Are we failing our STEM students?

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce giant, mentions at the World Economic Forum that the knowledge-based approach of “200 years ago”, would "fail our kids", who would never be able to compete with machines. Children should be taught “soft skills” like independent thinking, values and team-work, he said.

 "A teacher should learn all the time; a teacher should share all the time. Education is a big challenge now - if we do not change the way we teach thirty years later we will be in trouble.

With my current research on connecting STEM in school to Industry, we met an Architect, Mr. Obaid Hakim to understand how the concept of trigonometry, similarity, congruency and geometry lent itself to designing of buildings. 

Over a period of time trying to understand where each of us were coming from, we had mailed Mr. Hakim certain queries, namely:

Q. How to find the height of a building standing a certain distance from the building?
Q. How to ensure the measurements created for the designing of the buildings are exact and angles are precise?
Q. How do Architects design towers in particular area?
Q. How do Architects apply trigonometry ratios on spherical structure?
Q. How does an architect use trigonometry to examine land and determine its boundaries and size?
Q. How does an architect conduct survey before before designing structures?

Over a long discussion, we came to some truly hard hitting facts. 

1. The Architect had used trigonometry merely one or two times in the entire career. Nowhere was any concept of circles or the numerous theorems taught to understand circle principles in school were used.  

2. 90% of the time, form follows function. The project is designed and geometry is fitted in to fit the function. 

3. Everything is designed on the computer. The software helps You need to know basic geometry concepts like Pythagoras theorem, mensuration concepts like finding volume, surface area.

4. Having knowledge of Physics and Chemistry concepts like thermal physics, materials and their properties, exothermic reactions, latent heat is desired. 

5. Having knowledge of local Geography of the area is mandatory. To build the building, a local soil testing is needed to design the structural support desired. 

He in fact suggested that we study basic local structures in varied regions like desert, mountainous, temperate regions to get a holistic understanding of how STEM concepts help in designing structures. This was an eye opener for us as we realized that the quality of question we posed were so inadequate, mainly because we too had not experienced Industries and their working. The education system and the Industries seem so isolated from each other. 

He lamented that Architectural interns are the biggest liabilities in his office as one had to spend maximum time helping them unlearn, teaching and training them. 

This brings me once again to the fact that there is a huge gap between skills taught at school/college and desired at work. According to the UK Commission for Employment & Skills, 43pc of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) vacancies are hard to fill. This is mainly down to a shortage of applicants with the required skills and experience. The core root of this growing skills gap is education, from school through to university and workplace training.

How about if we taught the concepts of STEM through projects bringing it together instead of teaching in fragments. One such project being, 'Design your school within an area of 8500 square meters and a budget of 1 crore rupees ensuring you have kept the following parameters in mind:

1. The stability using the geographical understanding of your region

2. The materials to be used

3. The space allocation for classrooms/washrooms/multipurpose areas/staff-rooms/offices/library

4. Best utilization of natural resources

5. Budget allocation

6. Fire safety/ emergency exits'.

STEM subjects cannot be taught in isolation. Only when we see them harmonizing with each other using ARTS as a medium to communicate and express, will we see quality education touching every soul. 

If you feel as passionate as me to link STEM in school to Industry, then please connect and let us bring in a revolution. 

When ego meets love - Short Love story

She glanced at him with mild irritation. Once again Amit was late for the classes and exams were soon approaching. Both of them were determined to crack the IIT entrance exams as they had envisioned excellent career opportunities leading to a bright future. Furthermore, their families, neighbouring community at Pune were counting on them to perform well. At the young age of 18 they had planned intricately for the future, at 22 to apply for a Master's in Business Administration, at 24 to start a new job, at 25 to hunt for their own house, at 27 to settle down, at 30 to have a child and so on. Only hitch, they had to find someone who believed in their planning.

