Many STEM Teachers Don't Hold Certifications

Reader Comments
Back to blog

In 1981, I presented a paper at a corporate training program on challenges my company faced in the defense industry over the next two decades. Among the challenges were to hire, retain and retrain educated workers who would be capable of using radically new and productive tools and processes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing (mathematics, I proposed, was fundamental to all of the STEM occupations). At the time I coined the STEM acronym, a few prognosticators proposed to add logistics and support services to my ellipsis; but they could not grasp that logistics and support were enabled by Manufacturing - - and hence, dependent upon Manufacturing and the STE functions.
It was a pity to see the NSF fail in understanding and misrepresenting STEM, which was likely because NSF members have neither the experience nor the comprehension of Manufacturing and its impact on value creation in a STEM-based economy. Their fatal error has lead to a state of national confusion in STEM’s characterization by disregarding Manufacturing, which is so fundamental to completing the value equation (employment); math is fundamental to each of the STEM occupations and functions; but it is not an occupation or function - - it is a foundation for STEM to occur, with Manufacturing being the output.
In pursuit of economic recovery, America has an opportunity to revitalize its global competitiveness by educating a new generation for leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing. Notice that I placed Manufacturing in the STEM acronym into its rightful position of importance. While mathematics is certainly required for excellence in Science, Technology and Engineering, a strong Manufacturing base is vital to reviving and sustaining a healthy economy.
For example, a US workforce educated and skilled in nanotechnology will enable America to rejuvenate its global advantages in biology, medicine, electronics, agriculture, and virtually every area where we can recapture our manufacturing proficiency that made this Nation great. But make no mistake; STEM is not a results-oriented, value creating proposition unless Manufacturing is part of its equation; mathematics is simply one of the prerequisites to achieve leadership in a STEM-based nation.
Those who embrace the challenges and opportunities of STEM, be they freshmen choosing careers or middle-aged workers re-educating themselves for second careers, will gain relevant knowledge and skills to compete in world markets. We will achieve this only if we realize Manufacturing is an inseparable component of STEM; otherwise, we will export our wealth to global competitors who have succeeded in making Manufacturing an inseparable part of their economies. In the near term, revitalizing STEM education can increase American jobs and strengthen our future economy. Over the longer term, this is a pathway back to America's global economic leadership, to our national security, and prosperity.

Jonathan Kirk of MD 1:35PM October 11, 2011

For the most part, few so-called STEM programs include the study of broad-based technology or engineering as an integral element. Even fewer have certified Technology and Engineering teachers. In the absence of state mandates, an alarming number of Technology Education programs have bitten the dust via the budget axe.
Most of those formerly teaching Tech Ed have now found lucrative jobs in industry, and colleges are graduating few practitioners. Regardless of their qualifications to teach math or science, these teachers remain unqualified to integrate technology and engineering design into the program.
Our Federal administration has forged ahead in support of STEM education with "eyes wide shut." STEM education is the total integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in proportional measure. Few educators and even fewer legislators are able to articulate what a STEM program really looks like.
For decades, we have credited our technological achievements to science and mathematics. By the time our society realizes that it was not "rocket science" that put a man on the moon, but rocket engineering, it may be too late.
Even if we begin today preparing the STEM workers of tomorrow, we will not be able to graduate enough of them to fill the void when our aging STEM workforce retires. Outsourcing or hiring foreign workers is a certainty.
Our one salvation is American ingenuity. Creativity and innovation however is not developed by studying more math and science. It is developed by giving children the opportunity to be creative and apply math and science to solve a technological problem. Without the T & E in STEM, you just have more S & M.

Michael Miller of OH 10:18PM June 13, 2011