West Elementary School 5/25/2017 STEM Night West Elementary School 5/25/2017

S T E M Science Technology Engineering MATH

Bill Nye – The Science Guy

“By now we've all heard about STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) — and its importance to the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Department of Education, all STEM jobs in the U.S. will increase 14 percent from 2010-2020, accounting for millions of positions. Yet, data shows that 3 million of those jobs will go unfilled by 2018.

One reason for that is not enough students seriously consider a career in STEM. In fact, only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in mathematics and interested in a STEM career. Partly because of this, the U.S. ranks 25th in mathematics and 17th in science among industrialized nations. 

Is there an easy fix? So, how can we fix this problem? Well, first is recognizing that there is a problem. Too many Americans don't see the real-life value of STEM — and that's a shame. What keeps the U.S. in the game economically is our ability to innovate and come up with new ideas, something that can't be done without a strong focus on STEM education. Innovation is what allows the U.S. to compete. And coming up with all of these great new ideas starts with STEM.

Yet the reality is STEM education needs to be a priority long before a child reaches high school. Although some students who are introduced to STEM in high school stick with it in college and beyond, for many others high school is simply too late to develop long-term interest in STEM subjects. We have to start even earlier and make sure that the science curriculum in our schools foster interest in STEM.

A common criticism of science education is that it is rigid and lacks the excitement of other subjects. That's just silly. Science is the best idea humans have ever had. To help make it more hands-on, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), developed by the National Research Council (NRC) and the National Science Teachers Association (NTSA), recommend making exploration and experimentation an integral part of science education, not just learning about it from a textbook or a lecture.”

What can we do? Explore- go to the park, go to the beach, plant a few flowers or vegetables Use the library. Make use of books, programs, and free passes to many places. Help your child to tell time. Have an analog clock for them to use every day. Play card games and counting games with them. Let them sort and count your change. Money is the basis of our decimal system. Explore web sites with them that have STEM activities for home use. Cook with them. Cooking is really chemistry in action.