STEM interest

Yesterday a child in my neighbourhood asked me about a switch on my car dashboard. Next thing I know, there was a group of children around me asking 100 questions a minute. I was there explaining what every switch does, why and how. The point is children’s interest in the world around them is still as vibrant as ever. So why does this interest decrease over time? STEM subjects are expensive to teach, generally involving moving parts, electricity and chemicals, which are all huge ‘no-nos’ from a safety point of view. More importantly, teachers themselves have to be proficient in the subjects to engage children.

Since the 80s legislation has been attempting to keep us safe, maintain standards and increase commercial consumption. Cultural attitudes shifted with this legislation and tinkering became unfashionable. Why fix anything when it’s cheaper and easier to buy a new one? Why is a child going to take an interest in a subject that most teachers don’t understand and can’t explain?

This theme continues on to Roderick’s final point.

TVBC’s disconnect from technology companies is probably the result of there being nobody at TVBC technically minded enough to communicate with them.

I am trying to set up a notfor-profit science centre in Andover to encourage STEM subjects. With all the millions of pounds of STEM funding out there, the small amount of funding the project has received has come entirely from local residents. In fact, the last grant application for a STEM start-up project was rejected because we were too small!

On the bright side I have been working with a group called Andover Vision who have been very positive. So, we may yet see a science centre in Andover. Anyone interested in helping, please contact me via our website www.andovertechnologycentre.co.uk.

Dave Teadwell, Roman Way, Andover