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Youth interest in STEM peaks around age 11. UScellular wants to change that.

Kids are losing interest in STEM subjects between ages 11 and 15. Here's what that means for future innovation.

kids on a field trip
Photo courtesy of UScellular

Kids on a field trip learn from Sania Naseem, Senior RF Planning Engineer at UScellular.

Imagine being a 12-year-old girl in a small town who’s interested in computers. You’ve learned a bit of programming online, but you don’t know anyone who works in the tech field and your school district doesn’t have the kinds of classes you need to explore further.

How likely would you be to keep and pursue that interest?

Since the internet changed everyone’s lives in the 1990s, there’s been a push for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Universal reliance on technology has made STEM careers not just desirable but vital, and the speed at which those fields are moving means we need young people to stay interested in them.

Research indicates that we’ve largely succeeded in reaching kids when they’re young—children demonstrate a deep fascination with STEM subjects up to age 11. But something shifts during adolescence. Past age 11, interest in STEM starts to wane, often dissipating by age 15.

The question is why.

To get to the bottom of this STEM age/interest gap mystery, wireless carrier UScellular partnered with developmental psychologist and researcher Richard Rende, Ph.D. Through a state-of-the-art analysis of the research, Dr. Rende helped uncover the barriers that prevent youth—particularly girls and those living in rural communities—from maintaining and nurturing their interest in STEM.

kids walking with an adult guide near a school busStudents taking a STEM field tripPhoto courtesy of UScellular

Dr. Rende found that keeping kids from losing STEM interest as they become teens requires programs that are equitable, relatable, relevant and supportive.

Here’s what those four drivers look like in practice:

Equitable

- Bringing STEM programs to rural areas that don’t have access to advanced courses or school-based curriculum
- Countering the notion that STEM isn’t for everyone and offering buffers for when kids are confronted with stereotypes or biases

Relatable

- Exposing girls to women in STEM professions who share similar backgrounds in smaller and rural communities
- Having STEM professionals share their experiences growing up so youth don’t see them as “superheroes” doing something unattainable

Relevant

- Programs and field trips that demonstrate how STEM is applied, especially in ways that connect to the local environment or technology kids already use
- Incorporating kids’ voices to help guide the elements of a program

Supportive

- Provide supportive mentorship, especially when projects become more complicated and require emotion regulation and resilience
- Teach cognitive skills that will help kids believe they have the capacity to succeed in STEM subjects

kids on a STEM field trip Kids learning about cell towers from Cheryl Dennard, Senior Manager of Core Services Engineering at UScellularPhoto courtesy of UScellular

To test out his findings before sharing them with the world, Dr. Rende worked with UScellular’s non-profit partner, YWCA, which has an after-school and summer program called TechGYRLS, designed to inspire girls in grades 3 to 8 to consider future careers in STEM fields. Together they created a refreshed STEM program guide incorporating Dr. Rende’s research and worked with focus groups at various YWCA locations to get feedback.

“What we see to date is that programming and mentoring to ‘train’ kids to be STEM people is not always enough to sustain and encourage interest during the transition to adolescence, especially for underserved youth,” says Dr. Rende. “We need to help them see the opportunities in STEM that spark their curiosity and gain belief that they can confidently explore all the possibilities available to them in STEM, including those that go beyond the traditional STEM careers like mathematician or scientist. It could be a vet, a nurse, wireless network engineer, arborist, audio engineer, turf scientist, or mechanical engineer and may not be a career that requires years and years of higher education.”

After-school enrichment programs like YWCA’s TechGYRLS can be found in communities all over the country, and parents, guardians and teachers can help the kids in their communities by identifying similar programs and encouraging them to participate. If teachers or youth-focused non-profits want to create their own STEM program, Dr. Rende’s whitepaper can help inform their approach and design to keep kids interested.

UScellular and YWCA are working on a digital version of the program guide to increase access for even more youth and help educators improve their STEM programming. Longer term, the perceptions and attitudes of the TechGYRLS participants will be measured to evaluate if the current decline in STEM interest is being reduced or averted. Advancing innovation requires people who pursue careers in STEM fields, so the more interest we can spark and sustain in young people, the brighter our future will look.

Learn more about how UScellular is supporting STEM education here.
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Teachers

Florida teacher fired for giving zeros to students who didn't turn in assignments

The lowest grade that teachers are allowed to give students is a 50.

Diane Tirado/Facebook

Left: Teacher Diane Tirado. Right: The note she left for students after being fired.

