Read on.....
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Kathy and Courtney - your stories inspire me, and prompt me to add my own abbreviated STEM journey your blogosphere.
Growing up, my parents encouraged curiosity. They were not technology people, they were loving parents who just thought that their two precious boys should be encouraged when they blew up things in the backyard, took apart Farmer Slater's chicken coop board by board so we'd have the necessary building materials for our castle, and filled mom's copper revereware stock pot with formaldehyde for our biology experiments. All this and yet... never one claim on our homeowners insurance!
Anyway, in high school, my parents encouraged us to pursue an engineering degree in college. Their reason - it would give us "options." I am thankful especially to two teachers from Lorain High School - Peter Demyan, my physics teacher, and Ms. Smith, my geometry and pre-calc teacher. To this day, I can close my eyes and picture their faces, and can even recall their voices. They made classes fun.
For historical reference, these were the last days of the slide rule, and the earliest days of the pocket calculator. (My college gift from my parents was a Texas Instruments SR-50, and it only cost $150!, but of course it had a square root function, so it was worth it). Mr. Demyan insisted only on a slide rule, and that taught me a comfort with numbers and estimating that has served me well to this day.
35 years later, I can tell you that my parents were right. Engineering degrees from Kettering College and The Ohio State University gave me options. Beginning with a job as a maintenance engineer at Chevrolet Parma, moving to a biomedical researcher at Battelle, to a general management role, economic development community partner, and today in education and philanthropy - I rely on the problem solving foundation from my engineering training.
Looking at the world today and reflecting on lessons from my journey, maybe here are a few things we need more of:
1 - Kid's don't blow up enough stuff anymore. Nothing like an M-80 propelled airborne piece of pumpkin flying at your head to teach you about the laws of motion.
2 - We need more Ms. Smith's. She drilled every geometry proof into my head when I wasn't looking, because I really liked her. I wanted to do a good job because she inspired me, and showed me why teachers can be heroes and friends.
3 - Let's worry less about definitions and spend more time honoring narratives. My dad didn't have a technical bone in his body. By day, he sold shoes, carpet, and Kirby vacuum cleaners door-to-door. By night, he collected stamps and coins as a gateway for his love of American history. But I'd still say that he was STEM through and through in the sense that he never viewed any problem as unsolvable. He taught me by example how to just "get started" and figure it out along the way. (I'm also thankful that he didn't get too mad about that flying pumpkin residue on the side of the house.)
4 - Let's increase the ratio of questions to answers.
5 - Let's increase the numbers and voices of the Kathy's and Courtney's of the world.
6 - Let's blow up more stuff. See #1 for additional information.
7 - The kitchen is our contemporary chemistry set. and it tastes better than iron oxide.
8 - Let's have more parents that think like Bernie and Shirley Rosen - that encourage their kids to always take a path that keeps their options open.
Thanks mom and dad.
Rich Rosen - May 22, 2009 11:55 PM
Hello! I stumbled onto this site while trying to learn more about STEMS and I really enjoyed reading your story. Partly because I am a teacher myself, partly because I too once attended schools in Lorain, but mostly because your physics teacher is my dad! Thank you so much for sharing!
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