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I won this book this week at a Professional Development for Project Lead the Way (PLTW). I sat down today and read it; it's a short read, only took an hour. Every administrator/teacher/parent should read this book to understand the importance of teaching STEM (Science, Technonolgy, Engineering, and Math) subjects in each of our classrooms. I am very passionate about teaching Science and I strive to make Science Education in our state a priority by working on many state level projects and I still enjoyed reading the statistics and research about the need for STEM in all grades. It is written by Vince Bertram who is the president of Project Lead the Way so he does plug his program, but the intentions of the book are not to sell his program, it's to open your eyes to the urgent need for STEM subjects to be integrated and taught in every classroom. Our students in America are falling further and further behind in STEM careers due to lack of exposure and meaningful experiences. An interesting fact I made a mental note of while reading was that "Forty percent of Science graduates and professionals reported becoming interested in their field between Kindergarten and Fifth Grade". As educators we MUST do a better job advocating for STEM subjects to be taught in every classroom. As an elementary teacher I hear all the time the excuse that "I don't have time to teach Science" this makes my bones syringe! Integration of subjects and incorporating science into reading and math gives our students exposure. For our students, simply getting exposure to STEM areas does not get them interested in joining those as a career field. We need to make learning meaningful to their own life experiences and build solid grade level foundations for our students to go to the next grade still interested in STEM areas and continue to get meaningful learning opportunities. With the new science standards we need to be engaging our students in science and focus more on the Why and How rather than just giving them science content. We are making a shift in how we teach science to get our students interested in science and give them opportunities to truly understand the science concepts being taught. Our students start making these connections to their life by actually Doing science. As you start the new school year please make it a priority to incorporate more meaningful science experiences into your classroom; get other teachers in your building and district on board as well. The success of our students depend on us!