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This week the academy hosted Engineering Week, a national initiative started by Discover E, a foundation aimed to increase engineering education in grade schools.
“The goal of Engineering Week was to help expose our kids to different types of engineers and careers so that they might be able to make better educated decisions to know what they’re going to study in high school and possibly college,” said Laura Thomason, a designer (teacher) at Jerry Knight.
Approximately 30 presenters ranging from coders to pilots and everything in between spoke with students this Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Knight designers also spent time helping students implement what they had learned in the classroom using activities like vision boards.
The presentations gave students a better understanding of possible STEM careers and offered insight on future career paths.
Nathan Ninh, a sixth-grader at Jerry Knight with aspirations of becoming an astronaut said, “I’ve learned that there is a lot of design that goes into engineering and that you have to think outside the box on most jobs, and I think that you also have to have a lot of good team skills.”
Jason Daniels, a software developer for Saddle Oak Software who has a daughter at the academy, enjoyed the opportunity to talk about his job with other students.
“I’m very excited to be here today,” said Daniels. “I love what they’ve been doing here with the kids and how they’re teaching them the engineering practices.”
Both students and teachers think Engineering Week provides a unique and much needed perspective.
“I feel this week is important because it helps us learn about things I feel like we would never learn from anywhere else,” said Ninh.
