LK Education Bulletin

Much is said and written about the need for a greater emphasis on science and math in our schools today. In East Tennessee the economic and business development leaders have created a 15 county alliance known as the Knoxville Oak Ridge Innovation Valley to promote the creation, development and funding for technology. In fulfilling their mission they have raised the bar for more science and math in our classrooms. 21st century jobs will be in such science rich areas as nano technology, biofuels and super computing.

The FIRST organization (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) www.usfirst.org has a program that we believe is part of the solution. A 501(c)(3) charity founded in 1989 their mission is to create a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.

This is the organization that for high school students creates technology competition through the creation of robots that compete in a regional event and where the winning teams square off in a national championship. Teams of mentors and students design and assemble the robots over a six week period that starts prior to competition in one of 46 regions arcos the United States. Assembly is done using a kit of common parts purchased from FIRST costing $6,000. The parts kit does not include instructions on assembly that is for the mentors and students to determine. It does come with a challenge. The challenge is what the robot should be able to do at competition (ie. carry a ball 50 yards and place it on a table).

For the students the payoff is not just the learning that takes place in building the robot and securing funding for the parts kit but there is scholarship money available. For 2009 there are over 120 colleges and universities, professional associations, and corporations from the United States and Canada providing over 550 individual scholarship opportunities, valued at over $9.7 million, to FIRST high school students. This is an official recognition of the knowledge and technical and life skills these students have gained from participating in a FIRST competition. FIRST scholarships enable students to pursue majors and careers in engineering, computer science, science, math, design, aeronautics, and many other fields.

At Lewis King we are supporting this FIRST imitative. Staff volunteers served as mentors for a Knoxville high school team that competed for its first time in March of this year at the Peachtree Regional in Atlanta. We believe this program is part of the long term solution to creating more interest in science and technology. However, there is much work to be done. Last year there were only two East Tennessee teams that participated in a regional event. That is not enough for the Innovation Valley. Registration for 2008-09 has already started. We will again support a team that will compete in Atlanta and we hope to see you there.