The Future of the Educational Landscape: CTE, STEM, and CS, with Ty Stevenson

This episode was recorded live at the 2022 AVID National Conference in Orlando, with special guest, Ty Stevenson, Product Manager at AVID Center and Project Manager of the AVID/Code.org Regional Partnership. Ty helps us unpack a vision for the future of education, which includes career and technical education (CTE); science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); and computer science (CS). We discuss the importance of exposing students to these career possibilities at a young age and helping them develop related skill sets. We also explore the value and impact of personalizing learning in your schools.

Ty leaves us with lots to think about, including such reflections as, “Modeling, self-belief, seeing myself in somebody else’s experience is absolutely crucial. . . . Do our students see ourselves in these jobs that are available to them, and do they think it’s possible? Do they think they have the opportunity or even the ability? What are we doing to purposefully create those environments where they can have that vision?” Visit AVID Open Access to learn more.

Transcript

#170 — The Future of the Educational Landscape: CTE, STEM, and CS, with Ty Stevenson

Time: 35:17
Owner: AVID Open Access

SUMMARY KEYWORDS
cte, students, thinking, ty, computational thinking, avid, cs, skill, opportunities, future, education, access, change, develop, rena, educator, bit, learn, jobs, winston

SPEAKERS
Ty (52%), Rena (24%), Winston (12%), Paul (10%), Transition (1%) 

Ty Stevenson  0:00  

Education has become more and more commodified. The traditional pathways aren't the only pathways of value. There's more ways to verify and vet knowledge acquisition for students. There's going to be more and more personalized pathways for educational success and achievement relative to that student's needs, opportunities around them, and so on.

Rena Clark  0:23  

The topic for today's episode is The Future of the Educational Landscape: CTE, STEM, and CS, a Conversation with Ty Stevenson, product manager and lead of the AVID Code.org regional partnership. Unpacking Education is a weekly podcast brought to you by AVID Open Access and avid.org. AVID believes every student needs opportunity knowledge. To learn more about AVID, visit their website at avid.org. Welcome to Unpacking Education, the podcast where we explore current issues and best practices in education. I'm Rena Clark.

Paul Beckermann  1:07  

I'm Paul Beckerman.

Winston Benjamin  1:08  

And I'm Winston Benjamin, we are educators.

Paul Beckermann  1:12  

And we're here to share insights and actionable strategies. 

Transition Music  1:16  

Education is our passport to the future.

Winston Benjamin  1:22  

Welcome to Unpacking Education.

Paul Beckermann  1:30  

You sound like thousands.

Rena Clark  1:33  

All right, so welcome to Unpacking Education, the podcast where teachers discuss how technology and teaching best practices can positively transform education to create equitable classrooms for future-ready, learners. I'm Rena Clark.

Paul Beckermann  1:49  

And I'm Paul Beckerman.

Winston Benjamin  1:51  

And I'm Winston Benjamin, and we are educators.

Paul Beckermann  1:55  

We're here to share actionable teaching strategies that you can implement in your classroom.

Rena Clark  2:00  

For today's podcast, we're coming to you live from AVID National Conference here in Orlando.

Paul Beckermann  2:10  

So yes, there really are people here.

Rena Clark  2:11  

People. Yeah, I'm not alone, with my children banging on the door, let me in. Anyways.

Winston Benjamin  2:19  

First live episode ever. Welcome, welcome. Yay. 

Paul Beckermann  2:23  

You're gonna go down in history.

Rena Clark  2:26  

Okay. The topic for today's episode is The Future of the Educational Landscape: CTE, STEM, and CS: A Conversation with Ty Stevenson, product manager and lead of the AVID Code.org regional partnership.

Unpacking Education is a weekly podcast brought to you by AvidOpenAccess and avid.org. AVID believes every student needs opportunity knowledge. To learn more about AVID, visit their website at avid.org. Our quote for today is from one of our podcast guests, Kiki Prottsman, who is an educator, author, and leader in computer science education. She says, "The skills you need to program are the very same skills you need to be successful in anything." She goes on to say, "Students are going to start learning younger, so they will start understanding better, using their young imaginations, and then coming up to change the world as they grow up with all of these things that to us all still seem like the future, but the future is not that far away." So I'm gonna have Winston go ahead and respond to that quote.

