Cutline: Mayor Ivy Taylor’s Students from Hutchins Elementary School watch in awe at a science experiment inside the TAME Trailblazer. (Photo, Amanda Lozano)
Cutline: Mayor Ivy Taylor stands with STEM Students and speaks at the launch of 2014’s STEM announcement. (Photo, Amanda Lozano)
San Antonio goes STEM
By Amanda Lozano amanda@laprensasa.com Is it possible to nab a high paying, respectable job fresh out of high school without a college degree? Impossible — not.
How can it happen? It’s simple: get into manufacturing.
The antiquated mentality that manufacturing jobs are dirty and low paying may be no more with the focus shifting to more hands on learning approach with initiatives like STEM (science, technology, engineering and
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However, there are not enough qualified people to fill the spots which has led to a push for more STEM-based education.
Mayor Ivy Taylor and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is hosting STEM Week: a community wide effort to help increase student interest and passion in STEM related education by free, hands on, informative experiences.
“We are celebrating the power of learning and the trajectory that it will create for the San Antonio community,” Taylor said. “STEM skills will take our students far in life. Many of the high-paying jobs require these skills.”
“We want to send a challenge to the community that STEM [skills] are key for this community to bridge the gap that has been the big void of the pace of change,” Mario Lozoya, director of Public Relations for Toyota Manufacturing said. “We need an educated workforce to sustain companies, and the continuous growth of this community of technology in the
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The nation is very quickly changing its focus in careers, and technology and science are the way to go.
“Twenty percent of U.S. jobs require a STEM education, said Brian Sullivan, vice president of corporate affairs for Tesoro, owner of various oil refineries in Texas.“Its only expected to grow. In order for the US to continue to meet the global challenges, we need more students educated with STEM background.”
The efforts to encourage students is truly a community effort. Mayor Taylor’s book club is currently reading a text called “Rocket Boys:” a story by NASA engineer Homer Kickam Jr. that describes his rural roots to rocket construction in the ’60’s. STEM elements are focal in the books plot.
In addition, SASTEMIC, a local nonprofit is integral in encouraging youth, and they are doing it on wheels. In partnership with Rackspace, the 80/20 Foundation and Geekdom, a bus called Geekbus visits schools to provide memorable STEM educated experiences in the
Subsequently what is done is that selected high schools develop a curriculum that is organized around a specific career cluster, which are like a specialized charter school. The goal is to feature a series advanced “pathway” courses that can help students to enrich their knowledge through work-based learning and academics. In turn, this specialized education will allow student to demonstrate their understanding through assessments and industry credentialing opportunities. As well these schools are enrolled in a learning exchange that have partnerships that are organized to support the programs of study by coordinating statewide networks of education partners, businesses, industry associations, labor, and other organizations (2013, p. 21-23). Consequently, the program is driven to help high school students develop a career path and to receive exploratory education that will given them an advantage in either college endeavors or in the job market.
Since my school does not directly prioritize STEM-associated extracurricular activities, I believe that IMSA will help me achieve the goals that I seek in these fields. At IMSA, with peers that excel in these fields, we will challenge each other to become better than we are already and create new connections and friendships in IMSA’s welcoming
Today’s college students have the opportunity and freedom to choose their major and their career path. Many factors influence the decision of a college student’s career paths including background, general interests, personal strengths, time commitment, and job outlook. Although many important decisions are made in college, one of the most important is the choice of major and career track. Out of hundreds of majors the science and engineering fields are under-represented by women. Although the numbers of women in science technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, majors has been increasing in the past years, women still are in the minority in the STEM fields. In her study, Lona Whitmarsh concluded, “that career opportunities for women have widened,” but “not enough change has occurred to show significant differences between the overall population” (49). It is good that more women are entering these fields, but there are still not enough young women aspiring to fill the gaps. Further statistics show that female representation in engineering continues to be low, “in 2008 only 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 22.9 percent of masters, and 14.8 percent of PhDs in engineering were awarded to women” (Bystydzienski 2). Although there has been a general increase of women entering the fields of science and mathematics, overall the numbers are still low, showing that women struggle in pursuing a degree within these fields, and that many factors can lead to a female not choosing to begin or complete college in a STEM major. Women are in the minority of STEM fields.
The acronym STEM simply refers to science, technology, engineering and math. The acronym does not mean that STEM defines any specific type of job only in the sense jobs are related to science, technology, engineering, and math. Because of the nature of these jobs refers to STEM industries, these types of jobs in education and social sciences are not included. The main jobs included are within the fields of computers and math. Almost the same number of boys and girls are graduating from high school and even more girls are graduating from college, yet women are still underrepresented in STEM industries. Though women comprise more than half of the workforce in the U.S economy, they hold less than twenty five percent of jobs in STEM industries.
