The STEM Crisis Is a Myth

spectrum.ieee.org

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If you are only looking and middle and upper class educated students in America. The poor urban educated students are not given much in terms of STEM. My local school district gives no regular science class for K-5th grade students.

The 'no regular science class' is actually a indicator of adherence to Common Core. Everything is either Math instruction or English Language Arts (ELA). Social Studies and Science are generally taught as units of ELA and not subjects of their own until Middle School.

That said, STEM fields have historically sucked at diversity and outreach to disadvantaged populations. It's hard to do science with no budget for supplies. It's getting better(tm) with programs like FIRST.

Until people organize and fight the systematic (unintentional I believe) dumbing down of poor urban students and see it as a form of racism which propels inequality nothing is really going to change.

This wasn't due to Common Core it is due to curriculum being mirrored by Standardized Testing.

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