STEM vs. STEAM

What kind of teacher has a saltwater tank and an electric keyboard in their room? What kind of teacher does math during language arts? A teacher who believes in STEAM, not STEM. Unless you're Amish, you are undoubtedly familiar with the latest buzzword in education: STEM. It stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In fact, I teach at a STEM magnet school where we do a lot of cool, science-y things. For instance, just last week a NASA astronaut came and spoke to all of our sixth graders about his missions to the Russian space station. My fiancé, a marine biologist, did an amazing shark dissection they're still talking about. Heck, I even made solar powered cars with my kids!

Gov. Rick Scott is pushing hard for STEM education. He has even proposed reduced tuition for STEM majors. He believes STEM is where most of the job growth in Florida will be. But is this really the case? A recent article in the Miami-Dade cited a report from Change the Equation which stated "When healthcare was not counted, the report found Florida was one of six states with more unemployed STEM workers than available STEM jobs. Of those six states, Florida had the biggest oversupply of STEM workers." Indeed, my own brilliant fiancé is underemployed after graduating with his masters in molecular biology. Should we really be pushing STEM so hard?

Last week I went to a great panel discussion at MOSI about this very question. Community leaders gathered to debate whether STEM is enough. After all, what importance is a scientific discovery if no one can effectively communicate the information? For example, evolution has been accepted by 95% of scientists, but only 54% the general population. Maybe scientists need to pair up with film directors, photographers, and writers to really reach the public. Shouldn't we really be adding art and design to make it STEAM? At this discussion, it was gratifying to hear computer nerds and web gurus heralding the philosophy and art degree. These STEM employers argue they want to hire creators, innovators, communicators and problem solvers. They would rather hire someone with a philosophy degree who can think critically than someone with a calculus degree who can only do calculus. Indeed, the NASA astronaut who visited my school had to learn Russian to communicate on the space station. For that shark dissection? Students sketched and photographed their findings, creating a beautiful presentation poster for all the school to see. The solar powered cars? We had to learn how to communicate effectively to design and problem solve as a team. This is so essential to life. How do we take all of our gifts and use them for the betterment of all? How do we live well together?

The persistent question in the room seemed to be "What can we do to make sure our students are getting the education they need?" We want them to be prepared for jobs in this ever-changing world. How do we prepare them for jobs that do not even exist today? All in the room seemed to agree that we need more integration across all subjects. We need to take down the silos that say language arts department is here and math department is there. I loved the example of a science teacher and arts teacher that attended the discussion. They created a unit about pottery for their students which integrate art and science. Students studied the science of how clay is formed and fired, as well as the art of shaping and designing the clay. The science teacher pointed out that they are fortunate to have the time to plan and flexible scheduling to make it happen. I wish we had more time to collaborate on such projects, but it is challenging when the demand is on teachers and students to perform on standardized tests. As one of the panelists pointed out, we need less multiple choice tests and more tests with multiple answers.

This post has become even more apropos today as I scored a new job with a performing arts magnet school that I have been eyeing for a couple of years. Hopefully, I can use my full potential there. Please don't neglect the arts in our desire for world domination. The sciences are not some magical elixir, and the arts may actually be the key.

2009 Pew Research Study

Miami Dade "More Stem Degrees May not Equal more Jobs"

R.I.P. Marvin

I was crestfallen when I returned from my faculty meeting Monday afternoon to find that our beloved class pet was no longer swimming about his aquarium. I was surprised to find myself tearing up a bit as I relayed the news to our custodian that Marvin had died.

Marvin the Peacock Mantis Shrimp was the best class pet we could ever hope for. He was our inspiration for similes, metaphors, and any number of grammar lessons. He was the reason we would gather around the tank in the morning. He gave us an excuse to walk down to the river to catch crabs for his nourishment. He was an amazing cross curricular personification of science and art.


If you haven't heard of these amazing creatures, I would highly recommend the following post from the Oatmeal. http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp


Today, each class held a brief service for Marvin in our Memorial Garden. Students read their eulogies and planted tiny poppy seeds over his grave. They spoke of his bright rainbow colors and amazing punching power, his grace and wonder. Actually, I wonder if Marvin was actually a "he". We should have checked before we put him in the ground. Oh well.

What shoes go with FCAT?

Yesterday your child's education went on hold. It is officially FCAT season in Florida. Don't worry, your child's normal education will resume in two weeks.

