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| Speaking with 7th and 8th graders in Pennsylvania |
My favorite part are
the questions. Some of them ask me to repeat information I already
gave, some of them are absurd, and some of them are truly insightful for such
young students. Eyes light up and imaginations expand when these kids
learn of what’s going on with human spaceflight now and imagine
themselves as space travelers. These dreamers make my time and
effort worth it every time.
Once or twice per
month, I get a chance to speak with students of multiple ages and in many locations. Sometimes I can travel in person and speak with these
young learners face-to-face. Sometimes I’m unable to travel to
speak in person because of the distances involved, as was the case
with an aspiring group of engineers in Iraq, and we use internet
video instead. I’m still able to converse and show off lab props
over a screen, sometimes even better than in person.
Most of the students
I speak with are late elementary school, middle school, and early high school aged, interested
in many areas but most likely undecided about their future career
paths. I often start out the conversation by asking them what they
want to be when they grow up and if any of them want to be
scientists. The range and complexity of answers I receive is
astounding. These kids, as young as some of them are, are already
forming images of themselves in careers. How many of them have
pictured themselves doing space-related work, whether they’re an
aspiring aeronautical engineer or an artist?
A couple years ago,
I spent some months tutoring a group of high school girls living in a
foster home. They were normal teenage girls living through
extraordinary circumstances. In some cases, the lack of positive role
models or complete information put them at a disadvantage as they
prepared for adulthood. I was struck by one girl who informed me that
she’ll probably become a stripper when she graduates high school
because she likes to dance. Only by continuing the conversation did
she begin to realize her job options were much larger and less
limiting than she had previously concluded.
How many students
are not even aware of their potential because they haven’t been
exposed to information that can open their minds? How many students
lack positive and relatable role models despite being surrounded by
teachers and other potential mentors? How many students know that
they really can achieve a STEM career if that’s what they want to
do? How many students know that they can write space stories (fiction
and nonfiction), draw space art, make a profit through space
businesses, develop government policies and international treaties
related to space, and dance in the microgravity of space, without any
STEM inclination at all?
My hope is that by
volunteering my time to speak with these students, I can open their
minds and help them picture a different world, a world where they can
be involved in space if they want to be. I do not charge for these
speaking engagements. My company Astralytical does not pay for my
time nor travel costs. My volunteer STEM education efforts cost me
money, which I consider to be worth it.
If you so choose,
you can help me in my goal of inspiring students to fall in love with
the Universe. Your donation can help offset time, travel, and supply
costs. You can be right there in the classroom with me, so to speak.
Please give me and these students a little boost if you’re able.
