It seems like Will is always getting into a fight with a teacher (or parent) about the over emphasis on STEM education. In this episode, we host Pamela Sharpe, M. Ed., the "Imposter Eraser" explore the current trend of STEM at all costs education, the rise of STEAM, and ask, whatever happened to the button guy?

About Pamela Sharpe

Pamela Sharpe, M.Ed., the “Imposter Eraser, is an international Business & Life Coach, Transformational Speaker, Author, and Entrepreneur. Prior to starting Pamela Sharpe Coaching & Consulting, she spent over 20 years in training development & facilitation. She has consulted at several non-profit organizations and has led an impressive career with the United States government as an Instructional Designer & Trainer. Consulting, designing, and developing curriculums, online education, and instructor-led courses, for over 65,000 people yearly.  Through self-discovery, Pamela’s superpower is helping people overcome barriers in their emotional and mental being, that stop them from making more money and reaching success in life. Pamela coaches clients to show up as the most profitable, expertise-driven professionals they can be.

Will's Personal Thoughts

My personal opinions on STEM is that there is an over emphasis on trying to get kids to code in preparation for future jobs, versus focusing in on the basics of math and problem solving. I'd also like to debate the idea of how many STEM jobs and engineering jobs didn't exist when we were kids and how technology has created many industries that aren't even STEM related in the design, marketing, and other fields and how we don't focus in those areas. It would be great if we can explore the concepts of how we have tendency to prepare for the future by focusing on today. I'm a technologist, and right now we write code that writes code.

What happens when a large percentage of the population is preparing for a STEM career when those jobs disappear thanks to AI, automation, and toolkits. It's a conundrum I like to call "the button guy." At the turn of the 20th century, plastic buttons for shirts we made using molds and there was a guy who'd press a lever to cut the buttons from the mold.

It didn't take long to introduce automation and that job disappeared.

I often ask questions, well, "what about the button guy," when it comes to STEM.

The languages and techniques we were using 5 years ago no longer apply in this field, and we generate more and more code using automated means versus writing it from scratch.

The button guy needs to focus on problem solving, design, and collaboration when STEM is commodified.

Credits

University of Central Florida Article: https://www.ucf.edu/online/engineering/news/comparing-stem-vs-steam-why-the-arts-make-a-difference/#:~:text=When%20looking%20at%20STEM%20vs.%20STEAM%2C%20the%20difference,both%20hard%20and%20soft%20skills%20to%20solve%20problems

Thanks for Listening to Episode 4!

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This episode of The Cloud was brought to you by WebsterStyle Magazine and Astrid Comics.

Our Featured Guest: Pamela Sharpe, the Imposter Eraser. You can find her at pamelasharpe.com

Executive Producer: Sabrina Mapp

Senior Editor: Trent Sharpe

Outro Music: Go! – Go! performed by Spaceman Spliph

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