Earlier this fall, PLTW held the PLTW Summit Flight Voucher Contest. Entrants were to submit a blog post responding to the questions “What does PLTW mean to you? Why are you excited to attend the PLTW Summit?”
Heidi Rochlin, mathematics and STEM coordinator for Exeter Township School District in Reading, Pennsylvania, is one of our winners!
See her winning submission below:
Five years ago, if you would have told me that I was going to be in a position to attend a world-class summit on STEM education, I would have laughed ... and then secretly cried all the way home from my poorly equipped, underfunded, inner-city classroom.
Back then, my classroom was far behind the times and nowhere near meeting the needs of the 21st-century workforce that I was training. Even though I was too shortsighted to see it then, change was coming to education in a big way ... and WOW has that change been amazing!
Even in my small urban corner of the world, I could see my classroom beginning to evolve through the introduction of STEM courses into our curriculum. I found myself learning and dreaming alongside of my students, encouraging them to take risks and make the most of what we were offering them.
From those humble beginnings ... to where I am now ...
Today I am positioning myself to become a leader, and cheerleader, for STEM education. Through PLTW and community partners, I am helping to establish STEM in my new district. I know that it is up to me and my fellow partners in education to keep STEM at the forefront of instruction.
Attending this conference will help me to ensure that our kids are ready for those 21st-century challenges and that PLTW will be the impetus from which they will grow into confident, productive, and relevant players in the workforce of tomorrow!