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11.09
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E-mail to Today's Engineer
... On "Engineering — The
Silent "E" in STEM Education" (Oct.
2009)
One of the major problems with
K-12 education is that teachers are neither
scientists nor engineers. Many retired
scientists and engineers would love to teach
kids, but the NEA, state governments, and local
school districts stand in the way of this
happening. I know a retired physics professor
who wasn't even allowed to volunteer-teach in
classrooms. The excuse: he doesn't have a
teaching certificate. Nevermind that he taught
competently at a college level for 40 years. The
underlying reason: the unions don't want to have
to compete with people who actually know
something.
Gene Hawkridge
IEEE Member
Kenmore, Wash.
***
The notion of teaching
engineering from the viewpoint of a core
phenomenology is a fascinating and valuable
concept. As I think about this, I see an
educational opportunity to introduce the
technique of applying mental trade studies to
assess the impact of different approaches to
problem solving. In my opinion, the honing of
this skill alone should provide an invaluable
tool to the young mind in other academic
endeavors.
Odell Graham
IEEE Life Senior Member
Westlake Village, Calif.
***
As I read the article, I flashed
back to Junior College and Calculus. The problem
was to determine the most economical dimension
of a can given costs for the ends and the sides.
That was the first time it all came together for
me and I begin to comprehend that all those
formulas had practical applications. It is
critical to use design principles even in K-12
to help students see the application of what
they are being taught to the real world.
Jerrel Wallace
IEEE Member
Austin, Texas
***
... On "Hire the Right
Person the First Time" (Oct.
2009)
Excellent article with
implications far beyond engineering.
I would add one more element,
and that is to avoid the "cattle call" interview
process.
Those I've attended as a
potential new hire I've walked out of as soon as
the process became apparent.
I've fought those when our HR
department pushed them as more efficient, for
the very reason that I found fewer qualified
individuals. The end result being we had only
far less qualified individuals to interview, as
the rest either didn't show or left early.
Dave Shambley
IEEE Member
Denton, Texas
***
Perfectly makes sense to me. As
a fresh graduate job seeker with good academic
credentials, I am not getting enough calls from
the companies. I understand now that the
automated software selection process basically
"eliminates" me based on few keywords which my
resume might be missing. Sad but true.
Abhishek
Singhal
IEEE Student Member
New York, N.Y.
***
...On "K-12 Engineering
Education: A Personal Perspective" (Oct.
2009)
Right on! Entering a science
fair project on "The Uses of the ElectroMagnet"
with a buddy and winning first place set me on
the path to a rewarding career in engineering,
thanks to my sixth-grade science teacher! I
still have the medal, too.
Richard
Almquist
IEEE Life Member
E Stroudsburg, Pa.
***
Making merit-based scholarships
available for secondary school students (grades
9-12) would increase accessibility and interest
in the engineering arts to this underserved
group.
Jim Soriano
IEEE Member
Santa Barbara, Calif.
***
We need more articles like this.
I am currently an community college adjunct, and
I am always on the lookout for ways to connect
theory with real world (or wild kingdom)
examples. Articles like this give me ideas on
how to make engineering/technology come alive
and be relevant.
Rodney Roberts
IEEE Member
Andreas, Pa.
***
I enjoyed Gordon Day's
thoughtful commentary on the importance of
early-life "engineering" experiences on his
academic career and those of his peers in his
post, "K-12 Engineering Education: A Personal
Perspective." I have similar fond memories of
similar formative experiences — not on a farm,
but rather roaming the back alleys and junkyards
of St. Paul, MN searching for junked radios and
other sources as I built various contraptions.
The purpose of this message, however, is for
oldsters like us to use of extreme caution when
seeking such experience when hiring, because it
can lead to inadvertent discrimination.
Early in my career (mid-1980s) I
had the pleasure of cutting my teeth in a test
equipment development group that supported the
overseas manufacturing lines of a major USA
computer systems manufacturer. Anyone familiar
with such work knows that they are a hardware
engineer's paradise: constant improvisation,
many one-off designs, a lot of informality and a
true team atmosphere including engineers,
technicians and assemblers. It was also a very
male-dominated environment, where engineers
hired youngsters who shared there experiences.
The problem with this practice
is that it virtually locked out most women and
minorities; my peers weren't consciously
discriminating, but they were looking for people
with certain backgrounds that were unusual for
most woman and minorities to exhibit at that
time — and, frankly, were not essential to the
job. Due in no small part to my own urging and
that of a very progressive manager, we were able
to recognize potential as demonstrated by
project and lab work rather than simply barnyard
or basement projects and thus opened up our
practices and learned some valuable lessons.
I absolutely agree that we need
more STEM exposure at the K-12 level, and we
also need to highlight programs such as the
Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, the
first and only accredited engineering program at
a woman's college. But we also need to be
careful that we don't put undue emphasis on
patterns of experience that inadvertently
discriminate...
John S.
Erickson, Ph.D.
Norwich, Vt.
***
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