I was privileged to speak at Fullhurst Community College, Leicester a few weeks ago. The event was part of their STEM careers morning to help to raise awareness of the opportunities in STEM for some of their students.
Myself and two other STEM Ambassadors spent time talking to the students about what we do, our path from school to career, any challenges we had to overcome, top tips for success and the soft skills required at work. The second part of the event was spent working with the students doing a Bridge Building K’NEX Challenge. This challenge involved building a bridge with specified dimensions using K’nex. It was interesting watching the students work their way around building the bridge whilst ensuring its stability and that it meets required standards.
I joined the StemNET team some years ago whilst studying for my PhD at Loughborough University. I became a STEM Ambassador because of my passion for inspiring the next generation of Scientists and Engineers. I remember vividly back in primary school, I was a mathematics geek and loved playing with numbers. Whilst my classmates were struggling with their multiplication table (we were trained to learn by heart, multiplication pairs of numbers between 1 and 12), I was already extending my boundaries to multiplying pairs of numbers greater than 12. Once my class teacher in primary 4 (I was 8 years old or thereabouts) randomly asked the class to multiply 30 by 30 and before anyone could write down the numbers and begin the process of long multiplcation, I raised my hand and gave the answer – 900! The teacher and the whole class marvelled. The truth is that a week before then, I had been investigating how to multiply numbers without having to do the usual long multiplications. I found out that finding the square of some numbers was relatively easy and didn’t need the use of calculators or long multiplications. Numbers that end with zero for example, you just need to square the non-zero digit and then append the total number of zeros which is why 30 x 30 is 900 (square of 3 plus two zeros). For numbers which end with 5 like 15, 25, 35, etc, I realised that the square of these numbers will ALWAYS have “25” as its last two digits. 15, 25, 35, squared are 225, 635, 1225. The front digits will ALWAYS be the multiplication of the number before the ‘5’ with the number following it on the number scale.
For example to square 125,
1. Separate the number in two sets 12 and 5.
2. As established, the square of this number will end with “25” so we know the last two digits.
3. Finally, take 12 (number in front of 5) and multiply it by the next number on the number line i.e 13. 12 x 13 = 156.
4. Combine your two sets of numbers = 15625
Another example: Find the square of 65
1. Separate into “6” and “5”
2. Last two digits remember will always be “25”
3. Take 6 and multiply by 7 = 42
4. 65 squared = 4225.
I found these out without help from anyone at age 8. I don’t think I was the most brilliant student in class at that time and probably not event the best at Maths. However, I was very interested and was fortunate to have some teachers in primary and later on in Secondary school who inspired me (shout out to Mr Agaga Mr Oladipo aka Prof! and all my Maths teachers in primary and secondary schools). I also know a few students who could do even more complex maths at that age.
Maths, like any other subject only requires interest and constant practice.
This is one reason why I spend some of my time these days trying to inspire the next generation. The role of mentors cannot be overemphasised. I know that for many, society has trained our minds that ‘maths is hard’. I have also come to realise that once you accept this non-fact, the interest to learn the subject will be hard to come by. Physics is basically application of Maths to real life problems therefore if you have missed it in Maths, it’s almost impossible to get it with Physics. For all the kids I speak to either through StemNET or other platforms, the first thing I try to pass across is Maths, like any other subject only requires interest and constant practice.
It is encouraging to see that amongst BAME STEM students, Black African students have the highest representation with 23%. When you combine this with Black-Carribean (6%) and Black – Other representation (1%), gives a total of 30% amongst BAME STEM students. How many of them actually go on to have STEM careers I cannot say at the moment.
https://race.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/rfo_sector_factsheet_set_vfinal_new_2.pdf
However, what I do know is that there are many mentors out there who can serve as inspiration to many. I can recommend a few including – Chinwe Njoku and Ozak Esu, two people I know who have exceeded expectations even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
If you’re a STEM graduate or even if you are still in school and passionate about inspiring the next generation, consider volunteering for STEMNET. Trust me, it is highly rewarding. According to the STEM website, you can get involved in a wide variety of activities, all of which can have an impact on young people’s learning and enjoyment of STEM subjects, including:
- supporting with lessons by bringing real-world problems for pupils to experience and solve
- giving careers talks or helping at careers fairs
- providing technical advice to teachers or practical support to STEM projects in and outside the classroom
- helping schools make connections with employers and industry resources
- working with governors to help improve the way STEM is delivered within a school
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