Twin Lakes Academy Middle School Students Are STEAMING
William Jackson, STEAM Educator
Students at Twin Lakes Academy Middle School are learning
about how their future career choices will be influenced by
the continued commercialization of Space. The growth and
collaboration of SPACEX, NASA, Blue Origin and other
companies are providing new career choices that require
new skills that were not needed just 5 years ago.
The internet has changed how students are educated,
access to digital tools that are increasingly interactive,
engaging and involved. The true digital natives is rising.
Education is slowly adapting to the needs of digital worlds
and parents should be keeping track of the future
employability of their children. Career choices are not
based just on gaming and entertainment, students need
coding, programming, creativity training, critical thinking,
the Arts as a solid foundation for learning.
Schools that do not have dedicated STEAM Education and
Art Education programs are putting their students at risk of
not preparing them for digital careers that require these skills.
Technology is allowing more youth, teens and young
adults phenomenal growth potentials as digital leaders,
digital creatives and digital innovators. Our youth are developing
their voices using and applying their knowledge. The growth of
Block Chain, NFTs, Meta and the Metaverse are challenging
how education will prepare the future workforce.
We are transforming into a society of thought leaders,
digital collaboration and a digital artistic renaissance that will
shape how we explore the planets, the oceans and seas and
even face global climate changes. Technology will help us
globally to connect and collaborate.
Duval County Public School students will be the future Mayors,
Senators, Representatives, Governors and potentially
Presidents. They will be attorneys, plumbers, first responders,
accountants, carpenters, auto mechanics, store managers,
librarians, mental health professionals, teachers, nurses and
ministers. The combining case is all these careers are influenced
by technology in some form and some fashion.
What we put in our students from the education they receive
is what we will get. There are great works being done, but there
is more that needs to be done for our ESE populations, over age
students who have lost the drive for school. The ESOL students
yearning for an education but cannot understand the spoken
and written words.
Duval County Public Schools is doing phenomenal works and
should continue to grow its partnerships with space agencies
like NASA, SPACEX and others so students can go forth to the
next level of learning and careers. Learning is not just in the
classrooms of schools, but the global engagement of learning.
The collaboration of STEAM Education and STEAM Learning is
needed to excite students to apply new learning and extend
their visions to the future for them and their families. We have
to ask what will be provided for the refugees that are coming
here from other nations. Will we welcome them with open
and caring arms or treat them with distain, anger, racism,
bias and hatred? We need to make sure our schools, churches,
businesses, social services and community as a whole is on
the same page.
Jacksonville is only as strong as the lowest reader in the
classrooms, the student that is disabled is just as important as
our honor students and students of color, culture, nationality
are respected just as our white students that live in gated
communities, higher educational status and whose parents
can afford the latest and greatest technologies.
Poverty and privilege should have equal access to support and
services to make sure our students are covered and cared for.
TLAM has a newspaper and podcast club that the community
is invited to view. The clubs are sponsored by Ms. Canepa and
Mr. Jackson, both teachers at TLAM and digital content creators.
They’re preparing students with diverse technology skills to
inspire and educate the next digital leaders. More needs to be
done to empower, encourage, inspire and educate equally
and equitably for students.
View what Twin Lakes Academy Middle Schools students are
doing and feel free to reach out for collaborations to share the
learning and skill development.
TLAM Newspaper – https://tlamnpc.wordpress.com/
TLAM Podcast – https://anchor.fm/tlampodcast
Take Flight with Your Innovation and Creativity in STEAM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7q500O6lM