Stem seed needs early planting by Amelia Avery

It was the first thing I found out I was good at, and the first hobby that stuck. It all started when my mum signed me up for a coding class for kids 5 and up. I walked through those doors, no idea what was being thrown at me, but slowly I began to get it. At the end of the day when my mum picked me up, I proudly announced that I loved it. From there, my love of technology blossomed. I began to take my dad’s laptop from his desk, log on to scratch and make new coding projects. I went to MOTAT almost every weekend because I was fascinated by how the phones worked. But as I progressed through primary school, the tech vanished. At my first primary school, it wasn’t even a subject, and at my next primary school, the class was taught once every few weeks. Clearly not enough for a tech-savvy girl. So, what’s so good about STEM? Coding and other computational thinking classes in schools have many benefits for young kids. One of these is the gift of creativity. When we try new things and learn, we make our brains stronger. Of course, the road to a finished product isn’t a smooth line, there are many obstacles in between. By using creativity, we can solve those problems effectively, not just in code, but in the real world too. There is no denying coding is also proven to help in mathematics. Instead of sitting in a classroom solving equations (which many of us dread), coding and other stem activities incorporate maths in a fun way that builds creativity. But if STEM is proven to boost your brainpower, why isn’t it being taught enough in schools? This was the question I asked myself in primary school when the tech had vanished. I decided to ask two teachers from my school, one from senior management and one being my dean, some questions to hopefully find out why the tech had vanished.

These are their answers.

Do you think there is enough STEM education in the New Zealand school system? ‘It seems that there is some inequity across our education system. But the new digital technologies curriculum will be making a difference to ensure all students receive these opportunities. In some primary schools it is not possible to have specialist teachers like we do – makes it more challenging for schools to develop these skills. A multidisciplinary approach has many benefits, but it is not always easy to create those opportunities in schools when there are so many valuable things to cover.’ Do you think STEM should be taught from an early age as a subject in the system? ‘Yes. But it is also important that education is broad. Starting early helps prevent early stereotypes from developing. It normalizes it.’ How important is it that girls get involved in tech in the future? ‘Extremely important. The job market both now and in the future will require that skill set. It is important in girls’ education that we take the opportunity to break down stereotypes. We are lucky that in our environment there is no pressure for students to feel like they are having to compete with boys in this space or feel they have to justify what they may feel passionate about.’

<AMELIA AVERY says young minds, and young women, need tech coding skills realised and developed sooner rather than later>

I think in question one, they prove an important point which is one of the reasons that in primary school, there is hardly any stem. There simply isn’t enough teachers with a STEM background to teach in primary (and sometimes even secondary) school. This is hard, mainly because in two years, there will be 1 million STEM jobs open in the US alone that will go unfilled if the education gap isn’t resolved. There are many talented children who can strengthen innovation and make incredible breakthroughs. This cannot happen if there is a lack of teachers. My teachers also mention that with so many things to cover, it is hard to fit STEM into the curriculum. Another very good reason. Among all the English, Maths, Social Studies, and other core subjects, STEM is usually pushed to the side. This is because English and Maths are both part of the curriculum almost everywhere in the world, and it is compulsory to teach. Both those skills are fundamental to have in life, especially English being the second most spoken language in the world. When STEM isn’t available in your school and you are passionate, I found out you can still do so many things from home. Even by going to a junkyard, fiddling around with soldering irons and Arduinos, you are strengthening your brain, and most of all, enjoying yourself and learning. I learnt to code in more coding languages through free online courses on YouTube, and even some on the Harvard University website. Now as a 13 year old I can code in JavaScript, C++, Python and HTML. The great thing about the internet today is that there are so many spaces to learn. Simone Giertz, a popular YouTuber and great engineer makes projects for fun. She didn’t study engineering at school or college and learnt to do everything she does now through the internet and good old-fashioned experimentation. This brings me to my next issue, STEM and girls. Unfortunately, many women in a male-dominated STEM workplace experience discrimination (and worse). Half of the women in STEM jobs said they have experienced discrimination in the workplace. In a lot of tech-related jobs, gender is seen as something to divide people. This is crazy, considering women started computer science. During the Second World War women in Britain operated some of the first machines used for decoding messages. In 1960 in the US, more than 1 in 4 programmers were women. Well before their vital role in the Second World War, in 1800, Ada Lovelace created an algorithm for a computing machine. This makes her the world’s first computer programmer.

‘Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes . . . the ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.’ – Steve Jobs.