Winston Benjamin  3:47  

So I'm gonna shout out to the audience. How many of y'all ever watched Star Trek? Yeah, I like it. I like it. My Trekkies, yo live long and prosper. But I remember growing up watching that show and then be like on screen, and it pulled up the faces of everyone and have conversations across the universe. How many of you have FaceTime? How many of you connect in the world that way? Over the last few years, but to the point of something that was a fictionary reality is currently our reality. So how do we prepare our students that's really why I like the question. It's like, what realities are going to be out there that we can imagine that we have to stop and let our students do the work. So for me, the future is here and still going forward. So that's why I like that quote.

Paul Beckermann  4:32  

You got another TV reference for you. The Jetsons? A lot of those things we thought no, no, no. 

Winston Benjamin  4:38  

The Jetsons takes place in 2023. Yes, yes.

Rena Clark  4:44  

Back to the Future. Ever check that goal. 

Paul Beckermann  4:46  

So we've got one more year to get the flying cars going? The thing that spoke to me was the fact that these are universal skills. So when students learn CS skills, they learn computational thinking. These are not just about being computer scientists. These are about being good, high functioning citizens in any career that a student would choose to pursue. And by empowering them with these skills, we're empowering them with anything that they may want to do in the future.

Rena Clark  5:13  

And what really spoke to me was this idea of young imagination. I come from this weird generation of, I actually didn't have a smartphone, but it came out like flip phones in college, and now we're using them. But I think about our kids, like, I always think like my own kiddos. The worst, the worst technology they're ever going to access is a smartphone. Like that's the worst thing they've ever seen. And think about the power of that. But also thinking about those young minds and the big imaginations and before we stamp that out, the possibility that they think of, so how do we create pathways, on ramps, and opportunities for those imaginations to flourish and not feel stamped out? And how do we make sure that our students who are historically underrepresented still have access to things like CTE in the future because those are kind of the populations that we're not seeing in those spaces. So how do we provide access, especially, I'm all about PK-5. So how do we get them access? Keep those possibilities open?

Paul Beckermann  6:22  

Like AVID Open Access? 

Rena Clark  6:24  

Yeah. 

Paul Beckermann  6:25  

A shameless plug.

Rena Clark  6:28  

So, as I said, we have our guest here with us, Ty, again, the product manager and lead of the AVID and code.org regional partnership. Welcome, Ty. 

Ty Stevenson  6:40  

Hey, hey. Thanks for having me. Glad to be here today.

Rena Clark  6:43  

And can you just really briefly tell our listeners a bit about yourself?

Ty Stevenson  6:47  

Yes. So again, my name is Ty. I know I said that earlier. I grew up in a small, rural farming community in the thumb region of Michigan. Yes, I'll use the hand map. Yes, this is the thumb where I grew up, a town of about 5,000 folks, and had a very happy childhood experience in school. I was involved in sports and music and different things. Went to college at Wayne State University in Detroit, mostly at the time to play baseball, but eventually to get a degree. And I stayed there and worked in advising, admissions counseling, and eventually was the executive director, alumni and development. Eventually moved on to work for Lego, the toy company that many of us know and love, in their education division. But in 2018, I began to fall in love with this place called AVID. I couldn't quite figure out what made AVID so special, but they had this amazing culture, and amazing sense of community and togetherness. And I said, I want to be a part of that. And so I was blessed to be able to join the AVID team in 2018, originally, as a learning designer, responsible for developing what you now would call STEM Academy. And in the fall of 2019, I moved over to work on the Code.org regional partnership, which I've done since. And so, just a little bit about my journey. In my spare time, as you might imagine, I like sports. I like country music, outdoor activities. I still play with Legos, full disclosure, 

Paul Beckermann  8:13  

More power to you.  

Ty Stevenson  8:14  

I'm just really thankful to be here with the three of you talking about the future of education today.

Winston Benjamin  8:21  

Ty, you ended your statement with my question, but I'm gonna try to see if I get support and help our thinking through that. So you mentioned where you were from, all these other places, the experiences that you've had, working in different, working in AVID now, seeing an entire different side of the coin of different students who may have experienced the world differently from you. As you're experiencing this, where do you see the landscape, right, thinking about your students, your work, and your own experience? Where do you see the landscape of education changing in the future?

