INDIANAPOLIS — For Warren Central High School science teacher Benjamin Buchanan, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) schooling isn’t nearly equations or experiments; it’s about neighborhood.
The fourth-generation educator grew up on Indianapolis’ east facet and nonetheless calls it dwelling. Now, as he raises his younger son, Buchanan says his roots are what preserve him within the classroom.
“I want my son to have the same values I did,” Buchanan mentioned. “I want him to see the community in the same way.”
Buchanan not too long ago obtained a $3,000 stipend from the Society for Science Advocate Program, which helps lecturers who mentor students in scientific analysis and competitions. He plans to use the funds to buy lab gear and assist students full science honest initiatives.
“STEM is vital because it’s how the country runs,” Buchanan mentioned. “Everything we’ve ever learned is required to be known by science to be able to be.”
WRTV
Students like Donald Henley say Buchanan’s affect reaches far past the labs and lecture rooms.
“He’s really taught me the process of how I should go about things,” Henley mentioned. “You can’t just start with an idea and jump to the end. There’s a process.”
Buchanan’s strategy was not too long ago energized by a visit to Washington, D.C., the place the Society for Science hosted coaching and networking for STEM educators.
“It was mostly motivational,” Buchanan mentioned. “It showed us how to present STEM in ways that students would find more approachable.”
The Advocate Program goals to broaden entry to science and expertise, significantly for underrepresented communities. As Indiana faculties enhance their concentrate on STEM, educators like Buchanan are getting ready students to discover fields in synthetic intelligence, knowledge science and rising applied sciences.
“It’s necessary to foster STEM in students,” he mentioned. “They’re our future.”