STEMming off in all directions…

Posted by on Monday, November 23, 2009 · 7 Comments 

As BetterGrads seeks out the scoop on all things educational and relevant to college-bound high schoolers, we came across great news for those keen on science.

Today, Discovery Communications (think The Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, etc.) announced their full-fledged support of President Obama’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative, with a new program: “Be the Future.”

Of the many STEM initiatives under Obama, Discovery’s “Be the Future” program will provide commercial-free programming for school-aged youth (including public service announcements from MythBusters’ very own Adam and Jamie) to help pique interest and achievement across the sciences. That’s awesome! Who doesn’t dig those guys, really? Now if we could only get Mike Rowe, too…

STEM programs, in the form of private and public partnerships, aim to push students to excel in the sciences, as American academic scores have continued to fall behind other countries in recent years. Obama’s goals for STEM youth education include: increasing critical thinking about science, improving the international science/math teaching gap, and expanding STEM career opportunities for women and minorities.

And even cooler than that, PC Magazine is all over STEM initiatives, boasting Time Warner’s 5-year commitment of $100 million to STEM programs and Sony’s national Game Design Competition, which will provide $2 million for developers to create STEM-based video games for kids. Video games can be educational? I don’t have to pretend, anymore…

Clearly, STEM is sprouting off in all directions.

Okay, corny science puns aside… The Obama administration’s recent focus on STEM comes at a time when colleges are looking to recruit students who are both interested in the sciences and have had at least some opportunity to cultivate those interests in some way. Showing up at college with a blank slate can be beneficial in terms of opening your mind to a multitude of subjects, but having been introduced to the nearly limitless fields of science, technology, engineering and math at a young age can help you make informed decisions so you can avoid switching your major a zillion times.

Additionally, the U.S. Government Members of the House Committee on Science and Technology met earlier this year about specifically, how to increase the number of females who pursue careers in science. And what best way to open those doors? Starting early, of course.

When I worked as a freelance writer for UCSF, I had the opportunity to research a UCSF-high school science education partnership that teamed up teenagers with graduate research students in campus labs all summer, and many of them were female. The graduate students were wholeheartedly impressed with how much high schoolers could learn and apply advanced pharmacological and biological research to their projects at such a young age. Across the board, they expressed their desire to see more science education outreach among high school-level students.

This USCF-high school partnership was a great example of a STEM-supporting initiative, and here at BetterGrads, we’d like to know if you can share with us other programs that are similar in scope to the mission of STEM education. We’d love to show our support for programs that demonstrate the importance of prepping pre-college students for, well, college.

Do you have an interest in science? Do you see the quality of science, technology, engineering and math education improving in your school? Do you know females who are currently considering a science career? Give us the scoop! We’re all ears.

Category: Issues in Education, Technology · Tags:

  • https://www.kevinfadler.com Kevin Adler

    I love the anecdote on the UCSF-high school science education partnership. It's one of those particularly amazing qualities of high school students: when more is expected, much more is delivered. We routinely hear how US students are way behind the rest of the world in the STEM subjects. Today's news of a huge increase in the resources available for STEM education is a major breakthrough, a crucial first step.

    What if our public education system en masse started to expect that every student thrive in STEM, not just skip it or get-by?

    The next essential step is for teachers, principals, parents, and students to demand excellence, not excuses, in STEM. What a difference these sets of four simple words have made in my life and so many others: you can do it. I believe in you. We're* here to help.

    *But let us not forget about the humanities, too.

  • https://RauMachine.com LisaRau

    *I hear ya, Kevin. I'm a total humanities loyalist, which is why I get excited when these fields intersect, ala writing about the sciences.

  • Christine

    I think that STEM programs are a wonderful way to get pre-college kids ready for the challenges that they are presented in college. I, myself work as an after school enrichment teacher for elementary schools. In our enrichment classes we offer a variety of educational afterschool programs opposed to the ordinary day-care setting where children simply run wild waiting for their parents to pick them up. Included in our enrichment programs are science classes that many first graders, second graders and even kindergarteners are enrolled in. This is a great way for young children to spend otherwise wasted time getting a head start in their academics, while also having fun. The children are always thrilled by what they learn and are so excited to share their experiments with their parents. Little do they know that they are getting a “one up” on other children their age.

  • craighea

    I think that STEM programs are a wonderful way to get pre-college kids ready for the challenges that they are presented in college. I, myself work as an after school enrichment teacher for elementary schools. In our enrichment classes we offer a variety of educational afterschool programs opposed to the ordinary day-care setting where children simply run wild waiting for their parents to pick them up. Included in our enrichment programs are science classes that many first graders, second graders and even kindergarteners are enrolled in. This is a great way for young children to spend otherwise wasted time getting a head start in their academics, while also having fun. The children are always thrilled by what they learn and are so excited to share their experiments with their parents. Little do they know that they are getting a “one up” on other children their age.

  • https://www.kevinfadler.com Kevin Adler

    Sounds like a wonderful program, Christine. Learning to love learning is undoubtedly one of the most valuable lessons students of any age can learn.

  • https://www.kevinfadler.com Kevin Adler

    Sounds like a wonderful program, Christine. Learning to love learning is undoubtedly one of the most valuable lessons students of any age can learn.

  • https://bettergrads.org/blog/2009/12/07/making-college-affordable/ Making College Affordable | BetterGrads

    [...] on edu­ca­tion our gov­ern­ment has for­tu­nately taken. Check out my recent arti­cle on STEM edu­ca­tion ini­tia­tives, under the same men­tal­ity as the Col­lege Afford­abil­ity plan. (STEM = Sci­ence, [...]

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