Ty Stevenson  8:51  

Yeah, that's a really good question, Winston. And one thing I forgot to mention is I did teach and coach for a period of time and I got to see these children from my own community. I taught in my hometown, where I went to school. But I saw kids there that didn't have the same opportunities that I had. They didn't have the same access to resources that I had, and I saw that there's a lot of different things that I could do as an educator to fill some of those gaps. But in thinking about those needs in the future, I think what we're going to see a lot more is personalization, customization of the resource. I used to be called at IEP meetings from time to time. And I'm thinking to myself, well, why doesn't every child have an IEP? Are we all individualized learners that have individualized needs? And I've always thought about that as something that I think, in the future, we're going to see more of that. I think there's going to be a call for computer science, technology, and STEM across the disciplines. Um, a lot of times we stereotype those topics for those that are going into engineering, or computer science, or coding, but I think we're going to see more and more of those are going to become foundational disciplines that our kids are going to need for the jobs of the future. You're going to see more integration between STEM, CS and future-driven skill in math and in music. As a musician, I use patterns all the time when I'm in the studio. And you see these corollaries between what would be considered future-ready topics and in more standard disciplines, more and more. So, I think that's definitely coming, I think you're going to see these integrations take place younger and younger. I know we'll talk about CTE at some point today, but career technical education isn't going to be just for those in the, you know, the second half of their K-12 career. You're gonna see that skill down lower and lower, getting those future driven skill pieces in the younger students' hands. And so I also think education has become more and more commodified. People are seeing that the traditional pathways aren't the only pathways of value. There's more ways to verify and vet knowledge acquisition for students. You know, college and career is now a purposeful part of the AVID mission. And that's not by accident. I think that's going to become more and more prevalent. There's going be more and more personalized pathways for educational success and achievement, relative to that student's needs, opportunities around them, and so on.

Paul Beckermann  11:27  

You talk a lot about personalization, Ty, and it's such a key piece of it. It's a little bit like differentiation, but on steroids, kind of like the next level. My wife and I talk a lot about the fact that when we were starting as teachers, we knew we should differentiate, but we didn't know how, you know, it just seemed like insurmountable. And Pam, Pam, my wife, says she always put it on her her shelf of guilt. You know, something that she knew she should be doing, but she's not doing, I feel like now with with technology opportunities, blended learning, some of the strategies that are coming about because of technology, we now can make some of those more attainable than they once were. So I'm thinking, if we can attain personalization now, what impact will that have on our students and their performance and what they can accomplish in the world?

Ty Stevenson  12:17  

Yeah, that's a really good question. It really isn't just a buzzword, right? Personalizing something for a learner means we do what we can to make it impactful for that child, for that learner. It's not, hey, here's some tools, and this is what we have, and so we're going to make these tools fit you because that's all that we can currently offer. It's more, hey, what are your needs? What can we design and develop that's going to make the learning objective or outcome that you're pursuing possible for you? How willing are we to make the investments and sacrifices to bring that to bear, you know, for all students? And so I think, at the end of the day, personalization means efforts. I think it means sweat equity. I think it means thinking outside the box and looking at problem-solving from a different way. You get into a vibe, or if you have a one-on-one, you can give that student absolutely personalized education within reason, based on the tools that you have available to you. So I think, you know, we got to think about what is the teachers bandwidth, belief, and mindset. Put that on the shelf and dream about it. One of the reasons why that's hard to get off the shelf is because you just don't have time, or you don't think you have time. Part of it's sweat equity. Part of it's a want to. It's a desire. It's a "is this worth my investment?" I'm not talking about individual teachers. I'm talking about the district. I'm talking about resources. I'm talking about where we spend our time, talent, and treasure, right. I'm a sports guy, okay. I see a lot of people investing in massive football cathedrals and sports infrastructure, all these things that, hey, it's great. I'm a Michigan Wolverine fan. I'd like to see us in the college football playoff. Is that really that important in where I should be spending my time, talent, treasure? Now, again, I think there's a place for sports. There's a place for arts. I think there's a place for all that, absolutely. But what I'm challenging us to think about is if personalization in that sort of IEP-for-everybody mentality is the thing that we really, truly believe in and care about, we don't just want to put it on the shelf, then our investment of time, talent, and treasure should be consistent with that belief. And so I think it comes down to where we invest as educators. I think with the technology available to us today, there's fewer and fewer excuses for why they can't be done. I think the resources are out there. It's where do we choose to invest? Are we putting, like my grandma used to say, are we putting our money where our mouth's at?

