EXETER — Thirty-five students took time out of their summer vacation to attend Wyoming Area Catholic’s S.T.R.E.A.M. Ahead Camp from Aug. 5-9.
S.T.R.E.A.M. is the acronym for Science, Technology, Religion/Reading, Engineering, Art, Math and, according to Eileen Rishcoff, principal at Wyoming Area Catholic (WAC), S.T.R.E.A.M. is the wave of the future.
“This is a big deal because all 20 schools (in the Scranton Diocese) will be implementing S.T.R.E.A.M. across the curriculum,” Rishcoff said. “It’s about problem solving and about making mistakes. We teach them it’s okay to make mistakes.”
Rishcoff said the camp included students from pre-school to fifth grade from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and each day began with coding.
“We will be doing coding an hour a day when school starts,” she said. “Students will be utilizing new Chromebooks (a Google-run laptop) and all students will have their own account.”
Rishcoff said schools will be teaching S.T.R.E.A.M. related subjects for jobs that haven’t yet been created.
“There are 14 million unfilled positions in any technology position in the United States because people don’t know how to code,” she said.
Coding is the process of using a programming language to get a computer to understand a command.
A computer code is integrated into every electronic device from cellphones to computers to GPS systems and beyond. Without a code, it is impossible for a piece of electronics to work.
“This is a big deal and we’ve been training in it and we do extra here, but give the diocese credit for moving forward,” Rishcoff said.
A typical day at S.T.R.E.A.M. camp consisted of coding, designing and building roller coasters, problem solving, engineering, art and math.
“It’s not that books aren’t important and we’re not going to take tests anymore; it’s taking it to a higher level thinking, critical thinking,” Rishcoff said. “And it’s not just about computers, it’s about problem solving and making mistakes is okay.”
One area where Rishcoff said S.T.R.E.A.M. will make a difference is getting children off computer tablets and cellphones and getting them outside.
“I think that the kids don’t play enough and I think some of the S.T.R.E.A.M. activities are going to take them outside,” she said. “I know that is already happening in the upper grades; I want the younger teachers to get them outside.”
Getting students interested was not a difficult task as all 35 students have an interest in S.T.R.E.A.M.
“I really like S.T.R.E.A.M. and I want to be an engineer when I grow up,” Simon Pollard said. “I’d really like to be a mechanical engineer.”
James Bullock, 9, is transferring to WAC in the fall and took part at S.T.R.E.A.M Ahead Camp.
“I like math and the coding was fun; we had to form certain letters,” Bullock said. “Coding is how they make games and phones do certain things.”
When asked what he would like to do when he grows up, Bullock said, “I’m not sure, too many options to choose from.”
Brynn Roberts, 8, had a great time at camp and looked forward to the rest of the week after returning from a week’s vacation with her family.
“We learned that if we follow directions, we can do amazing things with coding,” she said.
Roberts said when she gets older, she wants to be an astronaut and a professional soccer player but she’s leaning towards being an astronaut.
