We can fix STEM education if we keep students’ curiosity alive!

02 / 01 / 2023

• education
• news
• op-ed

In an Opinion column for The Star-Ledger/NJ.com, Mark Eastburn, science teacher at Princeton High School in New Jersey, writes that to eliminate the national deficit in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers – estimated at a gap of 300,000 educators – we need to change the way science is taught. Mark’s class was a National Winner in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition, which challenges U.S. public school students in grades 6-12 to explore the role STEM can play in solving some of the biggest issues in their local communities. Drawing on his 23 years of K-12 teaching experience, his provocative plea is “Let’s stop beating the love of science out of our kids,” as he strongly advocates for embracing the problem-solving approaches to STEM teaching that Solve for Tomorrow encourages.

“Let’s stop beating the love of science out of our kids. After 23 years of K-12 teaching, the last five as a High School STEM teacher, I still love the work. Since joining the U.S. Peace Corps out of college, this is what I have wanted to do, inspired by my students, their curiosity, their enthusiasm for learning how things work. But I also have witnessed the sometimes soul-numbing impact of the WAY we typically teach STEM in the U.S. While improving STEM education is a broad goal shared across K-12 education, there are very real, practical hurdles we must address.”