STEM is significant to our society, we need jobs not only to compete globally, but to also fix the important problems of the world. Technology is pervasive in almost every aspect of daily life, and as the workplace changes, STEM knowledge and skills grow in importance for a variety of workers (not just for mathematicians and scientists) (Traurig par. 6). If corporations increase female participation in the future, not only will it increase more genders and diversity to work in the corporation, but it will also help solve the important problems of the world because of all the minds that are working together. STEM is the future for this next generation as technology use is on the rise and more problems occur day by day. Remember when turning on the TV to show your daughter the commercials, that one commercial you showed can be the difference between her being interested in STEM or
Tenth grade Jayden Fowler is a quiet, contemplative dedicated young man who knows how to ‘make it loud’ for STEM. In the two year’s Jayden has been involved in FIRST FRC he has dedicated many hours during team meetings and during his personal time furthering his and other’s understanding of STEM and FIRST principles.
The statistics can be somewhat startling, while women receive 56% of BA degrees in the United States, they receive only 37% of the Science, Mathematics, and Engineering (SME) bachelor degrees (Chang, 1). As scary as the statistics on women are, they only point to an even bigger problem among all SME majors. According to one study, there is a 40% decline in the number of undergraduate science majors between the first and senior year of college (Didon, 336). Another study found that about 50% of the students who enter college in SME majors will change their major in two years (Change, 1). In a study of Hispanic American women who declared physical science or mathematics majors, 50% drop out within the first grading period (Ortiz, 1). The lack of SME majors has often been blamed on America’s high schools or even elementary schools, with university professors claiming students are not encouraged to consider science careers or are unprepared by their high school teachers. The statistics tell another story, no matter which specific numbers you consider, 50% in two years or 40% in their college careers, students are getting turned off from SME careers while in college, not high school. And the problem isn’t just with women; men are fleeing the sciences as well.
...ful career and a family may be relevant now, and keep women from pursuing STEM careers, but eventually society must realize how detrimental this mindset can be. Until then, the gender gap will continue to persist.
While this may be true, NAM reported that about “ 78% of those in manufacturing jobs have attained at least a high school education.” Manufacturers actually look for employees that are knowledgeable
Merging liberal arts and STEM to forge a new program that embraces both would allow for an increase in the fostering of success, innovation and entrepreneurship. It would encourage individuals to take the first leap into discovering something new while keeping them from repeating the mistakes of the past. If we only had a STEM education, it might stifle the creative thinking that is fostered by a strong general education; however, if we only had a liberal arts education, it might stifle the advance of science, technology, and engineering. We need to find a way to merge these programs to continue to advance research, science, engineering and technology as well as to continue to foster the continued growth of research and
Have you wondered what would be the best degree to have in your life? The STEM vs. Humanities argument is a decades-long debate, but in this new era, the answer is quickly becoming clear. The STEM field is rapidly growing, with new and innovative advances. STEM degrees are becoming increasingly useful for young adults, far ahead of humanities and liberal arts degrees. STEM majors make more money, are better employed, and are better educated and prepared for work. STEM graduates are making nearly $16,000 more than their liberal arts counterparts and are more likely to hold a full-time job. The job market for STEM fields is also favorable for young adults, with the unemployment rate of STEM majors being a full 1.6% lower than the unemployment
We automatically focus on the large, round, green circle that creates a cluster. This large circle is encompassed by small, round circles that give the impression that each circle represents a chapter in a book. These chapters consist of sixteen jobs or careers that we can learn about. Some career choices are Business Management and Administration; Information Technology; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Human Services and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics just to name a few. () The amount of choices for obtaining an education in one’s chosen field of interest will draw many students in the Career and Technical Education program. This cluster of careers is the focal point of the infographic.
So the question is why is there a shortage of women in the STEM fields? And what’s happening to all the women with STEM degrees?
Studies show that retention of females in science, technology, engineering, and math (collectively, “STEM”) careers is consistently lower than that of their male counterparts. Between 2001 and 2009, the percentage of female recipients of bachelor degrees in engineering stagnated at a mere 18.1-20.9% (Jagacinski, 2013). A staggeringly large number of women switch majors by their junior year of college, and do not pursue their STEM-related degree to completion. Why is this? How can such a significant difference exist between the retention of men and women in the same field? Women face several obstacles that their male counterparts never have to deal with.
The STEM-related workforce has grown from 5.5% of total workforce in 2010 to 6.1% of the total workforce in 2015 which means there are more jobs being created in the STEM field (ESA, 2017). These jobs also are more rewarding in terms of salary due to their average 26% higher wage than non-STEM workers