Amit quickly grabbed a seat beside Aakanksha, he knew she was disturbed. She hated unpunctuality and it triggered buttons within her which made her unapproachable for next few minutes. After the class, they moved towards their regular hangout in the campus and started discussing doubts and probable questions. Both of them were confident of getting into same campus and thus time and time conversed about new teaching professors they would soon interact with.

The exams came, the papers went well and the results were out. Both Amit and Aakanksha got into IIT but in different institutions as Amit's marks were lower than Aakanksha's. Amit requested Aakanksha to enrol in his campus at Guhawati but Aakanksha wasn't comfortable. She had got into the best course on her merit and she wasn't going to trade it for anything. For the first time, there was a rift between the two and everyone around felt it. The day to move to a new city soon approached but Amit did not call Aakanksha even once and that hurt her tremendously. For the sake of years of friendship, Aakanksha went to Amit's house to meet him one last time. Amit opened the door but not once did he invite her in. At the doorstep few formal greetings were exchanged and Aakanksha left with a heavy heart for Chennai.

Once in Chennai with the tremendous study material and activities and new friends Aakanksha soon got highly involved and time flew. Whenever, she went back to Pune, she would enquire about Amit but no news was forthcoming. After a few years, she even stopped asking. Amit on the other hand was determined to outshine Aakanksha and therefore poured his heart and soul in becoming the best and by the end of the course had stood first in college. He went to Pune to show his achievements to Aakansksha but she refused to meet him, their previous interaction still hurt her at times. 

At 22, both applied for the Master's course but Aakanksha went to Harvard and Amit to Oxford.

At 24, both had received their dream job offer and resumed work. Aakanksha had gone into a software company at Silicon Valley and Amit joined a leading bank at London. At 25, both had zeroed down on their homes. Very soon both found love around their workplace and soon settled down. Life had turned out just the way they had planned but something was missing. 

One September morning, Aakansksha boarded a flight to India as her mother was unwell. The flight had a stopover at London. At the Heathrow airport, she was frantically trying to call her parents but could not get through. In frustration, she sat down at a coffee shop hoping to tide over matters when she suddenly felt a presence observing her. She looked up and saw Amit, varying emotions ran across her face, she felt happy, angry and a little cheated. He had no right ignoring her for being so bright. She moved towards him planning to give him a piece of her mind. 

Amit was at the airport to go to Mumbai to close a deal. While he was thinking about ways to approach the crucial work matter over coffee he suddenly saw Aakanksha moving inside the shop, looking disturbed. Seeing her, he felt a jolt of current going through him. She looked so elegant and beautiful, the desire to hold her was paramount. She had been his best friend and his stupid ego had prevented him to see her beyond a competitor. Gosh, he had missed her. 

At the very moment, she looked at him. For few moments, the earth stood still for them, they slowly both moved towards each other, stealthily and with uncertainty. They both wanted to speak but the minute they touched, the eyes communicated their feelings and the tears flowed. The anger, ego just flew by. Finally it felt like coming home. 

Both hugged each other deeply and caught up with news of each other's past and present. It felt like they had never been apart and still the wedding ring on both their fingers spoke another truth. They both realized that what they were feeling was beyond friendship and if given free rein would consume them with passion completely. This feeling was different, they had never felt such a spark with their own spouses ever.

Once again at the Mumbai airport, they parted with tears knowing fully well that there would be no going back if they met the next time. Love had been with them all the time but blind ego had shielded it. Two people who could have been true soulmates will now find love in a place of compromise. 

Whose truth do we believe in? Short Story

He was all charged up, his dream of serving as a soldier to the unit was finally coming true. All these years he desired to be noticed, to make a difference, contribute to his community and avenge for the wrongs done to his community. The dreams of gaining a revered place in the heavens filled his mind. He looked up at his leader, the one man who believed in him with utmost devotion and paid heed to his every word and command. The leader had every detail planned out intricately and the soldiers were the vital keys to the success of the plan. The leader had left his well standing position as Vice President of a leading Pharmaceutical company to dedicate his life to the community and religious sect and ensure freedom for all. He was the epitome of leadership and the soldier felt blessed to be under his guidance. Together with his other team mates they pledged their lives for this mission and moved towards the goal.

