Tuesday, April 26, 2016
We Can’t Drill and Burn Our Way Out of Our Problems. But We Can Invest and Invent Our Way Out of Them.
Posted by Punk Rock Dad at 3:16 AM
My wife and I are fortunate enough to have our children in a school
district that affords them opportunities to stretch themselves
intellectually. It’s public school and having
your kids in a public school system isn’t without its drama. Typically, the curriculum is taught at a
level equivalent to the lowest common denominator. And I shouldn’t judge, but there is always a
cost prohibitive forcing function which can limit the lower threshold of such
denominators in the private school system.
Opting for public schools can put downward pressure on the forcing
function. But on the flip side, the oft
experienced air of entitlement from private school is removed when entrenched
in the public school system.
I’m not here to debate socioeconomic effects on demographics in the
public school system and the resultant effects on the core curriculum and the
delivery of educational services. That’s
for PTA moms, educators, and legislators to debate. What I’m hoping to impress upon you is the
importance of a specific set of curriculum that’s a necessity in your child’s
life. More importantly, it’s a necessity
in our lives. One word. STEM.
OK, it’s really four words. Five,
if you count the word ‘and.’ Let’s not get semantic on this.
Over the last few months, I’ve been cracking the whip on Grom #1 and
his two buddies. I was overseeing the
development of their STEM 2016 project.
And while the coordination of said project has compromised both my patience
and time, it’s become wildly apparent the value of such an opportunity for
these rugrats and the dire need for an enriching STEM curriculum across the
proverbial board of all schools.
You see, I’m an engineer. I like
making stuff and breaking stuff. Ask my
parents, I took everything apart. If it
wasn’t bolted down, I took it apart. If
it was bolted down, I removed the bolts and used them in my next great
invention. And while doing all of that,
I typically lost my dad’s tools. So of
course I may be a ‘slight’ bit biased. All
biases aside, what I do know is that Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics are the building blocks for so very many aspects of our world.
Look around. Someone dreamt it, designed
it, invented it, tested it, cured it and calculated it for us. Everything.
The odds of your kid being the next Russell Wilson or Russell Westbrook
are pretty long. Even if they do succeed
in professional athletics, the odds are even longer that they will influence
the world in any more than a pop-cultural dimension (think Lamar Odom). Something no more than a passing fancy or
tabloid fodder.
But the odds of your kid influencing the world by way of designing
something new, making life easier, developing new technologies, exploring
space, reducing greenhouse emissions, purifying water sources in 3rd
world countries, developing future alternative power cell technologies, programming
the next great smart phone app, or whatever are much more in your favor if you
expose your kids to STEM opportunities.
We need visionaries. We need
futurists. We need technology that
enables change and betterment. We are
not promised tomorrow on this slab of a rock slinging itself through space and
time. Despite what some may believe, the
resources here are finite.
I don’t care if you believe in a big scary monster that lives in the
sky who created this planet in a couple of days or believe in a 50,000 year old
warrior who infest host bodies in Yelm.
It doesn’t matter to me. What you
need to believe in is that we need change, change for the better. We need a prosperous future. Our kids can help bring that if given the
right opportunities. Please. Donate your
time, your money or your voice to the cause of keeping accessibility to STEM
curriculum and activities. Yes, every
year it’s a drag to work on a science fair project with your kid. Trust me, I begrudgingly volunteer to support
my kids’ in this. But once my sleeves
are rolled up and we’re intellectually invested into the project, things don’t
get much more appealing. Most parents
would rather check out of parenting and check in on Facebook.
Give your child the opportunity to explore STEM curriculum. The challenges, the learning, and the
outcomes can make a difference. And if
instead they choose to herd goats in the far reaches of Katmandu, at least they
will know how to count their goats.
We can’t drill and burn our way out of our problems. But we can invest and invent our way out of
them.
Better yet….check out these links.
Get inspired by them.
LEGO Paper Airplane Machine
LEGO Paper Airplane Machine – Behind the Scenes
The Age of Aerospace
The Above and Beyond Exhibition
http://aboveandbeyondexhibition.com
STEM 2016 Technology Project - The Legoonies by JRK Films
https://youtu.be/ltPcBSbx-_A
STEM 2016 Technology Project - The Legoonies by JRK Films
https://youtu.be/ltPcBSbx-_A
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