How STEM Education Can Help Our Kids And Our World

Science, technology, engineering, and math are the four subjects that may be most important for our kids to be learning now. STEM education is finally getting the attention it deserves and there are many programs, classes, camps, and museum activities that will let your child learn STEM subjects. We need more scientists and innovators and STEM education holds the key. Building rockets, robots, and other cool contraptions helps kids become creative thinkers and problem solvers and may help them and our world in the future.

Science, technology, engineering, and math: The four core subjects that make up STEM education are now getting more attention than ever, with more programs, classes, camps, and even museums turning their focus to where STEM can lead our world in the future.

The Problem

America consistently ranks poorly against its global classmates in STEM subjects, placing 25th in math and 17th in science out of 31 countries ranked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Only about 18 percent of high school seniors perform at or above proficiency in science subjects, according to the National Math and Science Initiative. These alarming numbers are forcing America to go back to the chalkboard and evaluate where we stand in an evolving STEM world.

Beyond the classroom, census data reported by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in 2010 found that only 4.9 percent of American jobs were in science and engineering, falling from a recorded 5.3 percent in 2000—the first such decline since 1950. The result: We’re falling behind the rest of the world in terms of innovation, and the U.S. is losing jobs as companies are being forced to hire overseas workers for STEM projects.

Read Next | STEAM & STEM Classes for Kids on Long Island

What’s Being Done

In response to this statistical pitfall, the crucial impact of STEM is being recognized through organizations like the New York State STEM Education Collaborative, which strives “to define STEM and the STEM disciplines in a fashion that will serve as a model for New York State and throughout the nation,” and improves on these disciplines during annual state-wide collaborative summits. Change the Equation, a nonprofit initiative, is working to improve and sustain the national STEM movement through philanthropy, inspiration, and advocacy, even launching a “STEM Is Cool!” video contest to showcase fun and exciting innovations in the STEM world. The STEM Education Coalition offers support to STEM educators and programs within the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.

With government funding and growing recognition in schools across the country, organizations like these are focusing on the future. “The 25 Best Jobs of 2012” by US News ranked registered nurses in their number-one spot, followed by software developers, pharmacists, medical assistants, and database administrators, rounding out the top five careers to watch out for in terms of projected growth and employment estimates—all five of which are rooted in STEM education.

As STEM crawls toward garnering the necessary attention it requires for our country to advance, classrooms in the New York area are hunkering down on STEM. In 2010, New York and Connecticut adopted the Common Core State Standards (corestandards.org), which clearly outline consistent learning expectations in mathematics and language arts for America’s K-12 students, in order to best prepare them for higher education and the workforce. For students in grades K-5, Common Core guidelines put a strong focus on grasping fundamental mathematical concepts. High schoolers are expected to be able to apply the concepts and learn how they can be targeted toward a career.
 

Beyond the Classroom

Lima Hossain, a senior at Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment, has felt a love for science since middle school. Hossain took that love and continued to develop it at BASE, where in May 2012, she took home the top prize at the school’s Science Research Day. Hossain’s project, titled “Bacterial Inhibition with Plant Extracts Native to Developing Countries,” found its inspiration in an unlikely place. “The inspiration came from a 20/20 special I watched,” Hossain says. The episode highlighted the challenge of finding clean drinking water in third-world countries, which struck a chord with Hossain. She tasked herself with a research project in which she would use plants native to the area to neutralize the local water. Hossain wanted to find solutions that are “easy, effective, and inexpensive for people.”

Although Hossain took home her prize on Science Research Day, her project is far from over. The teen hopes to continue her research, always keeping in mind that she wants “to mainly help people. That is my main inspiration.” By furthering her STEM education, Hossain hopes to reach beyond the lab and make a difference in the world.

“It’s very important for people to get involved with STEM at a young age,” says Maria Taveras, a 21-year-old science education major at City College who volunteers at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, which offers hands-on STEM-related programs geared toward kids. “We need science, math, engineering, and technology in our lives,” she adds, citing careers with roots in STEM, such as architecture, technology development, and medical advancements.