Take a minute and look at your surroundings. The computer you’re reading this on, the room you’re in, the view outside the window. How many of these things are related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics? The answer is probably most of them.
STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, takes on an ever-increasing role in our world today. It’s an important part of our daily lives, as well as our societies and our economy. And with the increasing demand for innovation, STEM is growing even more. This leads to STEM occupations having a projected job growth rate of 17%, while others have only an average of 9.8% (“What Is STEM Education and Why Is It Important for Kids?”). The National Science Foundation stated that “In the 21st century, scientific and technological innovations have become increasingly important as we face the benefits and challenges of both globalization and a knowledge-based economy.” (“Why is STEM Education So Important?”)
An important aspect of our world’s increasing STEM demands is providing a quality STEM education for children. Not only is a good STEM education helpful in teaching STEM knowledge, it also helps children improve many important and transferable skills, such as problem solving and critical thinking.
But first of all, what is STEM education? STEM education is a method of education in which subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are taught in coherence instead of isolation. The different subjects of STEM are deeply intertwined and connected, and the interdisciplinary approach of STEM education helps children see these connections. This type of education also involves a lot of hands-on learning, making children active learners instead of passive listeners sitting at a desk.
STEM education is incredibly important for children because it helps children gain many important life-long skills that a textbook can’t teach. Since STEM education encourages experimentation, making mistakes, and learning from your own experiences to reach the correct outcomes, children learn critical thinking and problem solving skills. They also are encouraged to think critically and analyze the situation from a logical perspective. STEM education also helps children learn to apply their knowledge to solve problems that occur in their daily lives. Its open-ended curious approach encourages children to think outside the box, and collaborate to design a solution towards a common goal, inspiring creativity, communication, and collaboration. Children are taught to be curious about the world around them, try new things, and not be discouraged if something doesn’t work the first time. STEM education provides much more than just basic knowledge about science and math-based subjects, helping children gain skills that will serve them for life.
Providing children with a good STEM education isn’t just beneficial to the children themselves, but also beneficial to society. Our economies rely on innovation to develop new revolutionizing technology that people not only buy and use, but that also work to solve problems in society. Innovation is what makes the next new iPhone possible. It’s what helped create our world’s vaccines and medicines. It’s what led to the creation of bridges and dams and roads that enable our societies to both function and flourish. Without innovation, our society and our economy would not be where they are today. And through exposing young children to STEM through STEM education, we not only help children find a passion for its subjects, but we also help equip them with necessary knowledge and skills to be the next generation’s innovators – the movers and shakers of our societies. There is currently a STEM job crisis. In the next decade, about 80% of professions will require a deep understanding of STEM skills.
Having a good STEM education is also important for children as it gives them a strong foundation for future learning in STEM-based subjects. These subjects often build upon basic knowledge as a child grows up, making a strong foundation even more critical. If a child misses out on a quality STEM education when they are young, they may end up far behind their peers in later grades (“What Is STEM Education and Why Is It Important for Kids?”). And having a good knowledge of STEM subjects is becoming even more critical to survive in today’s world.
However, while the benefits of STEM education are obvious, many children don’t have access to it. Due to socioeconomic barriers, a lack of STEM resources, and inadequate training, many underprivileged students never have access to the quality STEM education that they both need and deserve.
STEM education is a pillar of our society, it’s necessary for children to develop key skills, and it provides them an opportunity to pursue STEM in the future. With it being so important, we should find ways to increase access to STEM education for all children, to not deny them of all the benefits that this key foundation offers.
Here at ASB, we recognize the severity of this issue and we want to help. We have a club called Healing Humanity that aims to provide underprivileged students with quality STEM education activities, to help them develop a passion for and learn more about STEM subjects. Through this club, ASB hopes to provide these children with the benefits of STEM education and make our world a better place.
Sources
“The Importance of STEM Learning.” Little Passports, www.littlepassports.com/blog/educational/why-stem-learning-is-important-for-kids/.
“STEM Education: What Is STEM and Why Does It Matter?” Bright Horizons, www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/stem-education-what-is-stem-why-does-it-matter.
“What Is STEM Education and Why Is It Important for Kids?” Kid Pillar, 27 May 2020, kidpillar.com/what-is-stem-education-and-why-is-it-important-for-kids/.
“What Is the Value of STEM Education?” National Inventors Hall of Fame, www.invent.org/blog/trends-stem/value-stem-education.
“Why Is STEM Education Important?” STEM Village, www.stemvillage.com/blog/why-is-stem-education-important.
“Why Is STEM Education So Important?” Engineering For Kids, Feb. 2016, www.engineeringforkids.com/about/news/2016/february/why-is-stem-education-so-important-/. “Why STEM Education Is Essential for Younger Kids.” Learning Liftoff, 8 Mar. 2019, www.learningliftoff.com/why-stem-education-is-essential-for-younger-kids/.