Your Local School Needs You

Having worked in the field of laboratory instrumentation for almost 25 years, I now make my living from writing about analytical chemistry topics. If you’ve read any of my publications or textbooks, you know that my main reason for writing is not only because I have a passion for this field of science; I also want to pass on the knowledge I’ve acquired over the past 40 years. I believe as scientific professionals, we all have a duty to use our knowledge to improve the world in any way we can. Moreover, there are too many people in the world who have no real understanding of even basic scientific principles – public debates on global warming, genetically modified crops, evolution... and even the Loch Ness monster, are all testaments to this fact (1).

Time for fun (work)

Seven years ago, I decided to do something about the general level of scientific ignorance. I wanted to participate in the education of my two daughters and also contribute to the scientific literacy of the general public. I thought about teaching, but the US system does not encourage retired/experienced scientists to go into teaching – the certification process is time consuming, cumbersome, and expensive.

Anyway, I came across the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) affiliated Senior Scientists and Engineers STEM volunteer program. The program places retired scientists, engineers, and physicians into elementary, middle and high schools in the Washington, DC area with the objective of applying their experience to help teachers make science more interesting to learn by using creative and innovative methods. Each volunteer commits to an entire school year by dedicating a few hours of his or her time each week.

I began volunteering in 2008, but I wasn’t sure where it would take me! Today, I support three chemistry teachers at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland. I volunteer at the school for one day a week and talk about real-world applications of chemistry in relation to the curriculum.

Over the years, we’ve expanded the program to include discussions about events in the media that have a chemistry “flavor”. This includes the TV CSI crime series, drug testing, fracking for natural gas, toxic effects of lead and mercury on the environment, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, conflict minerals, Curiosity science experiments on Mars and many, many other interesting topics.

We have discussion periods at the end of every class to get the students’ input and to see if they’ve been paying attention (headphones in ears are often a give-away).

We have also organized field trips to the local water authority lab where they saw analytical chemistry applied to something they could relate to – clean drinking water. We’ve had trips to the Montgomery County Crime Lab to learn all about drug testing; to the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research, which provides neutron measurement capabilities to the U.S. research community… and to the USA Science and Engineering Festival, held on alternate years in Washington, DC.

In addition, I was fortunate enough to acquire an atomic absorption instrument donated by a local lab, so we have performed some basic trace metal studies in drinking, river and pond water samples. I’m also hoping to get additional equipment, such as basic IR, UV, GC and LC instrumentation – donations are gladly accepted! There is no question about it; the program has definitely put a spark (no pun intended) into the chemistry classes. The teachers see the benefits and the students did not realize that chemistry was so much a part of everyday life –  or that it could be so much fun to learn.

Volunteering to raise standards

Our volunteer program began in 2004 and currently has more than 160 active volunteers. The volunteers are mainly retirees, but for the past few years, we have started to recruit working people who are encouraged by their employers (public and private sector) to volunteer in their local communities. I lead the volunteer team in Montgomery County, Maryland, where I have more than 50 STEM professionals contributing to classroom activities in elementary, middle and high schools.

If I could select one common reason why we all do this, it’s because we are all saddened by the falling science standards in our public schools. There is ample evidence of this in a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The study focused on the understanding of science, math and reading demonstrated by 15-year olds in 70 countries (2). Worryingly, the USA’s ranking fell to 23rd for science and 29th for mathematics. For me, it is clear that improving our K-12 (primary through secondary) STEM education standards is high priority, if the USA wants to maintain a leading industrial and technological position in the world.

President Obama is also aware of the shortcomings of the US science educational system. One of the suggestions of the 2014 PCAST (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) report was for every middle and high school to collaborate with a STEM professional so that students are in contact with real-world scientists and engineers to provide them with insights into the outside world (3).

Finally, the Next Generation Science Standards, a joint project by the US National Research Council and the Achieve Group (and supported by 26 states), has seen a real need to change the way science is being taught (4). This direct quote from the report validates what our STEM volunteer program is about: “K–12 science education should reflect the real world interconnections in science”. No doubt your country could also benefit from similar schemes.

STEM professionals in the classroom

Our program shows clearly that placing experienced, real-world scientists and engineers in the classroom is a cost-effective approach to enhancing learning and motivating students to pursue technical and scientific careers. Indeed, in many parts of the USA, STEM volunteer programs are gaining a great deal of momentum and are making a significant impact on demonstrating to students that these can be compelling subjects to learn.

In the USA alone, there are more than one million scientists and engineers over the age of 60, who have at least a Bachelor’s degree. But there are only a few hundred actively involved in STEM volunteer programs, so we have barely tapped into a huge pool of potential volunteers. We firmly believe that a volunteer program like ours can make a huge impact to help children find a passion for science and mathematics.

Do it for the students

As scientists, we continually have to remind the general public that the benefits of a STEM education are far more than just learning about complex scientific topics. Students also learn to think more critically, which better prepares them for the problem-solving activities they will require later in their professional life. So, if you can spare the time, I strongly encourage you to get involved. If you live in the Washington, DC area, feel free to check us out at www.seniorscientist.org, where you will find details about our program, together with volunteering opportunities in other parts of the country.

In return, I can promise that your expertise and experience will bring enormous benefits to the classroom. Our program is a strong testament to this fact, which came about because three concerned scientists responded to an editorial in Science magazine in 2003 about the general public’s lack of science literacy (5). Because of that initiative, twelve years later, we will have more than 200 STEM professionals going into the 2015–16 school year, reaching approximately 20,000 students every week… And that’s no mean achievement for a group of retired scientists and engineers who thought their professional contributing days were over...

Robert Thomas is a Principal Consultant at Scientific Writing Solutions, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.