If you're of the mind that kids today are being coddled and not properly prepared for the real world, well, you might want to buckle up for this one. The story out of a public school in Florida has parents and teachers alike up in arms.

A Florida teacher was fired for giving her students zeros for missing assignments. Diane Tirado has been a teacher for years. Most recently, she was an eighth-grade history teacher at Westgate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Diane recently gave her students two weeks to complete an Explorer notebook project, but several students simply didn't hand it in. Since there was zero work done, Diane gave them zeros.

She got fired for it.

schools, teachers, education, grades, students, parentsMichael Scott from The Office saying "What?"Giphy

The elementary school has a rule called the “no zero policy."

The lowest possible grade that teachers can give students is a 50, even if they don't turn anything in. That means that an extremely poor completed assignment is worth the same number of points as no assignment at all.

Hardly seems fair, right? Westgate is far from the only school that has such a policy, however.

whiteboard, education, classroom, teacher, middle school, 8th grade A message written on the whiteboard for her students after Diane Tirado was firedDiane Tirado/Facebook

It's a rule that Diane, unsurprisingly, does not agree with. After she was fired for disobeying, she left her students a charming goodbye message on the whiteboard.

"Bye kids. Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life. I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50 percent for not handing anything in. Love, Mrs. Tirado"

The scale, as outlined by the school, reads as follows:

A = 90 to 100
B = 80 to 89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 50-59

Diane later shared the story on Facebook, hoping to spread awareness about the school's policy.

“A grade in Mrs. Tirado's class is earned," she said.

“I'm so upset because we have a nation of kids that are expecting to get paid and live their life just for showing up and it's not real."

Diane's post has gone viral, and most commenters agree with her position – it's not fair to hand out grades for work that doesn't exist.

No zero policies are common in many schools, and teachers notoriouslyhate them. But it's at least worth considering why they exist. Some educators say it's because when a student earns a zero, it's very difficult for them to ever recover their grade in that class. In other words, it may be too harsh. Others argue that, if you don't want a zero, don't turn in nothing! Getting an earned-zero is a great way to learn to at least try.

A follow up statement from the school stated: "Ms. Tirado was released from her duties as an instructor because her performance was deemed sub-standard and her interactions with students, staff, and parents lacked professionalism and created a toxic culture on the school’s campus. ... During her brief time of employment at West Gate, the school fielded numerous student and parent complaints as well as concerns from colleagues. Based on new information shared with school administrators, an investigation of possible physical abuse is underway."

However, school representatives did not deny the existence of the no zero policy, and Tirado claims the school engaged in a smear campaign after she became a "whistleblower" on their policies. She's currently considering legal action against the district.

Still, the debate over the grading policy rages on.

“The reason I took on this fight was because it was ridiculous. Teaching should not be this hard," Diane said.

This article originally appeared 6 years ago.

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Identity

Oprah's controversial 1992 secret racism experiment on her audience is still matters today

People turned on each other quickly.

via BrightBeagles/YouTube

A woman gets angry on an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

On an old episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in July 1992, Oprah put her audience through a social experiment that puts racism in a new light. Despite being over three decades old, it's as relevant today as ever. She split the audience members into two groups based on their eye color. Those with brown eyes were given preferential treatment by getting to cut the line and offered refreshments while they waited to be seated. Those with blue eyes were made to put on a green collar and wait in a crowd for two hours.

Staff were instructed to be extra polite to brown-eyed people and to discriminate against blue-eyed people. Her guest for that day's show was diversity expert Jane Elliott, who helped set up the experiment and played along, explaining that brown-eyed people were smarter than blue-eyed people.

Elliott is an internationally known teacher, lecturer, and diversity trainer who, in 1968, after the assignation of Martin Luther King, Jr., performed the controversial and startling "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise" in her third-grade classroom.

What is the Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes Exercise?

Watch the video to see how this experiment plays out.

oprah, racism, oprah wingrey, blue eyed/brown eye, jane elliott, oprah controversywww.youtube.com


One of the most interesting parts of the video is when, even though the blue- and brown-eyed people were segregated by Oprah's staff, they became angry with one another. One woman with brown eyes began to chastise the blue-eyed people, remembering the blue-eyed friend she had in the past. "I had a girlfriend in school who was blue-eyed," the brown-eyed audience member said. "She was so stupid. She was always copying off of my papers. These people were so rude and so noisy today. We couldn't hear any ourselves, not even talk; it was ridiculous."

