Where We Live: Improving STEM Education

Email from Peter

It was George Orwell who said that the way we speak determines the sort of society we have.

When we have politicians always telling us that they will 'fight" for us, instead of "work" it is no wonder that we have continuing conflicts and the sort of nasty political campaigns such as we have had over the last months.

And when people on the radio talk about students as "products" it is no wonder we have unhappy students. Students are humans and that is different from products. We think and treat products differently than we treat humans.

What is education for? Our publics schools should in this order should be teaching humanity, civility and productivity. How to be a good human, how to be a good citizen and how to be a creative and productive person.

Teaching is communication and 92.7 % of communication is non-verbal. Whether they know it or not, like it or not teachers teach people first and subjects second.

A teaching moment was lost when the woman told the story of her daughter who was not treated as a human but as a product consuming the teacher's subject.

Email from Joe

Attached is a link to the Solar Decathlon program/competition, mentioned on today's show. Some nearby universities (NY, MA, VT) have competed recently, and as guests might make for a great future show.
http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

Email from Elizabeth

I so appreciate that Diane and the guy from Wisconsin talked about discovery and joy! I was glad some of the other callers--teachers, it seems!-- talked about the importance of hands-on experiences, and risk-taking. But here's the real thing: as long as those high-stakes tests are in place, determining whether schools even stay open, and now are going to be used to evaluate teachers, forget about risk-taking.

The issue for me whenever people like the Regents head Kennedy and Arne Duncan talk about "accountability," they're thinking in business terms, not in terms of what learning is for. To whom, in fact, should teachers be accountable? The federal or state gov't? or to the children and their families?

Email from Valerie

I was off work today and happy that I caught your show. I'm the daughter of a thirteen-year-old who had great interest in science throughout elementary school, although less so now. I particularly appreciated your discussions about needing to inspire learning through fostering investigation and curiosity rather than "teaching to the CMT test."

In North Haven public schools, she was in the "Integrated Day" curriculum, where students choose their own projects to work on throughout the K-5 years, integrating math, science, and communication skills in the process. Her favorite library books for years were on mosquito-based diseases, and she chose the career path of being a neurobiologist in third grade.

In middle school, she has entered a much more rote, standardized curriculum, with uninspiring science teachers, and her interest in science is dimming compared to some of her subjects in the humanities. She still performs well in science and math and is currently taking algebra in seventh grade.

I should mention that she regularly attends Yale's free Girl's Science Investigation program, which offers day-long programs in various science topics. I hope that she gets some great science teachers as she continues school who will inspire her to continue the interest in science as she moves toward the more focused and serious phase of her education in high school and college.

Email from Paulette

One aspect of high school you have not touched upon is the stigma that "geek" holds in a very difficult time in a young adult's life. The school environment needs to encourage athletes to be scientists and offer the opportunity to be both an athlete and a scholar. That it is possible and an athlete should not be embarrassed to be smart and athletic.

Email from Andrea

Another great show Mr. Dankosky.... We've spoken over the past decade to many many engineers(neighbors in our area, clients) , mechanical, electrical, design, IT, whose jobs have disappeared as our regional manufacturers have transferred equipment and production overseas. Some have travelled to China to train their replacements. One young recent graduate of W.Conn with a degree in engineering, top of his class, ran into a wall on his job hunt until a friend left his job and recommended him. If there are good jobs in engineering, science, technology, good students will study those areas. If the jobs go overseas, or if imported engineers come here and replace American workers for 30% less in wages in benefits, then you'll see more of our neighbors in unemployment lines and support groups.

Email from Kayla

I am a recent graduate of UConn with my BS in Molecular and Cell Biology, and I'm going on to my PhD in the fall. I think the real problem with STEM teacher education is that there is a disconnect between people who are interested in science, and the teaching field itself. College students who are going into teaching are not taking the science classes, they are not interested in the scientists, they are only interested in learning to be teachers. On the other side of it, people going into the sciences are not learning to be teachers. I am wondering if we should be drawing scientists into the teaching field, or drawing teachers into the science field. Wouldn't some give and take on both sides help our STEM education in the long run. What sort of draw is there for someone like me, trained in the sciences, to go become a 4th grade science teacher?

Email from Carolyn

There are a wealth of highly-trained postdoctoral fellows and Ph.D.
graduates in modern sciences with little or no prospects for faculty appointments in today's funding climate and extremely limited number of faculty jobs or positions in industry. They are exempt from teaching in high schools (in CT and other states) because they do not have teaching certification!!