Rena Clark  14:47  

And that actually kind of leads to what I was thinking about CTE, career technical education. So you can talk to us a little bit just around CTE and just from the audience, any CTE people out here? Crickets. No, okay. We'll talk a little bit about that, but just to let you know CTE is seventh through 12th grade, but just thinking about once we've created those on ramps and those opportunities, then students have access to our CTE courses. And how are those helping shape our future? How are those really supporting students with the tools that they need so they can be successful in this future of possibility?

Ty Stevenson  15:27  

When you think about, like you said, CT being for seventh through 12th grade, here's another sports analogy. What if you wanted to build a competitive baseball program, and didn't have kids start playing till seventh and eighth grade? You'd be left behind. You'd be getting pounded by the teams that have been playing since T-ball and building a system, building a pipeline, building a channel, to develop talent. It's no different than in our core disciplinary areas. We don't start teaching English Language Arts in seventh and eighth grade. We start in kindergarten because we see the value of that being a core skill. But I think what we're gonna see, Rena, is the skill sets within CTE--computer science, STEM, critical thinking, problem deconstruction. All of those buzzwords and phrases are not only going to be scaled down earlier and earlier, but we're also going to see them more purposefully integrated with court academic arenas because we know research suggests that the jobs of the future are going to require those skill sets anyway. And it's very possible and plausible to dovetail critical thinking, problem-solving, and some of those other things into a history classroom, into a music classroom, into an English language arts classroom. It may not be easy. It may require some sweat equity and reimagining our mindset and approach, but it can be done and, I would argue, should be done if we're truly focused on giving students the resources they need for the opportunities that undoubtedly are there tomorrow.

Winston Benjamin  16:55  

I appreciate what you're saying about access. But my question to you is going to be about the future of careers, right? Like you're talking about, you just gave me the why CTE. But why is CTE? Why is it important to talk about CTE today, and careers for today for tomorrow's students, right? Or tomorrow's careers for today's students? Why do we need to shift that conversation to help students see themselves as employable? Or how do they become employable? And in relation to CTE?

Ty Stevenson  17:31  

Love that question. I think we look at a couple things. I think we look at some data that we have access to that suggests and I think the numbers, these are approximate, but some data that I've seen, so by the late 2020s, there's going to be over two and a half or close to two and a half million open jobs that we may not have developed or developed a domestic workforce to satisfy. We're not going to have enough people to fill the jobs that are absolutely critical for what we want to accomplish job-wise as a country. But the other piece that is more qualitative, and we saw this here at AVID when we were building the STEM Academy pilots, but we had the children go through that STEM curriculum that we built. We didn't look necessarily as hard at quantitative measurables from growth, for growth. So you start here, you end here. What number can we put against how you progress this week? Here's some of the questions we asked, and I think this ties into the why we do it now. Could you see yourself as an engineer? Do you believe you could be a scientist someday? How much did you enjoy this work? Qualitative questions about belief, confidence, and passion. And here's the story I like to tell. When I was in high school, we took the ACT in Michigan. My highest score was in math. I became an English teacher. I didn't like math. I like stories about knights and dragons and princesses and war and all that stuff that my mom used to read me when I was a kid, and then my teachers in high school fed that flame. I went into what I was passionate about, not necessarily what I was best at. We don't necessarily in a society today educationally focus enough about developing passion with purpose. And so I think, to tie into your question, Winston, we do have stats that suggest we need to invest in CTE and those STEM and critical thinking things earlier and earlier. But not necessarily just for the jobs. It's to develop belief and, you know, a self-awareness and confidence that this is possible for me. I may not have grown up in a family or an environment, right? I see people like me doing that thing. But I believe I can do that thing. I've just been exposed to curriculum or training or an opportunity, right? I can now see myself as that thing. And now I believe I can do it. That, we find, is the game-changing opportunity that we can do a better job of fostering.

Paul Beckermann  19:55  

Do you believe you could be on a podcast, Ty? 

