When did STEM become such a popular buzzword in education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an engineer, and I hate the buzzword. I also hate the belief that you can "inspire a passion" for "STEM" by having kids build with LEGOs, or some other such nonsense.

Typical engineer.

I can promise you that I'm far from your typical engineer.

+1

Isn't it easy for non engineers to stereotype? Either you have it or you don't - no one and nothing is going to "make" you an engineer. Ever. Don't do that to your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate trends in education. We need to go back to having a well rounded education! The fine arts are just as critical to development. It is shameful that so many school districts do not offer art once a week for elementary school kids. All of these early skills lead to great mathematicians and engineers too. I have an undergrad degree in Fine Arts and a graduate degree in computer science. I love both!

Hear! Hear!

I work in education (I'm a communications person and a liberal arts major) and I have always hated STEM as an acronym and as a concept. bs. Everything has to be made into a buzzword so it can be monetized and corporatized. That said, my girl's into Lego Robotics and space and also loves reading, writing and drawing. She wants to be an engineer and an artist. Fine by me.

[Anonymous]

As the world evolves, so does the language we use in that world.

If you want to be negative, or live in the past sure, complain about how things move forward.

Complaining about the use of the term STEM is just narrow minded and well, boring of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only wish there was a Humanities magnet high school in the area, so that TJ wasn't the only game in town for kids with exceptional ability. Some kids are geared toward literature, writing, history, and the social sciences and there should be a school where they are made to feel like "rock stars" too. The Maggie Walker Governor's School in Richmond is one example. Those kids are incredible.

I think I might've first heard the term STEM when Obama mentioned how the US was falling behind other countries in these areas and wanted more emphasis on it in the US.

I think I had to look up what it meant because kept on seeing it used. So assumed that it was a relatively recent trend or term based on his initiatives and didn't realize it's been around since the 90s.

I don't know how much things changed but in Montgomery County I used to see the IB program at Richard Montgomery as more humanities oriented (I may have had an inaccurate view of the Richard Montgomery program) and the magnet program at Blair more math and science oriented. Then later on met some people who said they were on a more humanities track at Blair. And I think now Poolesville has a couple of different magnet programs that have different focuses. I think one is Global Ecology and think that they may have one for the humanities too but might be wrong.

[Anonymous]

Lol to the guy who thinks physics doesn't teach problem solving. I seem to recall Elon Musk said that was the only reason he got a physics degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only wish there was a Humanities magnet high school in the area, so that TJ wasn't the only game in town for kids with exceptional ability. Some kids are geared toward literature, writing, history, and the social sciences and there should be a school where they are made to feel like "rock stars" too. The Maggie Walker Governor's School in Richmond is one example. Those kids are incredible.

I think I might've first heard the term STEM when Obama mentioned how the US was falling behind other countries in these areas and wanted more emphasis on it in the US.

I think I had to look up what it meant because kept on seeing it used. So assumed that it was a relatively recent trend or term based on his initiatives and didn't realize it's been around since the 90s.

I don't know how much things changed but in Montgomery County I used to see the IB program at Richard Montgomery as more humanities oriented (I may have had an inaccurate view of the Richard Montgomery program) and the magnet program at Blair more math and science oriented. Then later on met some people who said they were on a more humanities track at Blair. And I think now Poolesville has a couple of different magnet programs that have different focuses. I think one is Global Ecology and think that they may have one for the humanities too but might be wrong.

+1

As a parent, your job is to follow your child's strengths, not force what you want your child to have as a strength. It doesn't work that way.

[Anonymous]

+1. Hate this term. It is like some buzzword created to start a trend. And the people spooging over it are usually the ones who can't find their own way out of a long division problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it became a buzzword when liberal arts majors, myself included, realized there are no jobs for us and the good jobs go to STEM fields. I've already told my kids they cannot major in a humanities. Take classes for fun if they want but career focus should be on stem or business.

See, DH and I both have degrees in humanities fields (both undergrad and grad), and jobs in those fields. We've both had to learn technology for our respective fields, but that wasn't a problem for either of us. We value our education in our fields, and wouldn't dissuade DS from studying something he loves--we've seen that happen with friends of ours, and it didn't turn out well.

