I don’t like Shakespeare. I think that the stories could be told in much more detail with far fewer words. I have a good number of friends that love Shakespeare, though, and every one of them can trace their love for Shakespeare’s works back to a special teacher that taught Romeo and Juliet (or Hamlet, or The Tempest) with a passion and appreciation that resonated with the students. Few people develop a love of Shakespeare by reading his works on their own. Instead, they read in hopes of igniting the same excitement in their own lives that Shakespeare ignited in their teacher.

Ohio and many other states have begun to develop STEM programing for students. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. I think the logic behind this program is that future jobs will increasingly require high tech and problem solving skills. Currently we are experiencing a decline in the number of students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math majors in college. Therefore, offering programming at the K-12 level designed to boost interest in these fields will yield future results in terms of workforce preparedness. Hard to argue with.

I recognize the need and remain optimistic about the prospects of success. My concern is that the STEM programming envisioned by the policy-makers and the STEM programs that will appear in the schools may not resemble one another. In all probability, attempts to boost enrollment will focus around trying to get more students involved in existing programs, a strategy with little hope of success. Our current science and math programs are among the most “tracked” of all high school programs. Once students complete eighth grade their high school options for coursework are very limited.

A second concern is that available resources will go to existing programs, which include very little in terms of Technology and Engineering. New programming, available to any student that expresses interest, is the key to this initiative. Our problem might come from how to staff the programs. Ohio currently (to the best of my knowledge) does not offer a teacher license in Engineering and our current state of Technology programming is, well..you know.

New, creative programs, taught by teachers whose passion for the subject is contagious is the best way to build interest in the STEM areas.

Tags: high tech, STEM