STEM Education is a crucial step in the upbringing of young students and should remain a primary focus for educators K-12th grade. I believe teachers have a tremendous responsibility to inspire and manifest a curiosity and adaptability in young minds in order for students to pursue higher goals in academia. As a part of the STEM EE Scholars Program, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to take part in this movement to individually help students with their math and science skills. I participated in weekly tutoring sessions at the Columbus Performance Academy. CPA is a small, underperforming charter school. The students there have ability but they lack passion to study in STEM fields. In each of the grades I tutored, I asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” While it is expected for students in 4th and 5th grade to reply with stereotypical answers such as “football player”, “artist”, or “dancer”, I was shocked when 7th and 8th grade students responded in the same manner. In a simple survey of future careers, it can be seen that some students at the Columbus Performance Academy are not in an adequate environment to inspire goals in STEM careers. It was also a surprise when the 4th grade students were on a higher math level than most of the 7th graders. The wide range of capabilities at the school also proves that teachers have difficulty enforcing a standardization of material, since there are many students who struggle to keep up with their lessons.
Although I do not want to be an educator in the future, I still find it paramount to volunteer to guide young students towards goals of higher education and paths in STEM fields. It is not fair for students to receive subpar education due to unconducive environments. There are educators out there that are inspirational and others that are discouraging. The disparity between educator qualifications should be minimized in order to create an educated and driven generation for America’s future.