WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2023 - STEM/STEAM

 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2023

STEM / STEAM Day. What is it? How do we celebrate it? (nationaltoday.com)

STEM/STEAM Day falls on November 8. There’s no way around it: children are significantly better off with solid science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics skills. That’s why STEM and STEAM education programs are so important. It’s undebatable that these subjects push society forward, and these programs help to find fun and engaging ways to teach them to students, which is all worth commemorating. So, on November 8, we celebrate STEAM/STEAM Day!

To celebrate this day, support the education of STEM students by learning about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics scholarships offered by institutes worldwide.

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Back on October 4, 1957, something strange happened in our world. The Russians (aka - USSR - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) launched a satellite - Sputnik.

Immediately, the United States was put on the defensive - “We need more scientists” was the shout.  

In 1957, I was in fifth grade at Cleveland Elementary School - and I was pretty naive.  

By the time (two years later) when I went to seventh grade at Roosevelt Junior High School, some of the calls for action had been answered. I liked math. Science was so-so. I did pretty well in ninth-grade algebra and went off to Jefferson High School, being a math nerd. 

I loved Geometry - it was a very different kind of math. (It’s been years since I taught geometry, but my remembering of tenth-grade geometry was more on logic and proofs (like given line AB is parallel to line CD, and line EF intersects both AB and CD, prove that the alternate interior angles are equal (or congruent). Lynn Schwandt was our instructor and helped me (and a few others) form a Chess Club. I wasn’t the best chess player, but I kept the best records. 

By my junior and senior years, I had the top scores in the AMA - American Mathematics Association High School Math Test for my high school. (These days, that might mean a scholarship - but not then!!).  

In eighth grade, I was the Cedar Rapids Gazette (newspaper) carrier of the month. When asked what I wanted to be (something I hadn’t reflected on before), I answered, “I want to be a math teacher.”. And I was. (And, without humility, I was a pretty good math teacher!!)  If it wasn’t for discipline handling, I could still be teaching algebra!!! I tutored math for years and (again, a little ego) I was a good tutor. For fun, I’d do all the problems in my college math books. (Definitely a nerd). I was a math major, and in my freshman math classes, I’m pretty sure my professors at Winona State University used my exam papers to verify that they hadn’t made any mistakes. (It is familiar enough for a student to add 2X and 3X and get something other than 5X!!).  

But - I was a double major - in mathematics and social science (history emphasis). The last (and only) time I taught history was when I did my student teaching at Winona (Minnesota) High School.  

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Back to STEM/STEAM.

In today’s world, technology is one of the main drivers of the economy. We are considering autonomous vehicles (self-driving cars), artificial intelligence, and many technological advancements.  

Students need to have technology skills. And, with technology skills come science and math skills. Engineering as an applied science is valuable.

But what about the “A” in STEAM? A is for the Arts.

Does a student need to understand and appreciate the arts?  

I say yes. From my childhood, I’ve been involved in artistic expression. I have “always” played tuba (not actually - only 64 of my 76 years!!) - and before that, I spent two years playing trumpet and piano. I’ve been in plays. I’ve appreciated artistic work (paintings especially).

Does “Art” make me a better mathematician? I don’t know. I think it makes me a better human being.  

For future students - it is still being determined what the future holds, but … STEM is going to be part of it, and STEAM is going to be critical to your success!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, NOVEMBER 8, 2023