Guest MINDSETTER Mike Cullen: State Leaders Need STEAM Power
Friday, January 23, 2015
Saving & Building Great RI Jobs: State Leaders Should Use STEAM Power
In 1973, the Navy’s fleet was abruptly yanked out of Newport. This unexpected action left economic devastation in its wake. We lost; Virginia won. Fast-forward, forty two years later, history may repeat itself. If we continue to produce low numbers of students not proficient in math and science, then we face a significant economic risk...not a decade from now, but tomorrow!
State leaders take note. If decisive, demonstrable action isn’t taken, then we may be heading into another crisis with the Navy where we lose again to Virginia. But, this time there could be thousands of Rhode Island careers and billions of dollars of lost salaries and small-business contracts. To immunize ourselves from the next federal base realignment (BRAC) -- which could start as early as 2017 -- General Assembly leaders should be powering-up “STEAM.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSTEAM is the acronym coined by John Maeda, former president of Rhode Island School of Design, and stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. It’s become a hot topic across California -- Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It became such a hot topic on the national scene that David Cicilline and James Langevin joined a newly-formed Congressional STEAM Caucus in 2013. Sadly, the cold reality is that Rhode Island’s educational establishment, at both local and state levels, have done little to ignite authentic STEAM learning in our classrooms. Our math and science achievement scores remain marginal: only 34% of RI students show proficiency in science with only 1% at the top rung; 57% of students are proficient in math but only 17% at the top rung.
Last March, a group of us met with Senator Paiva-Weed to enlighten her on the benefits of early STEAM education. I succinctly laid out Rhode Island’s needs for a STEAM-skilled labor force. We explained how changing the current elementary curriculum would contribute directly to the “Moving the Needle ” legislative initiatives. We asked for her support, acknowledging that our iconoclastic grades K-6 charter school proposal was sure to be met with the predictable anti-charter school rhetoric. Unfortunately, there was no visible interest; no sale. In May we met with former Governor Chafee. Same result. In September, RIDE thanked us for our innovative proposal but said that our proposal would not be put in front of the new Council on Elementary and Secondary Education.. In December RIDE invited us in for a meeting and encouraged us to resubmit the proposal but with a focus on the Providence area. We told them “no thanks” but would actively market the online proposal to Providence groups which we did.
That was last year. Last week, Electric Boat’s president Jeffrey Geiger sounded an alarm in Warwick that I’m not sure is being interpreted correctly by Rhode Islanders. Geiger wasn’t simply saying that he had a problem finding enough skilled welders to work on his latest $18 Billion order for submarines; instead, he was saying that our schools are not creating a robust and reliable pipeline of STEM-proficient students to take the place of droves of Baby Boomers who are beginning to head into into retirement.
Not only is this submarine builder worried about the lack of RI talent, but so is his Navy customer who runs a 2,800 person submarine warfare research and development center in Middletown and is visible from EB’s Quonset plant. This low-key Navy organization -- whose 2013 Economic Impact statement shows it delivering $284 Million in annual wages -- is also beginning to feel the same generational “brain drain” pressure and is now forced to recruit from schools in North Carolina and Puerto Rico because of the scarce supply of locally-grown talent. We should be very worried.
For a state that says that it’s keen to build a supply of great jobs, we seem to be missing the boat along with the submarine. Launching STEAM-focused elementary and middle schools would be a huge step forward in build that student “pipeline” of STEAM talent to serve the needs of E-B, the Navy, and commercial tech-focused firms around our state.
Research shows that children decide as early as 4th grade whether they are “good” at math and science. By the time students reach high school too many of them, especially women and minorities, have already given up hope that they could ever become candidates for a STEAM career. At a national level this has raised social justice questions. The data points to major socioeconomic math and science achievement gaps. Teacher unions, school boards, and their town council funders ought to be leveraging early STEAM education to help close these chronic achievement gaps.
Our state’s leaders could take these kinds of steps in the near term: (1) improving public school’s focus on rigorous academics by encouraging school uniforms for grades K-6; (2) sponsoring a Boston-style “High School Quiz Show” series with RI PBS that makes it “cool to be smart;” (3) funding statewide, project-based learning programs such as “Project Lead The Way;” (4) encouraging change-resistant teachers to accept early retirement; (5) fostering STEAM professional development opportunities via Rhode Island College’s STEM Center and other RI universities; (6) creating incentives for more integrated STEAM education at the formative elementary grades.
Are we ready to protect our multi-billion dollar Navy jobs base against Congressional poachers representing other states? Are we ready grow a 21st Century economy? In her inaugural speech Gov Raimondo said that we need to do three things: build the skills of our students; attract entrepreneurs and investment; and innovate. A state-level investment in early STEAM education is a powerful way to make progress in all three areas. Let’s get smarter, fight off the poachers, and grow this state’s economy!
Mike Cullen is a Newport civic activist, blogger, school technology mentor, and Boy Scout volunteer, who recently retired from IBM after a 24 year career working with federal clients. He leads the Rhode Island STEAM project which proposed a K-6 STEAM charter school in 2014. Previously he served on the boards of Newport Public Education Foundation, Rose Island Lighthouse, and the City of Newport’s Trust & Investment Commission. A graduate of Harvard Business School and University of California, Berkeley, Cullen was an Air Force F-111 aviator and intelligence officer. Before settling down in Rhode Island in 1992, he lived in Boston, New Mexico, England, California, and Germany. He’s married to the former Elizabeth McManus, a ninth generation Rhode Islander, who helps him understand Rhode Island’s psyche.
Related Slideshow: RI Business Rankings in US
See how Rhode Island stacked up.
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