(ThyBlackMan.com)
This blog is inspired by Rusul Alrubail | TEDxKitchenerED
Raising new generations of scholars is a challenge especially if you’re working hard to change the mentalities of children, youth, teens and young adults. Working to teach and mentor them to see the value in a new way of learning and applying that learning to new skills in the areas of STEAM. Included in this is working with parents that must buy-in to the new directions of scholarly thinking and intellectualism that is seen as being Blerdy, Geeky and Nerdy which many of color still do not understand that this is a good thing.
There are a growing number of careers that are challenging, the paradigm shift happening when technology took a leap and allowed for a surge in intelligence and intuitiveness by digital devices. Access to the Internet, integration of Social Media where teachers can have access to PLC – Professional Learning Communities, EdCamps, 
Conferences, Workshops and Seminars. To broaden their understanding of student lead instruction and hands on project based learning.
There must be a trust relationship with educators and parents that when applied properly Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics (STEAM) can prepare students for future careers. Careers are not the manual labor jobs of decades ago, now careers are intellectual, problem solving, hands-on, critical thinking and collaborative in nature. In order to be prepared students must start in Early Learning environments with a foundation built on reading and comprehension. There must be an understanding on why education is important not just why students have to go to school. Teachers must see beyond the area codes, zip codes, lunch codes of the diversity of their students and just see the potential of greatness in their students.
Students cannot learn without books that are current and help to apply learning in real life situations so students can see why reading is fundamental. Books must be in the hands of students so parents can see why they need books at home and to reinforce the reading abilities in their children. If parents no matter their educational background do not see how important reading is they are dangerously close to committing educational neglect and potentially psychological child abuse.
STEM – STEAM – STREAM are innovative ways to teach that require a trans-formative change from teacher centered instruction to student centered learning. This change is not easy, it requires a fundamental curriculum change, ongoing professional development that is structured to be cross curricular, standards based and guided by data from accurate and true assessments. Project implementation and testing should be combined to make sure the student’s needs are being serviced not just tested for testing sake to accumulate data. In many cases teachers must work as a team, collaboration is vital to developing projects that contain each of the elements of STEAM and are planned steps that address problem solving, critical thinking and even integration of videos from YouTube, Vimeo or streaming services.
Understanding that STEAM careers are available to students of color not just limited manual labor or service oriented jobs help open the mental doors for intellectual application and study. STEM helps elevate students of color past the view that they are less valuable and less capable than their white peers. I still hear after 27 years as an educational professional that students of color are less capable and inferior than non-students of color.
The references to “those children,” or “those kids that are free or reduced lunch kids” are still be stated by educators which creates a dangerous mind-set.
STEM STEAM STREAM STEM (2) CSTEM can help children go anywhere they want in life even the stars. Parents and teachers must be willing to guide students in and out of school even if students are not sure where they are going in life. As a past STEAM educator and still have a passion for it, my focus was on Technology and Engineering, but I still worked with the Science, Arts and Mathematics teacher to be sure that students saw the relationships each had to one another.
The joy and success was when students of color thanked me for teaching them about bridges, space travel, shapes, introduced them to robotics and allowed them to play multifaceted games that challenged them. Projects touched on relevant issues that students could connect with like the history and construction of bridges in Jacksonville, the importance of the space industry in Florida and how people of color are important in industry, sciences and technology; the potential careers in STEM not just in sports and entertainment.
Black girls and all girls (#BlackGirlMagic) in my classes were especially treated as engineers, scientist and innovators because boys already understood in their way through their playing and thinking this was cool. They learned of Buiford Gilyard the first Black man in space, Mae Jamison the first Black woman in space, there is a rotating International Space Station in orbit around the planet and submarines can travel underwater around the globe. STEM and STEAM is the avenue for children of culture and color to develop an awareness and excitement of careers. Students of color must be able to see beyond sports and entertainment.
STEM has the capability to close achievement gaps for children of color and culture in comparison to their white peers that may already be exposed to these careers through family members or friends. Even foreign students understand the value of sciences, mathematics, technology and the arts.
There must be an authentic dialogue with parents to help them see their children in STEM careers lifted higher in employment, education and even social status than their parents. Breaking generational curses of government assistance, poverty, under employment. Authentic dialogues, authentic historical information must be shared with children of color and culture. When students see they have broad and strong shoulders to stand on, then student’s will see the value and empowerment of creativity, exploration, innovation, and being a thought leader and content creator.
Students must be taught, guided, and have role models that will guide them pare.
The Danger of a Single Story
Staff Writer; William D. Jackson
Find out more about this talented writer over at; OCS For Education.