I think STEM became a buzzword when people realized that technology was growing more quickly than ever before, and became nervous about what the "jobs of the future" would be. I've heard a lot of talk about training kids for jobs that don't exist yet, many of which--people imagine--will be science/tech/engineering related. And STEM became shorthand for that training.

[Anonymous]

it was coined to get policymakers to actually fund and emphasis math & science as the country was falling behind and kids graduating without skills for today's jobs. There were different phases of attempts to get more money for math/science in the 80s & 90s - and in the 2000s/age of STEM is when it started kicking in. It's a stupid term, but it was better than things like "America Counts"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only wish there was a Humanities magnet high school in the area, so that TJ wasn't the only game in town for kids with exceptional ability. Some kids are geared toward literature, writing, history, and the social sciences and there should be a school where they are made to feel like "rock stars" too. The Maggie Walker Governor's School in Richmond is one example. Those kids are incredible.

I think I might've first heard the term STEM when Obama mentioned how the US was falling behind other countries in these areas and wanted more emphasis on it in the US.

I think I had to look up what it meant because kept on seeing it used. So assumed that it was a relatively recent trend or term based on his initiatives and didn't realize it's been around since the 90s.

I don't know how much things changed but in Montgomery County I used to see the IB program at Richard Montgomery as more humanities oriented (I may have had an inaccurate view of the Richard Montgomery program) and the magnet program at Blair more math and science oriented. Then later on met some people who said they were on a more humanities track at Blair. And I think now Poolesville has a couple of different magnet programs that have different focuses. I think one is Global Ecology and think that they may have one for the humanities too but might be wrong.

+1

As a parent, your job is to follow your child's strengths, not force what you want your child to have as a strength. It doesn't work that way.

Exactly this! We're moving to a town that has an arts-based elementary school and a STEM-based elementary school. DS will be in Kindergarten when we move there. I teach in an arts field and with an arts-based methodology, and while I realize the arts school would be the best place for me (if I were 5yo), I recognize that DS might enjoy a science focus more. We have to choose the option that's right for him.

FWIW, I went to an arts magnet in high school and thrived there, artistically, academically, and socially. I would not have had such a positive experience in my home school, where the "drama nerds" were practically tortured. Within our means, we should all strive to do the same for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it became a buzzword when liberal arts majors, myself included, realized there are no jobs for us and the good jobs go to STEM fields. I've already told my kids they cannot major in a humanities. Take classes for fun if they want but career focus should be on stem or business.

An art history major from princeton has more good job options (fun+well paying) than an engineering major from penn state.

So instead of telling your kids that, you should tell your kids that they can major in humanities IF they get into 'target schools'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it became a buzzword when liberal arts majors, myself included, realized there are no jobs for us and the good jobs go to STEM fields. I've already told my kids they cannot major in a humanities. Take classes for fun if they want but career focus should be on stem or business.

An art history major from princeton has more good job options (fun+well paying) than an engineering major from penn state.

So instead of telling your kids that, you should tell your kids that they can major in humanities IF they get into 'target schools'.

This is false. You don't even know.

[Anonymous]

"STEM" took off about 10+ years ago, at least at the college level. There are always educational trends, trying to respond to the "market" since many want everything to emulate businesses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only wish there was a Humanities magnet high school in the area, so that TJ wasn't the only game in town for kids with exceptional ability. Some kids are geared toward literature, writing, history, and the social sciences and there should be a school where they are made to feel like "rock stars" too. The Maggie Walker Governor's School in Richmond is one example. Those kids are incredible.

I would love this, too. My daughter is very talented in Language Arts and wants to be a writer someday. Unfortunately, her abilities aren't applauded because she's not interested in STEM.

[Anonymous]

I'm an engineer, and I hate the buzzword. I also hate the belief that you can "inspire a passion" for "STEM" by having kids build with LEGOs, or some other such nonsense.

I don't know that you can say that playing with legos causes someone to like math and science, but I've seen the two go together.