Teachers constantly find themselves challenged to bring to life the concepts found in a textbook. TIers, with the help of a Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer and volunteers from the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, recently helped teachers with that challenge in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
 |
Our president, chairman and CEO Rich Templeton helps a Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet Elementary School fifth-grader power a calculator with a potato. |
Football legend Tony Dorsett and TIers from Dallas spent much of Oct. 20 engaging in hands-on STEM activities and experiments with about 100 fifth-graders from Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet Elementary School.
The students went from station-to-station on the school’s playground, learning how to power a calculator with a potato, construct solar ovens with little more than a pizza box and tinfoil and create pulley-and-lever systems with LEGOs. Every step of the way, a TIer was there guiding them through the activities.
“Events like this are about making sure students like you really learn about STEM, because it is the foundation of your future,” our president, chairman and CEO Rich Templeton told the fifth graders.
Students had the opportunity to take part in activities supported by the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, REAL School Gardens and the Frontiers of Flight Museum.
As part of the day’s events, Tony, the Super Bowl champion and Heisman Award winner, spoke to the students about the importance of putting schoolwork first.
“Sports will come and go, but your education will last a lifetime,” he told the students. “I know you have big dreams, and keep dreaming big. But the road to fulfilling your dreams is through education.”
(Please visit the site to view this video)
The event at the Richardson Independent School District school was the latest in the TI-sponsored “Nine for 90” program, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ year-long 90th anniversary celebration.
“Year in and year out, TIers come back and share their hearts with our community,” said Jennifer Sampson, president and CEO of United Way of Dallas.
 |
A TI volunteer shows a Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet Elementary School fifth-grader how to construct a pizza box solar oven. |
The nine community service projects focus on United Way’s three pillars for strong communities: education, income and health. This month project featured a “STEM in the Schoolyard” approach to create memorable moments for students with math and science. TI has been a strong supporter of United Way in Dallas for more than 50 years, with education at the heart of the company’s philanthropy and volunteerism, particularly aimed at improving STEM education for females and minorities who are underrepresented in the science and engineering fields.
We believe that diversity fuels innovation, and that’s why we focus our efforts on schools like Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet, where students develop in a multi-cultural environment through innovative and diverse learning experiences.
According to the American Society for Engineering Education, of those graduating with electrical engineering degrees from U.S. universities, less than 15 percent are women, less than 10 percent are Hispanic and about five percent are African-American.
“Women and minorities do not always get the same access to hands-on learning and opportunities to speak with real-life engineers like some of the TIers at this event at Hamilton Park,” said our chief citizenship officer Trisha Cunningham. “We are committed to programs and activities like this in our own backyard that can get students excited about STEM.”
That’s why we are so heavily involved with efforts in Dallas, and across the U.S., where the focus is on the next generation joining the STEM workforce.
“We believe all students should be regularly exposed to interesting and important STEM learning so they are much more likely to pursue a STEM degree,” Trisha said. “And we believe a math- and science-capable workforce is essential to a future filled with innovation.”
Programs like this “STEM in the Schoolyard,” and the more than $150 million we have invested in the last five years in education efforts, helps fuel students’ passion for creativity and interest in problem solving with the goal of hopefully one day working in a STEM field.
For more information on our ongoing efforts in STEM and diversity, visit @AroundTI and ti.com/education.