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Schools

Opinion: We Need to Invest in STEM Education Now

As public schools struggle for funding for basic education, we must move forward increasing STEM programs in Milpitas classrooms.

In the midst of our education crisis we need to also need to keep our focus on STEM education. This focus on forms the core development of our future generation of engineers and scientists. But, why focus on this in the midst of our education crisis? Don't we have enough to worry about if we can't even get funding for basic math, reading, and writing?

  • Because in order for companies and businesses to survive in our ever-growing global marketplace, they need to create new products and services. And generally speaking, it is the engineers and scientists who are the ones who develop ideas into these new products and services that companies can thrive on. But, as the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2010 indicates, only 4 percent of college graduates were engineers. This is one of the reasons that companies give for going offshore. 
  • Because we have students today who are at grade level proficiency who may have a curiosity in the math and sciences. We have an opportunity to nurture that interest now before they "get bored". We have the opportunity to develop these students to become our future innovators. I'm not saying we don't work on reforming our California education system (we sorely need to), but we need to make the investment in STEM education at the same time.

Unfortunately, we have such a critical need for education reform that it overshadows the need to develop our next generation of engineers and scientists. The Silicon Valley Leadership Group understands this critical need as they made improving K-12 public education a key component for local and state governments to work on in their recent 2011 CEO Survey on the Business Climate.

Even at the national level, President Obama has called for boosting the nation's investment in innovation and education as "our generation's Sputnik moment". 

But, at the end of the day, it is here in our schools, students in front of teachers, who will tell us if we can develop our next generation of engineers and scientists. We need to develop a comprehensive program to nurture kids who are interested in science and math to explore the sciences and engineering. Here, in the Silicon Valley, the center of innovation, we have some of the brightest minds to bring innovation and expertise who can bring to bear on this challenge. So, here's a "high level stab" of what a comprehensive program might look like:

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  • At the 5th and 6th grades, start to integrate technology into the classroom, where students use technology to show their learning. Teachers will need to encourage students to develop critical problem solving skills, and being willing to "peel the layers of the onion" and being willing to continually ask why and how.
  • As they go into middle school, continue the use of technology to hone and encourage students to explore problem solving. Start introducing and linking key elements such as algebra to projects to show how foundations in math and science are related to innovation. Help students develop good study habits for the rigorous STEM curriculum (here lies one of our challenges as too many of our students loose interest because of the lack the discipline and/or support to be successful). 
  • When they become high school students, we need to continue the support process as they are introduced to their foundation courses in the sciences (Biology, Chemistry & Physics) and mathematics (Geometry, College Algebra, and Calculus). We also need to show how this foundation in STEM translates in the real world. Ideas like "The Silicon Valley Tour" where students get to see the various labs of key companies like Google, Apple, Cisco Systems, etc. develop new products and having a strong one-on-one mentor program can make a huge difference in keeping those able students in the STEM programs. We also need a strong academic program at the high school level that is really prepares the students to go into our top universities. This means that the students need to have the opportunity to learn to how to program, work on challenging projects, and develop presentation and communication skills. Schools need to differentiate between college preparatory versus a trade education as they are vastly different. Companies can also help to promote students in the sciences and engineering by sponsoring college scholarships.
  • We need to develop a program in which we can "track our STEM" students as they progress through their college careers to provide additional support and guidance. Continued support via internships and co-op programs will be essential to start to develop potential engineering and scientist candidates. With tracking, we can measure our success by how many engineers we can graduate, thereby creating this ecosystem to build our innovation economy.

Here, in the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD), we have a great beginning of this comprehensive program with the STEM academy at Randall Elementary, and the introduction of the STEM academy at Rancho Middle School starting in the fall. We have an opportunity to build a model program that can scale to the national level. But, we need financial and community support:

  • Local companies need to make the investment as they will certainly be a beneficiary. 
  • Parents and our community needs to encourage and recognize our students to become the leaders in the innovation economy. They will become productive citizens, making a impact on the world. 
  • Our government needs to find ways to help with funding. 
  • Our teachers need to be trained (and rewarded) to teach this new comprehensive curriculum. 

We can not wait for our elected officials to make this happen (given the current education crisis). We must come together as a community to lead in building for our future. We have the ability and we need the will. If we don't, who will? 

If you have ideas and suggestions, please contact me at: info@mceefoundation.org.

has over 18 years experience in the high-tech industry in engineering and management from companies including Cisco Systems, IBM, and Amdahl. He also have over five years experience as a private investor and is the CEO and Board President of the Milpitas Community Educational Endowment.

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