STEM in Kindergarten - I don't get it

[Anonymous]

My son has never struggled in school and enjoys most subjects, but he came home with 3's in some science areas (everything else 4's) which surprised me, since he has always been very interested in numbers and in natural sciences, at least he was before starting K.

Then he brought home s "STEM folder" which was full of Powerpoint printouts about problem solving and acting as a leader and innovating. It just looks really lame and not age appropriate. I guess the goal is to produce "Innovator" type kids. I don't get it. In Kindergarten, aren't they supposed to be germinating seeds and exploring owl pellets and things like that? Not looking at powerpoints?

[Anonymous]

Which school is this?

[Anonymous]

FCPS

[Anonymous]

My daughter's private school does STEM stuff w/o ever labeling it STEM. If it is done very organically and is fun, all kids benefit, not just the ones who have an inclination that way. My daughter loves STEM, but I know that even she benefited from this approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's private school does STEM stuff w/o ever labeling it STEM. If it is done very organically and is fun, all kids benefit, not just the ones who have an inclination that way. My daughter loves STEM, but I know that even she benefited from this approach.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

I taught K and 1 in another system. Science was: magnets; dinosaurs; "volcanos"; simple machines; that type of thing. Grades were pretty much participation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught K and 1 in another system. Science was: magnets; dinosaurs; "volcanos"; simple machines; that type of thing. Grades were pretty much participation.

See? That sounds more like it.
I don't think any kid is going to want to be an "innovator" if they aren't interested in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's private school does STEM stuff w/o ever labeling it STEM. If it is done very organically and is fun, all kids benefit, not just the ones who have an inclination that way. My daughter loves STEM, but I know that even she benefited from this approach.

Which school?

A private in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Live strong!

[Anonymous]

my kid's MoCo school includes STEM for the Kindergarteners. They did neat stuff in her STEM class this year - science-oriented but more than it seems like the normal teacher is able to carry out. I think if it's instead just woven into the normal class that you could get a teacher that doesn't know what to do with the requirement to "do STEM" and hence the PPTs.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher and this is the kind of shit that makes teaching a drag. Every kindergarten should be doing science and math. Engineering? Yep, kindergarteners build stuff. Technology? Not necessary or appropriate for early childhood classrooms. But we can't just say that we're doing science and math any more, it has to be "STEM"! Ooooh, we heard some education buzzword, now the focus is going to be showing how cutting edge we are by using this buzzword a whole bunch of times so parents can see how cutting edge we are!

Once we get to the point where we are showing kindergarteners powerpoint presentations about "innovators", we have really gone down the rabbit hole. Aiy yi yi.

[Anonymous]

Tip: early on, hire a tutor to help master physics. Seriously. For many American college students, this is the subject they have trouble comprehending, not so much the advanced math and science.

[Anonymous]

Hire a tutor in kindergarten to help master physics?