless lives because someone saw a need and did something about it. I believe each one of us yearns to contribute and I feel this is my way of doing that.”
Vince Bertram, president and CEO of Project Lead the Way, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to developing high-quality STEM curriculum and teacher training, writes in an article for The Huffington Post, “It is crucial that we take America’s skill crisis into our own hands. We have the opportunity to change course by engaging students in STEM learning and training the next generation workforce that America will rely on.”
Kemp applauds companies such as Project Lead the Way and thinks sciences need to be the focus in schools more.
“I think we as a society need to focus on science more,” Kemp said. “We’ve tried throwing money at it, but that doesn’t get at the heart of it. I’ve found the best motivator of results to be passion and possibility.”
Gibbs looks forward to the opportunity to help students realize their passions and help them get on paths that will help them get into the job market they show a passion for.
“I’m excited to apply what I’m learning in the classroom,” Gibbs said. “I hope one day to have a student go on to college and remember back to when I helped push them and really went the extra mile to help keep that interest going.”
Miller believes that better teacher training is also important to getting young students interested in not only math and science, but also other parts of the curriculum, something the education department strives to teach their students to do.
“Some of our professors here do a class called movements in fine arts and it uses movement, physical activity, art, drama and visual arts and music to help teach the core subjects and I think that helps students to get inspired,” Miller said.
It appears as though both STEM professionals and educators believe that to make America a competitor in the global market for these jobs, proper training of educators is required to be able to nurture their curiosity through high school.
As Meacham said in his article, “STEM drives innovation. Innovation drives entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs create net new jobs.”
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