AMS has a new STEAM program that was rolled out this September, where the students go to a different school that gives them college credit or even job experience, such as nursing and cybersecurity.
We interviewed some students to see their thoughts on how the program is going. Jeremiah Smith, a junior, said, “My positive feedback on STEM is that it’s pretty diverse because I really like the type of activities that it gives us. We have to do projects, and there are also some social experiments. I mean, it’s pretty cool. We get to go to an auditorium.” As for downsides, Jeremiah said, “The fact that our breaks are only 10-minute breaks, and we can’t really interact with other classes that are also on their break. There’s really nothing that I would improve other than the type of lessons we have, because it feels like I’m not learning anything new. After all, we’ve been doing the same thing for a week now.
James Gonzalez, a junior, said, “So far, STEAM has been a pretty important course for me. Honestly, I’ve been learning a lot of things. I’ve started to pick up skills in coding and software like Python, and I’m starting to learn a lot. So I think it’s a very great school.” He added, those“Those skills are going to improve my future greatly because I’m going to be able to go into fields that are going to be way beyond my normal skill level, way later in life. So much easier for me, which is going to allow me to get just so many jobs and just so many opportunities in the future. As for improving the program, James said,“Personally, they should switch up the school. How they allocate the resources, they’re a bit more focused on selling their merchandise.”
Theo, a junior who is also in the program said, “I’m learning a lot of influential things that I’ll need in the future,” adding, “It makes me a better person and prepares me for the real world.” Theo hopes to work in medicine, and this program is preparing him to do so: “Maybe I’ll have some skills in the medical field, since I’m hoping to become a CMA by the time I graduate,” he said. “That means I could work at a hospital, while others my age wouldn’t be able to do that.” Theo had no criticisms of the program, saying, “It’s more about how we can expand it.”
Tanisha, an AMS junior, said, “It’s going great. I love the new people that I’m meeting and the things that I’m learning while I’m over there, too. It’s very different from AMS.” However, she does have a suggestion for the teachers: “I would improve the lessons in some type of way to make them more fun, because the lessons that we’re learning are long and boring. Well, for now.”