Ty Stevenson  19:57  

You know, probably not a few years ago because I would have been a little bit intimidated by that. But, you know, it's funny. I'm holding a mic in my hand. My mother was a music teacher. I watched her sing on stage for years. I never necessarily thought of myself doing that, but I never believed I couldn't because I had somebody in my life that I saw and loved and trusted that was doing it. Modeling self-belief, seeing myself in somebody else's experience is absolutely crucial. And if I hadn't been in that environment, I may not have believed that. Do our students see themselves in these jobs that are available to them? Do they think it's possible? Do they think they have the opportunity or even the the ability? What are we doing to purposefully create those environments where they can have that vision? You know, as an athlete, our coaches would always say, visualize what it's going to be like to score that touchdown. You know, hit that homerun, dunk that basketball. Okay. That's great. But it's even better if I can see somebody do it at my own gym. That could be me in three years, or whatever. And so you take that thinking, you apply it to CS CTE, and we scale those experiences down younger and younger. We know that the research says students start to subconsciously self-select, right, out of a career fields of whatever nature by the time they're 10, 11, 12 years old, but they have a differentiated experience that changes that trajectory earlier. All of a sudden, that subconscious beliefs are changed. What are we doing to develop passion for CTE-related fields? You know, critical thinking, digital skill, problem deconstruction, things like that, and are we being purposeful about doing it, beyond the mechanisms and systems that are already in place? Are we willing to go outside the box to push, to personalize, and to come up with different ways of doing things. They're going to produce results.

Rena Clark  21:45  

And I'm gonna push on that. I just get really excited. But I was thinking, I was like, I got to shadow some different buildings, I was in a skill center. And I'm gonna be honest, this skill center was traditionally--see the only way students could enter this skill center was if a counselor would send them there as like, an option because they were failing. And there's really been a shift now for students being able to elect in and find some of those passions because it's so much more than that now. They have opportunities to honestly learn about being a dental hygienist right away, or doing computer programming, or aerospace. And I was saying recently, I was talking to one of the seniors, and he was graduating and walking into a job making $45 an hour, like literally, like the next day after graduation because he engaged in this aerospace program. And just like he was talking about how his family, how no member of his family had ever made that much or had that opportunity. And this was a pipeline into something more beyond just one job. So just like different opportunities and how we invite students in. This needs to change some time.

Paul Beckermann  22:52  

So let's give some tools for maybe how our teachers can help make that happen. We're going to jump into our next segment, which is the toolkit.

Transition Music  22:59  

Check it out. Check it out. Check it out. Check it out. What's in the toolkit? What is in the toolkit? So, what's in the toolkit? Check it out. 

Paul Beckermann  23:11  

Winston, what would you like to drop into the toolkit today?

Winston Benjamin  23:13  

Um, I, for me, I think it's a CTE dual credit. Right? So going into what Rena was saying about the kid who graduated, CTE offers students the opportunity to take one class for their school, and it counts as a college credit. So how can you take the kid who seems to not care about school, give them an opportunity, say if you do this, you double dip and you maximize your opportunity, right? So thinking about how to connect to the CTE dual credit, and also changing it to just not just the best students, but all students have access to that is, is an important thing.

Paul Beckermann  23:46  

Awesome. Rena, what do you think? Toolkit?

Rena Clark  23:48  

Well, I really would like to direct some of y'all to our computational thinking collection on AVID Open Access. There's some articles. I'm feeling like I know the author was really intentional about those. But I, I really wanted to bring that to your attention because one thing we can start computational thinking at, I mean, you can honestly do it with toddlers. But thinking about making connections to those everyday things, and how that we're already doing some computational thinking. We're abstracting. We're composing. We're actually making algorithms every time we really do anything--cook, think about your trip to get here. And I like to use the analogy is I was gifted a bright yellow Kia Soul. But, thank you, mom. It's awesome that I got this car. But I don't feel like I'd ever really noticed yellow cars. Once I had a yellow car, I literally saw them everywhere, like yellow car, yellow car, yellow car. And I think it's similar to computational thinking when we actually take time to expose ourselves and understand it and share that with others. Then all of a sudden, we're like, oh, computational thinking, computational thinking, computational thinking. It's everywhere. And then how can we make that connection for students so they can see themselves in many different pathways and components. Oh, that is computational thinking. I do have access and skills to that. It's not, it's not coding. That is not it. So that's really important.

