Teacher Appreciation Week: STEM Teachers Rule
STEM teachers make up more than 1.2 million teachers in the U.S.
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re sure you have a teacher in your world that you still either speak to or was one who sparked your love and interest in STEM/STEAM!
According to research by Zippia, there are more than 1.2 million science teachers in the U.S. and of that 57.9% are women and 12% of all science teachers are LGBTQIA+.
As we all know, teaching can be one of the hardest jobs and under-recognized. But did you also know teachers on average earn around $66,397 (during 2021-2022). Data from the National Education Association said this shows salaries are lower by nearly 4% than they were a decade ago due to inflation.
But when a teacher has a passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics their love of teaching growing minds supersedes everything.
STEM Encourages Critical Thinking
Dena Scoullos started her career as a general education elementary teacher, and then realized she had a passion for STEM. We featured Scoullos in our first season of “How I Started in STEM.”
“What I think is awesome about STEM is that it's really open ended. There's not as much right or wrong, but it's a lot of creative thinking, problem solving, critical thinking,” said Scoullos. “And I think that's what's amazing to see in the classroom or in the workplace. There's almost no limit and no end.”
As a first through fourth grade teacher, she noticed there were not enough activities out there for her students, so she began making her own. That turned into a profitable side hustle, teachers from South America to Europe have used her resources.
Students Provide Inspiration
“As a teacher, I think I'm most inspired by my students and their ability to explore and learn,” explained Scoullos. “I teach grades one through four, goes up to about 10 years old and it's just amazing to see their minds working and thinking. And I like to leave everything pretty open ended so that they could really explore in their own way. And when you see those light bulb moments, it's just so exciting. I like to think that one of my students may eventually go on to create something amazing.”
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Ackk! I need to switch my major