Getting ready for school Monday morning, I had to guffaw as I wondered which shoes to wear for FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). I didn't want to make too much noise wearing some sort of clickety-clackety heels. Perhaps in defiance, I wore them anyways.

Let me paint a picture of what it's like to walk in the shoes of a teacher administering the FCAT. Your already early arrival of 7:10 may begin even earlier this day. You report to school well before the sun. The testing headquarters are in the windowless In School Suspension (ISS) room and open at 6:30 am. You walk into the room, where the weary guidance counselors have been transformed into paper-pushing-schedule-making-pencil-sharpening-drones. They are not able to counsel students this time of year as they are tied up in testing preparation. You recount all of your tests and grab your goodie bag. You head to your room to figure out which movie you will be showing that afternoon. Or if you're like me, you plan to finally take the opportunity to do that artsy project whose benefits can not actually be measured.

The students file in begrudgingly, fully understanding the magnitude of the three hour sentencing that awaits them. As their fearless leader, you try to maintain a balance of airy calmness, cheery energy, and solemn dignity. After all, you are being scored today too. Then you have the challenge of getting 300 kids to use a restroom with only 3 stalls each. There are late busses. Most students seem to have gotten a good rest last night, but some are already having a bad day. This is just one test. One day. One snapshot. Yet it weighs so much on them and us. It determines which class they will be in next year: honors, advanced, or intensive. Starting next year, it will determine our pay scale. That's a story for another day. Regardless, the stakes are high.

Finally, all students have arrived and gone to their testing room. It's now time for about 20 minutes of directions and material managing. The test finally begins and I have free time to catch up on grading papers and plan lessons! NOT. We are supposed to walk around the room monitoring the students. If a student is caught cheating, we could get in deep trouble. I'm talking lose your job or certification. I know some teachers will read a book or check their email, but I come from the school of CYA. So I watched those chillins take that FCAT. Okay, at some point I got really antsy and started making a wedding to-do list. Some might think this sounds like a nice break, but there is something rather draining about doing nothing in an environment where there are a million things to do.

My students hardly lifted their nose from their books or their pencils from their paper. Of course, there are the token kids who just want to stare out the window. There are a few short breaks to stand, stretch, and eat some pretzels. Finally, students are done but don't have the energy to celebrate. It's lunch time. I drop off my tests in ISS, this takes 10 minutes as I scored very low in my "ability to survive in a bureaucracy" on my district entrance exam. By the time I grab my lunch and walk to the cafeteria, I am told I have 15 minutes to eat. I protest but they remind me that today is FCAT day. I walk into the teacher's lounge and my teachers are outraged but not surprised that I have been told I have 15 minutes to eat. I go back to speak to my assistant principal, but before I can open my mouth he says, "You get your 30 minutes." He's not all bad. FCAT stresses out everybody.

Too add to the insanity, it's an early release day. We switch classes one more time, and I take my students to our video conference room where we do a virtual field trip. Pretty cool. We learned some things today despite FCAT's best efforts.

How many days are lost to testing in an already very short school year? In an 180 day school year, I estimate that 26 days are used this year in the name of standardized testing. That's 14.4% of our school year dedicated to filling in bubbles as a measure of a student's (and now a teacher's) achievement.

Don't believe me? Here's the breakdown:
4 days for FAIR (3 times a year, but there's always at least one day where the computers don't work and we have to go back)
3 days FCAT (2 days reading, 1 day for math. This is just 6th grade. I'm not counting the 2 weeks where various grades in the school disrupt our schedule for FCAT testing.)
3 days for district writing exams
2 days for school-purchased FCAT practice, Write Score
1 day for Brainchild, a school-purchased web-based FCAT practice "tool"
1 day EPAT, practice software for reading FCAT
2 days district language arts end of semester exams
1 day Stanford Norm Referenced Test (NRT)
2 days practice moving to the correct testing room
7 days to FCAT tutoring

I'm glad I missed the tidal wave that is FCAT in my own Florida education. I graduated in 2004, just barely missing the world of "there is only one right answer." But now I teach it.


I snapped this photo (not during the test!) of my students' confiscated electronic devices. I thought about grabbing the bag and running away. There's a couple grand right there!

School Momma

Dear School Momma,
Don't you ever leave me
The day you retire will be
a sad day indeed
Let's be cyborgs
I'll attach a hose from your brain to mine
and download all your wisdom
decades and decades and decades and decades
of truth finding and messing up and getting burned so maybe I don't have to be
But I guess every bird has to leave the nest