STEM - Big deal or just a fad

[Anonymous]

It is a very big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

No. Families with money are sophisticated enough to know that big money nowadays comes from technology fields. Look at all the high tech billionaires.

I think many stay away from STEM b/c they just aren't good at math or science. Can't get into schools like TJ, Stuy, Bronx Science.

I'm not familiar with people who go to TJ but in NYC many private school kids with an interest in STEM try to get in to Stuy, etc and take the entrance exam. Most don't get in.

[Anonymous]

My DS will start at a STEM elementary school in the fall. I personally would prefer just a regular elementary school, but this was the best fit overall for a variety of other reasons.

Maybe down the line (MS/HS) place more of an emphasis on STEM, but it just seems too early to me.

And I say this as someone with STEM undergrad & grad degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

No. Families with money are sophisticated enough to know that big money nowadays comes from technology fields. Look at all the high tech billionaires.

I think many stay away from STEM b/c they just aren't good at math or science. Can't get into schools like TJ, Stuy, Bronx Science.

I'm not familiar with people who go to TJ but in NYC many private school kids with an interest in STEM try to get in to Stuy, etc and take the entrance exam. Most don't get in.

True. But are families with money all that concerned with their kids making tech money by creating those companies? Aren't they pretty much satisfied with their kids going to Ivies and then managing the companies creating by the geeky tech kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

For the first three, the grad has a handle on what to expect from the interviewer in salary negotiations. In the fourth, the grad is begging for a job, any job at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

No. Families with money are sophisticated enough to know that big money nowadays comes from technology fields. Look at all the high tech billionaires.

I think many stay away from STEM b/c they just aren't good at math or science. Can't get into schools like TJ, Stuy, Bronx Science.

I'm not familiar with people who go to TJ but in NYC many private school kids with an interest in STEM try to get in to Stuy, etc and take the entrance exam. Most don't get in.

True. But are families with money all that concerned with their kids making tech money by creating those companies? Aren't they pretty much satisfied with their kids going to Ivies and then managing the companies creating by the geeky tech kids?

Families with money want their kids to go to Ivies like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg.... Who by the way are both from well-to-do families and went to private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

No. Families with money are sophisticated enough to know that big money nowadays comes from technology fields. Look at all the high tech billionaires.

I think many stay away from STEM b/c they just aren't good at math or science. Can't get into schools like TJ, Stuy, Bronx Science.

I'm not familiar with people who go to TJ but in NYC many private school kids with an interest in STEM try to get in to Stuy, etc and take the entrance exam. Most don't get in.

True. But are families with money all that concerned with their kids making tech money by creating those companies? Aren't they pretty much satisfied with their kids going to Ivies and then managing the companies creating by the geeky tech kids?

Families with money want their kids to go to Ivies like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg.... Who by the way are both from well-to-do families and went to private schools.

Kudos to Zuckerberg but he isn't really in the same league as Gates. Just as Jobs and Wozniak. Gates and Woz are the brains behind the technical aspects of their companies. Zuckerberg and Jobs are (were) the brains behind the marketing and management of their companies.

[Anonymous]

In NYC, the big money - investment banks, hedge funds, etc - recruit heavily for Ivy and similar math whizzes. It isn't just the tech fields that want people competent in STEM.

So no. STEM isn't a fad or just for tech geeks.

[Anonymous]

I'm generally pro-STEM with my kids, and I was a math/science kid growing up. But some of the STEM supporters on this thread seem like real jerks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

Interesting angle.

A boy from working class family interested in STEM field at his public school and goes to Ivy for free (yes, those were the days.)
His kids go to good colleges, and he can afford to pay the full tuition.
Grandchildren attend private schools b/c their finance/lawyer parents can easily afford them.
Grandchild will probably close the cycle and go STEM because its his field of interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

DC attended a free public STEM magnet in the area and the "immigrants" were mainly Asian and South Asian children of engineers and NIH researchers. So I guess if you think of these professions as "lower-SES" relative to private school families then you would be right about the social climbing thing.... But in our case, like a PP, it was DC's choice to leave his private school for the magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

DC attended a free public STEM magnet in the area and the "immigrants" were mainly Asian and South Asian children of engineers and NIH researchers. So I guess if you think of these professions as "lower-SES" relative to private school families then you would be right about the social climbing thing.... But in our case, like a PP, it was DC's choice to leave his private school for the magnet.

I think more children of immigrants will pursue liberal art majors if they have been here in the US long enough to have a good grasp of the English language and their parents also hold well paying jobs because at the end of the day being a doctor (and maybe a lawyer, not sure these days) is more prestigious than being an engineer. Immigrants often go into STEM fields because there is more demand for workers with this kind of background and also because of their lack of English language communication skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm generally pro-STEM with my kids, and I was a math/science kid growing up. But some of the STEM supporters on this thread seem like real jerks.

I don't understand. Sure, some people were laughing at the idea that STEM education is just a fad, as if technology is going to be replaced by something else in another decade.

But the truly offensive posts are the ones trying to develop a sociology of magnet kids that involves poor immigrants who, once they sell their first tech startup, will happily abandon STEM education for the holy grail of private school. And the silliness of the post about how rich people all want to send their kids to Ivies, and somehow this is valudated by the fact that Gates and Zuckerberg coming from well-to-do families and went to privates, or something. I say this as a parent of private school, public magnet, and Ivy kids (which I mention only to establish street cred): you guys really don't understand which kids do STEM and why, so you're going with patronizing stereotypes instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The king of STEM around here is TJ - public and test-in. Judging by the number of Intel semi finalists and finalists, no other school comes close. Not sure why STEM is being discussed on the private school forum. For STEM, public schools rule. We all know private school is for producing well rounded, liberal artsy types.

No. Not a fad.

Do you think it's because private schools can be afforded by families with money? So the students who are more likely to go into STEM fields as a way to try climb the SES ladder with well paid STEM jobs come from working or lower SES backgrounds (eg, immigrants) and go to free public school?

DC attended a free public STEM magnet in the area and the "immigrants" were mainly Asian and South Asian children of engineers and NIH researchers. So I guess if you think of these professions as "lower-SES" relative to private school families then you would be right about the social climbing thing.... But in our case, like a PP, it was DC's choice to leave his private school for the magnet.

I think more children of immigrants will pursue liberal art majors if they have been here in the US long enough to have a good grasp of the English language and their parents also hold well paying jobs because at the end of the day being a doctor (and maybe a lawyer, not sure these days) is more prestigious than being an engineer. Immigrants often go into STEM fields because there is more demand for workers with this kind of background and also because of their lack of English language communication skills.

Kids who do not speak English well will NOT get into the TJ and Blair magnets. This is a fact - these kids will not pass the entrance exams for these programs and won't have the transcripts either. Also, many, many TJ and Blair kids are in fact the children of well-educated parents, because getting into these magnets is usually the result of years of family support starting with multiplication tables. Honestly, you don't know these kids and their families, while I've spent several years as a parent in a magnet, so you really need to stop spinning foundationless theories. This is a very different group of kids from what you're imagining.

[Anonymous]

STEM is a very big issue and not going away. The U.S. is light years behind some other countries teaching in these areas, which is why T.J. was created. All universities that can are retooling to provide the best in STEM classes because that's where the sponsorship money is coming from and that's where the future jobs will be. The small liberal arts college (yes, I went to one) will be left in the dust. Already you can see the stats about the marketability of an English major versus petroleum engineer. And that's also why college admissions directors put such emphasis not only on grades but rigor of science and math courses taken.