At NESTm elementary division, (NEW EXPLORATION OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & MATH), one of the few and G&T citywide schools, students BARELY have any direct exposure to EITHER Science or Technology. Years ago, Principal Livanis eliminated the Science Teacher altogether... leaving the (mostly inexperienced and otherwise overworked) teachers to figure out a way to use the FOSS kits purchased by the school.. as though Science-In-A-Box is any way to achieve Inquiry Based learning models (hint: it's not).

As to technology: because there was nearly NO technology access for the K-5 students, PTA donations have been used to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars --- this term, paying for a Technology Teacher- and now, provides AT A MINIMUM some hands on work to hundreds of students who otherwise would NOT receive any.

This is a school where the principal comes to expect that slashing such programs as Science and Technology will result in PTA support, so that in turn she can use funds for the upper grades at the same school. The fact that such programming is not mandated, regardless of what school, or how much the PTA is able to fund raise, is a glaring example of how Educrats/Bloomberg have turned the NYC/DOE into a private funding option : ie those schools able to raise most money get more programs ! Where, do you suppose therefore, does that leave the vast majority of schools in the city of NY ?

This year has been different from any other year in my sixth grade classroom. My impression is that this is a class that has spent its entire pubic school experience under the shadow of testing. The stakes are so high and the pressures to follow protocols and document continually are so strong that most teachers have been forced to abandon conceptual learning and understanding in place of teaching how to answer particular types of test questions. As a result, my students are not thinking. They want to be told what to do and then they will do it, if it doesn't take too much effort. A student recently wrote on a paper instead of an answer, "This looks like it will be too much work. I'll just miss the five points." Science definitely has taken a back seat. The curriculum seems to be well-planned and based on concepts, but is not being implemented because ELA is more important... and then math if we have enough time. While presenting a lesson on ratio I discovered that many of my 11-12 year-olds did not know how many legs a cow has and some thought that swans have no feet at all. OK, this is not rocket science, but certain experiences are pretty basic. How do we know a bird is a bird? How do we know a cow is a cow? This is not urban versus rural. Well, maybe I am wrong. I know we have no time for field trips and actual real life observation. If the children never saw a multiple choice question about how many legs a cow has, I guess they can't be expected to know.

Mayor Bloomberg's Children First universal mathematics
programs for elementary and middle schools,still used
in most NYC schools, lack important content, rigor and
coherence necessary to prepare students for
college preparatory high school STEM courses
It is not surprising the phone lines for this segment would be
glutted with dissatisfied NYC parents

As a result of budget cuts, our public elementary school lost one science teacher, one social studies teacher, and the gym teacher. As a result, those classes are supposed to be taught by the classroom teachers. Why a 5th grade teacher is incapable of teaching 5th grade science and yet is still employed, I can't fathom. What's even more disturbing is that the SCHOOL has decided that upper grade students must participate in a Science Fair, and have been required to design and complete an experiment with absolutely no teaching in class, no guidance, no school time to work on it. Essentially, as a method for dealing with the loss of a science teacher, our school is now requiring students to design their own curriculum and teach it to themselves. Really? REALLY???

One reason we left our school was that science, my child's first love, was eliminated for kindergarten.

I am so proud of my company, IBM for sponsoring a science and technology school in Brooklyn for grades 9-14 so students can be competitive even in the United States.

My son's middle school was supposed to emphasize technology in its curriculum, for better or worse. While they do have ipads, they don't seem to have any full-time lab experience either in science or technology. There is no full-time Science teacher.

I was excessed from my position as a Science teacher at a large NYC high school, along with an associate with the same certification, by my Principal with the explanation that my subject [Physics] wasn't necessary in order to graduate students in four years. Half of the chemistry teachers were excessed for the same reason. I have to assume that this situation is not unique and I wonder how this "statistical" reason is affecting our students' education?

Only 40% of those who enter engineering programs in university graduate with a degree in that area. Most of these students switch majors or drop out in their 2nd and 3rd years of study. I believe we should address the post secondary issue first, rather than focus on developing more grist for that mill.