STEAM Embraces Children of Color and Culture
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Posted By: William Jackson on August 11, 2016 STEAM Embraces Children of Color and Culture William Jackson, M.Ed. Edward Waters College Jacksonville, Florida @wmjackson #MyQuestToTeach How can families of color and culture compete in a global economy that doe s not even view people of color and culture as equal in some cases. The integration of STEM, STEAM and STREAM elements need to be applied in the instruction of schools. The increase of hands-on learning that embraces student lead instruction and differentiated learning opportunities with high and low tech instructional tools. Teachers must begin to see children of color and culture as educational investments not just as future common labor or fueling the criminal justice systems of this nation. Children of color and culture can change the world if given a chance to shine. The educational system must inspire and illuminate the greatness and innovation inside children that should have the same opportunities for a quality education no matter what zip code they live in or area code. Just because a student receives free or reduced lunch should not quality them for a reduced education that is happening in to many schools. The same applies to students and parents, no matter your area code, zip code or lunch status you have to view yourself as valuable and capable of contributing in this nation. As a student you have to take personal responsibility for your actions to be academically successful and socially active and engaged. The beauty of STEM / STEAM / STREAM / CSTREAM / STEM2 is the opportunity for instruction to be on a level of integration that demands the instruction to be student centered and not teacher centered. Everyone from the administration, faculty, students and even office, cafeteria and custodial staff can and should contribute to the climate of excellence, high expectations and educational success. Students are exposed to new learning that should have a face that the students can relate to and want to follow. Students of color and culture need to learn that people of color and culture are involved in STEM and STEAM. Teachers and administrators harm their students when they have the attitude that those students can be nothing more than working at Wal-Mart or McDonalds. New learning directions do require innovative teaching strategies, but the potential to provide opportunities to grow educationally and cognitively far outweighs the alternatives of educational neglect and instructional staleness. If teachers are not willing to be the educational leaders their diverse classrooms need, that means it is time for teachers to find new careers where those they work with are not the students they are harming with ignorance and shame. Schools that are consistently under performing have a responsibility to make the necessary changes to provide quality and equitable educational opportunities. If schools are teaching to a test then they are not worthy of the titles they have to prepare students to be future leaders and contributors to society. The contributions will only be in the criminal juvenile justice systems of this nation if teachers are not willing to work to bring out the potential of their students no matter their skin shades. Teachers must make learning relevant to motivate both students and parents. How can students strive for success if they do not see successful people or have access to information that has been where the students are and made it out? "Success breeds success and vision breeds visionaries." William Jackson Educational leaders use the necessary platforms to teach and parents make the necessary sacrifices to make sure their children are learning despite their current socio-economic situations. Teachers need to understand how to apply learning to see why sometimes students don’t get the value of education, once exposed students’ eyes are open to how education can allow them to survive they will embrace it. Children are children and their limited experiences in life don’t turn into appreciation and even love until years later when the light bulbs of comprehension illuminate the galaxy of learning in their brains, creativity grows and is applied, confidence expands, self-esteem and innovation that was buried beneath the depths of immaturity, economic neglect and even institutionalized economic despair are overwhelmed by the empowerment of education and the joy of learning. Teachers has this power to bring out the best in their students. The reality is that educators hold the keys to inspiring kids to grow beyond their current situations. If educators lack confidence in their children, and parents do not understand the educational nuances with curriculum’s, testing, interpretation of data, not valuing nor respecting the educational process then students are placed at the bottom before they can strive to succeed as they work to the top. Students must believe they can learn and teachers work with students to help them see their successes. Children of color and culture are talented, children are capable, children are intelligent and children are innovative if given the right tools and platforms. “Seeing is believing and believing leads to achieving.” William Jackson As an educator in elementary and higher education I see the dynamics of both sides of the educational coin. As a past STEAM educator teaching Engineering and Technology in the elementary environment, I have seen the excitement of learning in K level students, the explosion of confidence in students when they grasp complex concepts and the pride in seeing how students of color and culture have made dynamic and historic achievements when watching YouTube videos of Blacks in history and they learning they can be innovators and creators. Teaching my Educational Technology classes on the college level my students, students of color and culture learn to value and importantly incorporate technology to prepare them for careers that demand skills that are futuristic and engaging. The dialogue continues and should inspire innovation, ignite imagination and cultivate creativity in children especially children of color and dynamic culture. "These 180 days should not be wasted because as each day ends and a new one begins and we cannot go back in time to make corrections we should when we see and experience them each day with our students." William Jackson If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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William Jackson
Educational Technology and Social Media Instructor, Edward Waters College South Carolina State University class of 1985 Member Since September 2008 |
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