Last summer, eighth grade science teachers Esta Lamkin and Morgan Collins teamed up to enrich their classroom lessons through WakeEd Partnership’s SummerSTEM program.
We have a saying at York Elementary School on the first day of school: “Get ‘em in. Get ‘em fed. Get ‘em home safely.” Since we transitioned to virtual learning, my mantra has changed. “Get ‘em in. Get ‘em hooked. Keep ‘em excited.”
As an Elementary School Teacher, my job is to build upon a child’s innate curiosity, to turn their love of exploring, questioning, and discovering into the foundation for their academic success. In our ever-changing world, my top priority is to equip first graders with the hard and soft skills they need to look at a problem and create solutions.
Earlier this year, Carroll Magnet Middle School partnered with local television station The CW22 through WakeEd’s Link program to help 7th and 8th grade broadcasting students develop both technical and communication skills needed to produce Carroll’s daily news show, the Carroll News Network.
When it comes to careers in STEM, we need more women involved. According to the World Economic Forum, in science alone, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women and this under-representation occurs in every region in the world.
For innovation to happen, we need people who understand our customers’ needs and challenges, as well as the ability to use creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and STEM training to come up with solutions for our current and future needs.