Paul Beckermann  25:11  

You're right. I mean, I mean, you start to see it everywhere. And it's that whole possibility thing again, if you're not aware of AvidOpenAccess.org, we encourage you to check it out. It's it's like the free and open area of the AVID organization. And another one of the products on the website that you can go grab for free are called Grab-n-Go lessons. And they're scaled all the way down into the early elementary grades. So if you're not sure where to start, or how to start, go and get some of those pre-done lessons. They're already ready for you. Some of them require technology, some of them don't. There's cardboard engineering things where kids can get their hands on it and learn the skills that they will need to transfer to some of those other possibilities. So I encourage you to check that out. Ty, would you like to drop anything in the toolkit?

Ty Stevenson  25:57  

Yeah, I was thinking about that. And I, I'd love to draw your attention, I don't know if anybody here is on LinkedIn. One of my awesome leaders at AVID, Dr. Michelle Magallanez, recently wrote an awesome article, and I brought it up here to share as my tool, and it's called Celebrate CS EdWeek Throughout the Year. And for those that weren't aware, this is CS Education Week, nationally, and so it's a big deal for those that are in that arena. And Dr. Magallanez has wrote an article again, celebrate CS EdWeek throughout the year. We have it posted on our social, as well. If you'd like to take a look at that, I can connect with you afterwards and find it for you. But the reason this really struck me as a tool is because it talks about shifting your mindset. And I like using the analogy of a diet. If I decide I want to lose weight, I'm not going to probably focus on it for a week and say, hey, I gave a week this year. I'm good. I'll be back next year to try it again.

Paul Beckermann  26:52  

Sounds like my diet.

Ty Stevenson  26:52  

Well, clearly, clearly, that's my diet. But people have all sorts of tips and tricks for dieting, right, from the Keto to Atkins, all this stuff. The common denominator is it requires a lifestyle change, a long-term commitment to changing your practice. What Dr. Magallanez talks about in this article again, celebrate CS EdWeek throughout the year, it's not just an hour of code during CS EdWeek, where there's this movement globally, where millions of kids will get into an hour of coding, do a coding lesson, whatever it may be. If that's all it is, it's a one-off. It's a finger in the water that you pull right back out. It's not a lifestyle change. It's not a philosophical commitment to integrating CS, STEM, critical thinking future-ready skill into a student's life. There's got to be more consistent, strategic commitment than that. This is where that sweat equity and that elbow grease comes in. It requires work, of course, stick-to-itiveness, a change of approach and maybe even philosophy, by a district leader or teacher. It's when the article Dr. Magallanez actually maps out some lessons, standards, and different things. And even a theoretical plan for doing something in this arena, at least once a month, or learn some different strategies where you can make it interesting, fun, and exciting, more than just during CS EdWeek or hour of code. And so I think, ultimately, the tool I would suggest is a mindset shift to not just trying it, but a strategic plan for sticking with it, with a targeted outcome that you expect your kids to have. And within that, doing everything you can to personalize the instruction that you bring to bear for your students.

I'm gonna drop another tool. 

Paul Beckermann  28:37  

Go ahead, Rena. 

Rena Clark  28:38  

I was really thinking about, and if you are, do you have access to STEM Connections or are you interested? But I know that something when we were creating that, is that we were really intentional about connecting it to STEM careers. So if you do have access to that, there's actually like Google slide decks full of all these different connections to careers. And it might not be those traditional ones you're thinking of like an engineer, but it's also other things like a dance choreographer. Guess what kind of skills they have to use? Algorithms, pattern. And then, also, if you do go to the CS Ed Week site, I know because I just printed a bunch of like awesome posters, so if you're looking in code.org has a lot of posters and things. Just really making your students see themselves in these different spaces. And they're really like a lot of diverse options. Yep. All right.

Winston Benjamin  29:26  

And now it's time for our one thing. Listen there are some kids singing one thing in the background. It's dope.

Paul Beckermann  29:34  

This is where Winston always wants to sing along. 

Winston Benjamin  29:35  

I always want to sing along when it comes in because I'm like "One thing!" But, anyway. I'm gonna ask you, what's your one thing that you're thinking about that's still mulling over in your mind, that you'd like how can I turn this into actual practice? Or how do I think about that a little bit more so I can be intentional on my action next steps?

Transition Music  29:54  

It's time for that one thing. One thing. One thing. It's time for that one thing. That one thing.

