In his classes, rockets are launched, wind turbines are built, and the most stable models of buildings are made from popsicle sticks. He came to Vrnjačka Banja without a cowboy hat, but with the real mustache of every Texan.
His first visit to Serbia continues in Belgrade and will end in Kragujevac. Bruce Boen has spent 36 years in education, is probably considered one of the most beloved teachers, and is the only American in the largest European network of STEM education teachers, Scientix. To clarify, in America, there are 345 million inhabitants, STEM education (a combination of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in education) was born in the United States, and only one American is part of the largest European network of teachers. Or as he likes to say, STEAME education (all of the above plus art and entrepreneurship).
He attended the Makers Lab conference in Vrnjačka Banja, where he shared his knowledge with teachers who have 22nd-century classrooms in their schools, and took the opportunity to visit the gymnasium in the spa and demonstrate in practice what his teaching looks like. High school students had the opportunity to make their own small wind turbines during one class, and all they needed was a will, a pair of skilled hands, and a few plastic pipes.
Bruce created a “job” during the class, but also afterwards because one thing is certain – the children liked it and will tug at their teachers’ sleeves to repeat something like that in regular classes!
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Bruce’s rockets fly high We were interested in whether he was a favorite teacher during his active work in school, where he draws strength from, and how little is actually missing for his colleagues to make a change for a better society – only if they want to.
“The biggest obstacle to the development of STEM education is the resistance of teachers and administrations. From what I’ve heard, Serbian teachers have to adhere to a very strict curriculum. My approach will be to try to explain that when you do STEM, it’s not an addition to your curriculum, it’s an integration. So the time you need is not extra time because we can’t add it. We have to say, “Okay, this is what I’m teaching, this is what the curriculum says I have to teach today.” Great! But you can teach it through STEM, and that’s a big step teachers have to overcome, to look at it and say, “Yes, I can flip through the textbook and talk for 30 minutes, and everyone will understand what’s in the textbook.” Or you can say, “What’s in the textbook? Okay, I have to do this and this. How can I do that by making something or connecting it to a real problem?” Then, without much guidance, let the students try to figure things out. And you help them. I think it’s easier for them if they apply STEM education in the classroom because they become better and smarter”, Boen explains for Telegraf Biznis.
He tells us that the lack of space is just an excuse.
“You can adapt your STEM projects to fit the space. That’s why I love being a teacher, because you have to be creative. It’s such a creative profession – says Boen, who, as he says with a laugh, is known for making rockets in classroom conditions. Not rockets that will go into orbit, but certainly ones that will allow students to understand the laws of physics in an interesting way. Some of these will be launched today from the classrooms of the First Belgrade Gymnasium.
The longer you talk to Bruce, the more you want to go back to school. To our statement, Bruce smiles back and admits that his students came back to tell him they had a wonderful education.
“STEM enriches the curriculum and presents the material in a different way, a way that challenges students, a way that makes them think and prepares them for the future in any profession they want. They don’t have to be scientists, but they have to be able to function in a group, to collaborate, and STEM teaches them all that. Maybe thousands of kilometers separate us, but our problems are similar: lower salaries and young people who are less willing to take risks.”
“The main thing I’ve noticed about students is that they are less willing to take risks. But that’s part of the STEM process. You make something and it doesn’t work and then you say, Okay, let’s fix it. Teachers want higher salaries. Teachers want better conditions. Funding schools for science equipment, laboratories, and the like is very scarce. I think teacher training needs to change. Teachers can no longer be trained in a traditional way. They need to have contact with STEM teachers. I can notice that when they go for an interview with the principal or something similar, they say, “Look, I want to work a lot with STEM.” And if the principal says, “No, not really.” They just shrug and thank you”, Boen tells us.
Turn nervousness into excitement In addition to being a retired teacher who actively travels the world and shares his knowledge, Bruce was also a handball referee at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He remembers well that Croatia won gold at the time.
“It was beautiful. One of the great things I learned is that the first game I commented on at the Olympics was full of nerves. But then I realized that the feelings of nervousness and excitement are actually the same. And so I decided I would be excited, not nervous. And it worked! – says Bruce. He has been married for 41 years, has two children, and when we asked his wife Kendra what the secret of their love is, which is like a couple who just met”, she answers us:
You don’t give up, you try, and you succeed. And then you share everything, you don’t keep anything for yourself. Just like something like STEM education.
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Source: Telegraf Biznis
Photo: Milan Mitrović