From the stage, Eliott, pretending to be a brown-eyed supremacist, sternly talked about how brown-eyed people were superior but were called out for having blue eyes. She defended her position by saying she's learned to act like a brown-eyed person. "I've learned to act brown-eyed. I have a brownie husband and three brown-eyed children," Eliott told the audience. "Why did you get the message in this room is? It's to act brown-eyed, and you, too, can take off your collar. Act intelligently, and you, too, won't need your collar. None of you have acted intelligently yet."


Eventually, the audience realized that the experiment was about race, and Eliott stopped the brown-eyed supremacist posturing and began explaining how this experiment plays out in everyday America, but it's about skin, not eye color. That didn't stop one of the audience members from trotting out an old racist trope. "We can see where this is going. She's saying that everybody has racism in them. It's not really about the eye. She's trying to teach about racism," the male audience member said. "But she can't get away from the fact that God created the races, and you are going to be different. You can't help it."

Elliott had the perfect retort to the man who claimed that racism was divinely internet: "God created one race, the human race, and human beings created racism."

Watch the entire segment here:


- YouTubewww.youtube.com


This article originally appeared six years ago.

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Pets

Four guys asked their new neighbor if they could walk her dog. Then the dog wrote back.

"If you ever get bored, we are more than happy to look after him/her."

via Stevieticks / Instagram

A black dog and a note form "the boys from number 23."

If you've lived your whole life with a dog, a home has to feel pretty empty without one. Your heart has to feel like there's something missing as well. When Jack McCrossan, originally from Scotland, moved to Bristol, England with his three friends, they were bummed out to learn that their landlord didn't allow dogs.

So when they saw a beautiful black Sheprador (a German Sheppard Lab mix) in their neighbor's window, they knew that had to become buddies with her. They wrote the dog's owner, Sarah Tolman, a letter asking to arrange a play date with the dog. "If you ever need someone to walk him/her, we will gladly do so," they wrote.

"If you ever get bored (we know you never will, but we can dream), we are more than happy to look after him/her. If you want to come over and bring him/her to brighten our day, you are more than welcome. If you want to walk past our balcony windows so we can see him/her, please do," the letter continued.


"We hope this doesn't come too strong, but our landlord won't allow pets, and we've all grown up with animals. The adult life is a struggle without one," they wrote. "Yours sincerely, The boys from number 23," the letter concluded.

Soon after, the boys in 23 received a response from the dog herself, Stevie Ticks, accepting the offer. However, it may have been written by her human, Sarah Tolman. In the letter, Stevie shares a bit about herself, saying she's two years and four months old, was adopted in Cyprus, and that she's "very friendly and full of beans." (The boys shouldn't worry about a gassy hound, in England, "full of beans" means lively.)


"I love meeting new people and it would be great if we can be friends. I must warn you that the price of my friendship is 5 x ball throws a day and belly scratches whenever I demand them," the letter continued. A few days later, the boys got to meet Stevie. "Meeting Stevie was great!" McCrossan told Buzzfeed. "She was definitely as energetic as described. We got to take her for a walk and she wouldn't stop running!"

black labrador, dogs, dog-walkers, kind nieghbors, stevieticks, bristol, ukA black labrador (representative image).via Canva/Photos

Tolman thought the boys' letter was a fantastic gesture in an era where, quote often, neighbors are strangers. "In a day and age where people don't really know or speak to their neighbors, it was really nice for them to break down that barrier," she said. After the story went viral, she saw it as an opportunity for people to share their love of dogs with the world. "My mother and I are amazed at all the love we've received from around the world these past few days," Tolman wrote as Stevie. "If you have a doggo in your life, share that love with those around you."

A lot has changed in the past 6 years since this story warmed hearts around the globe. The boys have since moved away, but as of September 2024, Stevie is around 8 years old and still doing well. Her keeper and Sarah's partner, Chris Bowley, shared an update on Instagram. "[The boys] sadly moved out of Bristol. However, we have always tried to keep the ethos going of Stevie having as many friends and meetups as possible," Bowley wrote.


This article originally appeared six years ago.

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Internet

17 groovy sights, sounds and feels that can only be appreciated by 70's kids

Kids today will never understand the pure joy of reading a cereal box.

via Seattle Municipal Archives/Flickr

Kids at Seattle Center during Bumbershoot, 1973

A lot has changed since the 1970s. If you plucked a Gen Zer from 2025 and put them in a time machine back to 1974, they’d have a hard time figuring out how to use a telephone, get a good picture on the television set with rabbit ears, or buy tickets for the Pink Floyd or Jackson 5 concert.

