It's About Having A Seat At The Table - STEM Beyond Jobs

Recently, I attended a talk by Dr. Mea Jemison, the first African-American woman astronaut. One of the topics she talked about was the importance of having diversity (i.e., ethnic, social, cultural, etc.) at the table when problems are being solved. One example she gave to illustrate her point was in the methods used to treat testicular and breast cancer. Dr. Jemison pointed out that the solutions and resources allocated towards the treatment of testicular cancer were designed to eliminate the cancer but preserve testicles. On the other hand, the primary solution, up until the 90's, for fighting breast cancer was treating the condition through the complete removal of the breast which eventually resulted in additional physical, health and emotional trauma.

Why were the solutions so different?  Dr. Jemison argued that it was due to the under representation of women at the table when solutions were being developed and dollars allocated for the treatment of these cancers. Hence, due to a male dominance, the resulting solutions and resources naturally favored men. Dr. Jemison went on to say that because of changes in public policy and laws, such as Title IX, women were afforded the opportunities that allowed them to acquire the medical knowledge and positions which lead to the introduction of their voices into the conversations around cancer research priorities and treatments. Eventually, the introduction of women into the discussion lead to the elimination of mastectomies as the primary breast cancer treatment option. Ultimately, her point is that better solutions - that lead to better outcomes - are developed when people from diverse backgrounds are contributing to the discussion. So how does Dr. Jemison argument fit into technology and school systems? 

We live in an increasingly technical world and as issues arise, technology will serve a central role in the creation and/or administration of the solutions implemented. As a result, massive amounts of effort and dollars will be invested into the research,development and application of technology to support solutions that will have massive local, national and global ramifications. As in the case of the solutions developed by a homogeneous group of people that resulted in inferior cancer treatment options for another group, pockets of communities will be negatively impacted if a highly diverse group of people are not contributing their unique perspective, shaped by gender, orientation, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, to the conversation.

Based on the above, I believe the discussion around STEM curriculum and programs in schools is bigger than preparing students to fill the increasing demand for STEM workers. The bigger conversation is around the adequate preparation of children to ensure that the most skilled and diverse set of individuals are present during the discussing of solutions and policies - highly dependent on technology - that have local, national and global impact.

Filling jobs is needed but the negative impact that weak solutions and policies have on communities is far more substantial than a company not being able to find enough skilled workers for a position. Considering that technology will continue to become an increasingly vital component in the creation and administration of future solutions, every school must take immediate efforts to integrate STEM curriculum, specifically technology, early, broadly and deeply into core curriculum. Accomplishing this is not a heavy task because the democratization of technology has allowed software curriculum and programs that are sustainable, cost-effective, resource-friendly and scalable to be introduce into classrooms. In effect, this means no child in the United States should ever enter middle school without the experience of writing at least 20 lines of workable software code because all barriers to entry have been lifted.

The stakes are high and local and national communities are significantly weakened everyday that a child's introduction to technology is delayed. My vote is to introduce STEM aggressively and early. Please join this discussion and openly share your thoughts in the comment section.

Kyle Christian Steele