Armed with body suits filled with bombs, they huddled themselves in the car to be driven towards their target, a school with innocent children and dedicated teachers. He had felt a pang of uneasiness but quickly erased it out from his mind. The leader that mentioned that people needed to be pierced through their hearts. Only then would myopic world be enlightened; and what better than seeing their young flesh and blood strewn across the floor in pieces. 

Few minutes along the way, the vehicle died down and the journey paused. The soldier was chosen to run along and drive in with a new vehicle as he was young and agile. Feeling important he jogged quickly to the site and see his leader the last time and take his blessings. 

When he reached the site, no one glanced up to him or acknowledged him. The keys were handed and the people moved towards their work. The soldier was momentarily taken aback but got in the vehicle and started driving towards the leader’s station. Knowing he had only a few precious moments, he ran quickly towards the leader’s cottage. 

As he stood outside he heard laughter, he moved towards the window and saw his leader toasting drinks with other supervisors. The leader in high spirits mentioned, "As long as we have educated fools willing to believe in us, our mission of ruling the world will be successful. For a few seconds of self-importance, they are willing to trade in family and friends, keep building their self-esteem friends, it works for us". All the members cheered and he saw a group of young girls, scared and nervous been let in. He saw the lust filled men pouncing on the young girls and felt miserable and cheated.  He hadn’t bargained his life for this debauchery.

He walked towards the vehicle with mixed emotions running through him and drove towards his comrades. The comrades looked happy to see him as they shared the same devotion towards their mission and today they were going to be martyrs. 

The soldier started the car but drove back to the outpost. The comrades surprised, started questioning him but the soldier paid no heed. He drove the vehicle straight to the leader’s cabin, looked up at the sky and pressed his bomb button. In a minute, explosions were all around and the entire outpost was in flames. Bodies burned, screams were heard but no one was spared. No one had realized what was coming towards them. The soldier had finally achieved his mission.  

What's your perspective? - short story

Rose sat on her rocking chair in the balcony with her cup of coffee hoping to catch a few precious moments for herself after the hustle bustle of sending her children to school and seeing her husband off to work. The entire family depended on her for their every need and she never failed them. While sipping the coffee she started planning for the rest of the day. She had errands to run, socials to attend and a visit to the parlour was long overdue. At the same time, she knew she had to be home at particular times to let the servant run her magic broom over the place, greet the children when they came back from school and cook for the evening. She kept wondering how she was going to manage.

At that very moment, she observed from the balcony her neighbour, Sheila walking confidently towards her car dressed so professionally, carrying a laptop and appearing so worldly. Suddenly she felt so low, her self-esteem slipping away. Questions kept running in her head, 'What is my standing in the professional world today? 'What is my identity apart from a homemaker? Look at me today, what value do my post graduate degrees hold?

In few minutes, she heard her mobile ringing, the errands were beckoning her. She jerked off her self-doubts and proceeded towards the tasks. 

.................................................................................................................................................

Sheila had woken up at 5 am that morning to cook the food for the family and complete her son's Geography project. She felt that the studies were truly getting complicated, she had to set aside time to help him with research and presentation for the project. At 7 am she finally was able to grab a bite while completing all household tasks. She had minimal time to get ready for work. She had a long day ahead of her, there were hordes of meetings lined up with her superiors and clients and her boss was a tough nut. He kept pushing for more and more work to be delivered and the returns comparatively were paltry but they needed the money. She had to keep going till a good job proposal came by her way. Both she and her husband had taken house loans and had placed their child in a good school with high fees. 

As she stepped out of the building with her laptop, she glanced up and watched Rose having her coffee in the balcony and felt a stab of pain. 'Wish I could enjoy those few moments by myself? Hope that time comes soon and moved inside her car.