They’d also probably be appalled by the number of people who smoke, the massive amount of litter on the streets, and the general lack of concern for the safety of children. In certain cities, they’d also be blown away by the amount of smog in the air.

Perhaps the best way they could get an idea of the time period through movies and television series that focus on the era, since this medium is so immersive. However, not every production is a stickler for accuracy when it comes to making historical shows.

Luckily, that isn't always the case. One filmmaker directing a production that takes place in the '70s truly wanted to learn what life was like in the “Me Decade,” so they asked folks from the time period to share “some behaviors from that time that have disappeared,” and he received over 2,400 responses.

Some were bittersweet remembrances of a carefree and unsupervised childhood. At the same time, others recalled a time when children were often the targets of abuse and subject to many traumatic experiences that they were discouraged from speaking about.

We looked at the thread and chose the 17 best responses to behaviors from the ‘70s that “have disappeared.”

1. Playing with the phone cord

1970s, growing up '70s, life in the '70s, 70s shows, 70s nostalgia, 70s phonesHands playing with a phone cord. Photo credit: Canva

"Fidgeting with the long coiled cord while talking on the phone—like twirling your finger into the coil."

"We had a long cord that you could swing like a jump rope."

"Answering every phone call with some variation of '<last name> residence, <first name> speaking.'"

2. Smelling cigarette smoke


www.youtube.com

"Smoking everywhere all the time."

"I remember the teachers lounge in my grammar school oozing smoke."

"4 hour drives to see Nannie, all windows closed, both mom and dad smoking. Think of it, three 3 small kids getting poisioned from the 2nd hand smoke, pleading to stop or open the window and Dad saying 'get used to it, the world smokes' andMom saying the cracked open wi dow was 'too noisy'. Breathing through our coat sleeves with the arms opening under their car seats, where the fresh air came out. Four hours of constant nausea and illness that lingerd for 30 min after."

3. Soda cans for candy

"Returning soda bottles to the store and getting enough money back to buy a candy bar."

"Yes, having work and save up for the candy bar or pack of gum. Or being lucky enough to find a penny for the gum ball machine outside the grocery store. "

4. Clothes lasted forever

1970s, growing up '70s, life in the '70s, 70s shows, 70s nostalgia, 70s clothesA rack of vintage clothes. Photo credit: Canva

"The lengths everyone went to make things last, all our clothes were patched or sewn up and handed down. New clothes shopping was maybe once a year. Or whenever the Sears catalog came out."

5. Payphones

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"Checking the change slot in the phone booths in case people forgot their coins. I also remember when phone calls were a dime!"

6. Calling the Time Lady

"367-1234. At the time the time will be 11:22 and 20 seconds — beep”

7. Playing outside all day

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"When being sent outside to play meant you were given a radius to stay in like 'our neighboorhood,' and a time to be home was 'when the street lights come on.'"

8. TV was appointment viewing

"Reading TV Guide for program times."

"There was no way to record a show until VCRs came came out, so you watched a show when it was scheduled to be broadcast, and missed it if you didn’t turn it on at the time it started. So, families had to negotiate if there was more than one show on that people wanted to watch. Prime time was a big deal because that was when the three networks played their top shows."

9. Rabbit ears


1970s, growing up '70s, life in the '70s, 70s shows, 70s nostalgia, 70s commercials, old school tvAn old school television. Photo credit: Canva

"Wrapping tin foil squares on 'rabbit ear' antennas."

"When the picture got fuzzy, slapping the side of the TV set to correct the picture."

10. The phone book had many uses

"That big phone book was the booster seat for the youngest kid at the table."

11. CB radios


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"References the cb radio culture during normal conversations. Everyone understood."

"Ten four"

"Breaker, breaker"

"You got that right, good buddy."

12. Long distance was pricey

"Making local calls vs long distance calls. Had to keep calls short to relatives because they were long distance. Making collect calls."

"Right, and you might add the cost of long distance calls was X amount per minute. Also, moving into a new place required a call to the telephone company to have a phone installed in various rooms and you had to preorder the types and colors."

"If you wanted to make an overseas call, you had to call the international operator at least a couple of hours before the call to schedule it."