Winston Benjamin  30:07  

Rena, I'm gonna pass it to you.

Rena Clark  30:08  

I actually loved when Ty said, and I wrote it down, develop passion with purpose. So this idea of, we all have skills and strengths, connecting that to what we're passionate about, we always say you learn better when you're having fun and you care. So how do we make those connections create passions, and then, with that purpose, we can push. So I appreciate that.

Paul Beckermann  30:08  

I'm still dwelling on the fact that Ty said my diet has to be more than a week. But other than that, just we need to start young with these kids. We need to open up the the window of possibility to students at a young age so that when they experience these opportunities throughout their educational career, it's already implanted in their mind that this could be me. And that the the opportunity is there, and it's a reality for them.

Winston Benjamin  30:58  

Ty, I'm going to speak and give you the the last word on this. I just really want to piggyback on Paul's point. I have a PhD and nobody in my family, my parents, ever thought it was possible. There was a teacher who had to tell me that it's possible. So again, if as we're talking about, right, the opportunities for knowledge, right, and giving space and the pipeline, changing the traditional pipeline, we have to be more intentional in our actions. I really appreciate you bringing that point up. But for me, one of the things that I wanted to say is, this is not for the nerds. And I say that in a way, where traditionally, we've talked about students for computer science. We've talked about students for college, and they look and sound a particular way. I don't look and sound like a PhD. Right? So as you're doing this work, how are you breaking down your perception of who can be a part of, and giving access points to those other areas? Right? What can you do to be that filler of the pipeline. So, Ty, I'm going to pass it off to you. What is one of the things that you're still thinking?

Ty Stevenson  32:08  

Most of us do a lot of different things. We have a professional hat, our personal hat, hobbies. What makes us "us," right? I think we'd all would probably agree that to have success in any one of those realms, you gotta roll up your sleeves and get after it. I like to do music. I like to do sports. I like to do different things. I don't want to be common. I don't want to be like everybody else. I want to be awesome. I want to be good at it. I want to be whatever my max is. So that's my philosophy that I approach in my personal life, whether it be music, or sports, whatever it might be. How do I approach things I'm passionate about in my professional life? If I believe, as an educator, that CS, STEM, future-ready skill, preparing students for those jobs of tomorrow, personalizing educational plans to give them the best chance--if I believe it and I'm passionate about it, would it stand to reason that I would pour as much time, treasure, and talent into my belief in that as I would other areas of my life? My father always told me, Son, things worth having our hard and they take work. That's what makes them awesome." So if you want to do awesome things, be prepared to work really hard and do things that maybe get you out of your comfort zone. Because that's how you're going to do things in your life that are worth having. If somebody gives it to you or it's easy, the value goes down, for the most part. If it's something you have to grind and work for and push for because it matters when you achieve it, it's all that more fulfilling. I would encourage, you know the thing, I guess the thing, and that was a longer lead-up to the thing, but think of that that student you have that's difficult to reach or doesn't respond to maybe what you want them to respond to. Are they worth it? To try to get them where you want them to go, what's it going to take? What are you willing to do? What kind of sleeve are you willing to roll up? What kind of resource are you willing to find for them? Will they have that a-ha! moment? If you're there for it, when you can celebrate with them and get excited that, you know, there was that breakthrough and you got to be a part of it, that is work worth doing. It's hard. It's worth it. This is worth it.

Paul Beckermann  34:14  

Thanks for that. I want to like stand up and cheer now. Like the Rocky moment. That was, thanks for sharing that, Ty.

Rena Clark  34:21  

And I'm just so thankful that we got to have you here today, hear from you. 

Ty Stevenson  34:27  

Thanks for having me.  

Rena Clark  34:27  

And I always learn from you when we talk, so, I appreciate you.

Thanks for listening to Unpacking Education.

Winston Benjamin  34:48  

We invite you to visit us at AvidOpenAccess.org, where you can discover resources to support student agency, equity, and academic tenacity to create a classroom for future-ready learners.

Paul Beckermann  35:03  

We'll be back here next Wednesday for a fresh episode of Unpacking Education.

Rena Clark  35:07  

And remember, go forth and be awesome.

Winston Benjamin  35:11  

Thank you for all you do.

Paul Beckermann  35:12  

You make a difference.