Full STEAM Ahead

Moving on with the series of articles I wrote over the past few weeks that speak about the problems faced by our children with the current education system, parenting challenges, and peer pressure, I would now like to shine the spotlight towards solutions. You can read my previous articles (https://tinyurl.com/mslink01, https://tinyurl.com/mslink2, https://tinyurl.com/mslink03, https://tinyurl.com/mslink4, https://tinyurl.com/mslink5 and https://tinyurl.com/mslink6).

We know very well that our current education system isn’t preparing our children to take up jobs in a future dominated by AI, outsourcing, and automation. While K-12 classrooms throughout the United States are starting to make some efforts towards making STEAM-based subjects more mainstream, the progress has been lackadaisical so far. Why is STEAM learning in schools not progressing as planned? What can be some possible solutions for introducing “future-proof” skills and subjects in classrooms? How best to ensure that our children equip themselves with skills that will become in-demand and crucial for the future? These are some of the questions this article will try to address.

We know that high-quality STEAM education matters now, more than ever. The Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education framework promises to cultivate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills with hands-on projects aimed at preparing children for the future. We also know that most “future jobs” would be revolving around STEAM-based skills, basically, jobs that require human creativity, ingenuity, and problem-solving - few things that machines are incapable of. 

In the next decade or so, a majority of the fastest-growing and in-demand jobs will require intermediate to advanced knowledge of STEAM-based subjects. Unfortunately, guaranteeing equal and plentiful access to STEAM learning for students in our country is something that our schools are struggling to achieve and there are many reasons for that.

While STEAM-based subjects might be available in few popular schools across the United States, there are thousands of schools out there that don’t even offer basic subjects like higher-level Algebra or Chemistry. These “STEAM deserts” are further reinforced by the shortage of STEAM educators. This is quite possibly one of the biggest reasons why schools in our country struggle to offer access to STEAM-based courses to students. According to Melissa Moritz, former deputy director of STEM initiatives at the U.S. Department of Education, last year in 2019, more than half of U.S. public school districts reported difficulties in recruiting certified and experienced STEAM teachers.

Such glaring shortages make the focused development of STEAM skills in our children even more difficult. Statistics from the Education Commission of the States (ECS), show that a majority of schools in the US lack teaching and educational resources for math and hands-on science. This trend increases exponentially for schools that cater to students from minorities and lower socio-economic sections. 

If we are to ensure that our children grow up to become successful innovators, entrepreneurs, and productive members of our society in general, we seriously need to rethink how we are tapping into the full potential of the educational resources provided to our children. 

Nilofer Merchant, in her book The Power of Onlyness, points out that to create the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators that drive solutions to our society’s biggest challenges, we must first foster everyone’s unique creativity and brilliance a.k.a their “onlyness”. 

It is predicted that in a few years, millions of more STEAM jobs that open up in our country will go unfilled if we do not close this STEAM education gap. Our children cannot be expected to fill these jobs and strengthen our increasingly STEAM-dependent economy if we’re not expanding access to STEAM education for students across the country regardless of their gender, socio-economic status, etc. 

The future Einsteins and Zuckerburgs are already sitting in America’s classrooms waiting for the right kind of tools and resources to succeed. For this exact reason, several organizations and companies across the United States are working tirelessly to solve the STEAM-learning inadequacies present in our current education system. 

This is where companies like Moonshot Junior Inc. step in. We're a Silicon Valley-based startup and soon going to join the league of companies and organizations that are at the forefront of STEAM learning in the United States. The holistic STEAM educational modules and enrolment programs offered by us are dedicated to ensuring that children get equal and adequate access to STEAM learning and STEAM educational resources. We're driven by the vision to make STEAM learning a future-focused educational framework that comes with the promise of preparing children for future jobs. Moreover, our vision is to impart the hard and soft skills children will need to become the entrepreneurs, innovators, and creators of tomorrow. 

“We want kids to create their path of learning and exploration and we strive to provide the best tools and the resources for your kid to succeed in their area of interest.” 

If you’d like to learn more about Moonshot Junior, in particular, you can visit www.moonshotjr.com, or email at [email protected]