13. Fake collect calls

"Making fake collect calls to your parents to come pick you up. 'You have received a collect call from … ‘we’re done and out front!’… do you wish to accept the call? Nope. Already got the message."

14. Before scrolling, we read


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"Reading. Reading the newspaper. Reading the cereal boxes at breakfast. Reading on the toilet. Doing crosswords and word games. Before phones, you had to engage more with what was around."

"If there was no Reader’s Digest in the bathroom, you had to read the shampoo ingredients. Sodium laurel sulfate, etc."

15. The bank line

"When Friday rolled around, and you needed money for the weekend, you went to the bank, stood in line and made a withdrawal."
"We took our checks to the bank on Friday to be cashed, some for the checking account and some for spending cause everything was paid for with cash."

16. Unsafe seating in trucks

"No seatbelts, but drivers could get in trouble if car was overfilled, so a mom would yell 'duck' if she saw a cop. This would be a Volkswagen Bug with 7-8 kids piled up going to the beach or park. Totally normal to pile kids in the bed of a pickup truck - sometimes with folding chairs. Also common to grab the back of a car while you were skateboarding (there was a word for this I don't remember)."

17. Staring at the sky


1970s, growing up '70s, life in the '70s, 70s shows, 70s nostalgia, 70s kidsTwo kids looking up at the sky. Photo credit: Canva

"Laying down in the grass and looking at the sky. Leisure time died when portable entertainment became a thing, particularly nobile phones. The level of disconnection that's required to just stare at clouds or stars (and be happy doing it) is sorely missing nowadays. At least I miss it."

This article originally appeared last year.
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Community

Fourth grader gives PowerPoint to her class announcing that she's autistic

The entire class broke out into applause.

Image via Canva

Fourth grader Campbell made a PowerPoint to tell her classmates she has autism.

Fourth grader Campbell is unashamed of her autism diagnosis. The incredible 10-year-old created a PowerPoint presentation to tell her class all about it, complete with helpful information about autism to help them understand what it is and to encourage an atmosphere of acceptance.

Campbell's mom, Stephanie Hanrahan (@tinklesherpants), shared a video on Instagram of her daughter giving her presentation to a room full of attentive students. "Our daughter decided to tell her class she's autistic. We had no idea she was doing this. She decided to use her free time at school to create a presentation," she writes in the video's caption.

The video begins with Cam standing in front of the class starting her presentation. "My name is Cam, and I have autism. Autism is a disability that affects socializing with people, learning, and other stuff. It can make life hard, but I am very open sharing about it," she begins. "I like to call autism my invisible disability."


Cam goes on to explain all the things that autism can affect, before moving on to describing how all autism is not the same. She shares that she has a younger brother with autism named Eli who is in second grade. "We have the same disability, but we don't have the same special needs," she says.

Another slide features 'Famous People with Autism', where she included photos of Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and more...including herself in a funny nod. The next slide is about basic autism facts, before she highlights another slide about stimming. She shares that stimming is a natural way that people with autism move or fidget with their bodies. Common stims may be flopping, knee bobbing, repetition, and humming. "Stimming is absolutely not okay to make fun of or copy," she says.

At the end of her presentation, the entire class gives her a rousing round of applause and Cam wears a large, proud smile on her face.

Her mom Stephanie added in the caption, "Do not discount this generation. I know there are bad seeds in every bunch, but in my experience, children are often way more open-minded and inclusive than adults. And it’s all because of classrooms like these where an autistic girl is given the chance to stand with pride and say, 'This is me.' Raise your kids to be proud of every stripe. Raise your kids to embrace everyone’s story."

Cam's powerful presentation got tons of positive comments from viewers, including a teacher who knows her. The teacher wrote, "I’m one of the fourth grade teachers lucky enough to know Cam and the gift she is to us all. I boo hoo cried during her whole presentation out of admiration for her and pride in her peers. There is so much beauty in kids and we learn so much from them. If the world could mirror our fourth graders, it’d be a much more beautiful place. Thank you for sharing the gift of Cam with us, and the world! She is a deeply beautiful soul and we all have so much to learn from her. ❤️"

Others chimed in, saying:

"AND she started a trend at school of kids talking about their differences. That was awesome on so many levels!"

"This is so brave and her peers response is so beautiful 👏🥹❤️."

"She did such a great job of explaining Autism, stimming and several other aspects of the condition. She was funny and confident, and her classmates seem to have enjoyed and learned a lot. This really helps get conversations started and makes the entire environment a lot more inclusive! Way to go🔥."

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