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.”

Read his Opinion article here: https://www.nj.com/opinion/2022/12/our-children-are-natural-born-scientists-lets-not-beat-it-out-of-them-opinion.html