I am skeptical about heavy emphasis on STEM as educational policy, but watching my kid learn to program with her new robot today was a real treat.
@rcrackley Oh, I'm sure! My skepticism isn't a skepticism of STEM itself (that would be a weird position for a professor teaching in a technology-focused major)— it's a worry that we are letting it crowd out other important things to learn.
@JohnPhilpin @rcrackley Call me cynical, but I think the consequences are entirely intended. STEM education is seen as supporting the economy; literature, civics, and world cultures aren't. So long as education is seen as an economic strategy and not a democratic project...
@spgreenhalgh yikes … definitely a position .. and now you have written it … I can’t ‘unsee it’.
// @rcrackley
@Munish Sure thing! We picked the Ubtech Jimu option off this Wirecutter list of recommendations. It was hard to come by, though, and the other options also looked interesting.
@spgreenhalgh thank you for sharing. We have the Lego boost. Which is also mentioned. There is so much expectation for kids to do “activities”, it is always difficult to find time to do it all.