I fell in love with the human story years ago and, without a
second thought, veered down the social studies path in college. Fresh out of
undergrad 9 years ago, I found myself face to face with one hundred 12-year-olds in a
7th grade World Geography classroom with zero technology and a textbook with very
few relevant texts. That said, middle
school social studies turned out to be a perfect fit for me. I could teach
about populations and culture, government and economics, and just about any engaging topic in between.
It was in the middle
of my 7th year teaching (and somewhere around the Middle Ages in Europe as far
as content goes) that my school district’s Science Curriculum Specialist
approached me one afternoon and asked if I would organize a STEM Week for our
students. My first thoughts (which I quickly vocalized) were, “Um, I’m social studies. We have six science teachers and six math teachers right here in the
building; perhaps you could ask them as I’m sure they would be a better fit
than me.” Long story short--and after a colleague attempted to educate me by
spelling out STEM slowly, “capital S-T-E-M”, I reluctantly found myself as lead
on the project, organizing presenters, STEM challenges, and 400 7th graders
from three different schools for the first middle school STEM week in our county.
When it was all said and done, I sat back and reflected (a
practice I should probably do more often). The kids seemingly had fun and learned something, and the overall event was, well, successful I’d say.
I had the feeling that I would be asked to lead it again the following school
year, so I decided that I’d better learn more about this STEM concept prior to
then.
I requested permission to attend the Tennessee STEM
Innovation Summit
, flipped through the program, and staked out the sessions I
thought would be most beneficial in my given scenario. I went from session to
session trying to soak in as much as possible. As I sat in one particular
session, my mind began to make the connection between it all. Teaching social studies in a silo would expose my students to the past and the present, but
with STEM, I could help write the future.
That summer, our Science Curriculum Specialist retired, and
the position morphed into STEM Curriculum Specialist for which I applied. Now,
two years in, I have had the opportunity to participate in TSIN’s fabulous Rural STEM Collaborative
and Innovative Leaders Institute
, and I’m a firm
believer that there’s something special happening in our state. Franklin County
is proof of this.
The Franklin County community has embraced the need for our
students to learn transferable skill sets through STEM education. Moreover,
educators have begun to infuse these skills in all content areas rather than a
discrete set of subjects. It would be naïve to say that all educators embraced
this change immediately, but the movement has begun.
Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with
one step.” While I agree with this, as a former runner, I’d also add that one
needs to “lace up” first. Before developing programs or making giant changes,
consider the why. Why is STEM relevant to my students and what impact could it
make on their lives?
Here in Franklin County, we’ve laced up and taken that
initial step, with the help of community partners. We launched a STREAM Summer Camp,
with support from the PEN Foundation, and developed a partnership with Nissan
North America, who donated a van for us to transport expensive STEM equipment
between each of our schools. Moreover, we have a strong partnership with the
Franklin County Educational Foundation for Excellence, who continues to seek
opportunities to fund innovative ideas. We
are proud of the strides we have made and are continuing to make.
Interested in implementing STEM but not sure where to start?
I leave you with this: lace up, take a step, and then another, and yet another.
Perhaps your “lacing up” is helping those around you understand what “capital
S-T-E-M” is and the benefits to students; just start somewhere.
-Maranda Wilkinson, Franklin County STEM Curriculum Specialist
