Every once in a while though you run across a youngster that has real promise. Several months ago, I was shopping at a local store and a paper airplane sailed past my face. Picking it up, I noticed that it had to be one of the finest paper airplanes I had ever seen.

Looking around for the owner, I saw a gentleman and his two kids with him, a boy and a girl and they were all looking at me, I guess wondering if I was upset.

I went up to the young man and asked him if it was his. He said "no, its my sister's". I asked if she made it. She responded in the affirmative. I asked how she knew how to fold one like this. She said "I just started folding until I came up with one that worked".

This young lady I found out -after talking to her father- loves science and math. We spoke for a few minutes and I suggested that he does whatever he can to encourage her interests and get her ready for College. She is already a straight A student and I suggested that there may be opportunities for a scholarship.

So, while there's a lot of kids nowadays that are more interested in X-Box (or whatever else there is), there are those rare exceptions that will be our future in aerospace and engineering.

Before leaving, I gave the man my card and told him that the company I work for has internships for college students and that when she gets to that point for him to contact me and I would put him in touch with the right folks.

So, keep your eyes open and watch for those who will someday replace us. Well done Rebuilt for taking the time to do what you did.

 

Rebuilt, I am not surprised you had trouble getting them to pay attention. Science, technology and math doesn't even appeal to the average adult, let alone the average child. I was not very interested even as I started high school, I was only interested in girls and band. Kids sometimes get curious for a few minutes but I doubt the best teacher in the world could utilize it for more than a few minutes at a time. Maybe it could last an entire class period if you had them doing organized experiments for credit, building balsa gliders or something with their hands. Late in high school the parental expectation factor affects those who are college bound, but I do not think eighth graders are going to care very much. Next time try and get them to do basic physics stuff like showing how heating air makes it expand, how magnetism works, how gravity can power simple machines, etc.

 

Most eighth graders havent figured out what they really want to do in life. Hell I'm 20 and I dont know

 

Cubdriver, you're right about adults caring very little for math or science. I believe that is one of the biggest barriers to teaching kids math and science: parents. The basics of math require study and repetition. They aren't the easiest things to learn and very few have a great natural gift for them. But those foundations are crucial to any form of higher math and science.

Unfortunately, when a child says "Math is too hard," or "I suck at math," adults (especially parents) say "It's okay, you won't need math when you grow up" or "well, I was bad at math too, so it's ok." We should encourage our children to do better than we did. Will they all be rocket scientists? No, but what if we let a smart kid with a good future off the hook because math is boring? Shame on us.

 

I wish I that I had a class about aviation when I was in 8th grade.

 

With all the new Madden, Halo and other XBOX type games that are coming out, computer programmer is a given. CSI, Numb3rs, NCIS, and all those other "legal, justice, cop type" shows gives credence to the desire to become a lawyer. As far as the accountant....somebody's gotta keep track of all that money.

Seriously though, it's a shame that the interest in Math & Science has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years in the US among junior and high schoolers.




atp

 

Do parents really say that these days? I hated math when I was younger and my parents were the ones telling me how much I'd use it every day. Good thing I listened to them...

 

Yeah, I've seen them do that. It's really sad. Who knows what they will do when they grow up? Heck, I don't know what I want to do when I grow up.

 

Math, Physics , engineering and other hard sciences are difficult subjects. Unfortunately most public school teachers are incapable of teaching it beyond the introductory level, and there are really no incentives for undertaking such a rigorous course of study.

We need a system of scholarships that reward those and who are willing to study those subjects, and a tax incentive to financially reward those who practice them. Otherwise why would one study one's butt off to be an engineer rather than go to an investment bank and leverage a subprime mortgage into a million dollar bonus? Intellectual curiosity will only get you so far.

But in a nation run by lawyers it'll never happen.

 

I certainly do not expect for a student in the 8th grade to commit themselves to an unalterable career path.

I am astonished at the lack of enthusiasm for science and math, for exploration and adventure, for thinking and dreaming about fantastic possibilities.