I enjoyed reading the article presented by Friedman, there are some great points throughout the article and message.
The first thing that needs to take place is pretty obvious, as a country the emphasis that we place on education needs to be escalated to newer levels and heights. Education needs to be a “WE” not “ME” thought process that everyone from administrators, to teachers, to students, to community members, leaders in the business world, everyone needs to step up their game, and make this about “US” and find a way to lend a hand in education and STEM education. There are jobs right now in the future that we don’t even know what they will be about, but they will incorporate the use of technology, and as educators we need to find ways to apply technology and real-world applications in the classroom to better prepare our students for these types of jobs. Applying those types of real-world applications will allow science to cross into other curricular areas of reading, writing, math, social studies, and technology that will create the types of students (I mean leaders or employees) we are looking for in the 21st century.
Hello Jared,
ReplyDeleteI love the way you put the "we", "me" and "us" in the STEM education. You are so right that we need to be able to move to an us idea of thinking in STEM education. I fear that our current economic demise has left everyone worrying about where there next job or meal is going to come from. Some people find themselves to qualified to work anywhere, and others are not qualified enough to work. I think students in the classroom are in a daze that jobs are everywhere in America and easy to get. As educators, we try to give students a good background to help them get a job now or in the future. Aarons (2008) says the states should be encouraged to implement global skills into curriculum and graduation requirements. This would be important in preparing our students for the global economy, but even in America, it is still cheaper to outsource jobs. Try calling a technology help desk for Dell or MAC. Even jobs like painting airplanes has ben somewhat insourced. My brother has painted planes for years and businesses have brought in workers from El Salvador with no training to paint airplanes. We can educate our young Americans, but will there be jobs for them to work in the global economy.
Thanks, Adam
References
Aarons, D. I. (2008). New skills seen essential for global competition. Education Week, 28(4), 12. Retrieved from the Walden University Library using the Education Research Complete database.
I feel the best thing we can do to prepare our students for the future is to help develop their critical-thinking and collaborative. These skills will help them no matter what job they have in the future.
ReplyDeleteI find my students do not like to solve difficult problems. They tend to like to have questions where the answers are easy to find. Also, students have trouble working in groups. They are very sensitive to the mildest suggestion or critique of others. Do you find this with your students?