The Life of a Student STEM Educator – Angelina Crittenden
Originally Published April 1, 2020
I am a sophomore studying Human Biology on the pre-med track. I’m interested in pursuing forensic pathology and working at the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner/Coroner Office. This summer I volunteered in the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center where I interacted with many cancer patients. I am currently a teaching assistant for the Young Scientists (YSP) and Medical STEM (MSP) Programs through USC’s Joint Educational Project (JEP). We teach foundational science and cancer-related medical science to elementary students at schools surrounding the university. MSP is sponsored by the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Just like the students I teach, I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, a mainly African American/Latinx and low-income community. However, I commuted every day to schools in Cerritos, California, home of the ABC Unified School District. Here, I attended the number one school in the state, Whitney High, from 7th-12th grade. During my time in secondary school, I began to notice a growing gap between what I was learning and what my neighbors at home were learning. While I was writing literature reviews on forensic science as a freshman, my fellow 9th graders across the street were struggling to read at state-standardized levels. There is no reason that individuals attending public institutions mere miles apart should show such a massive dissonance in learning. My goal of helping to correct this injustice led me to YSP and MSP.
Our goals for YSP and MSP are to improve science literacy and provide hands-on experiments and lessons for students to enjoy. The lessons follow Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for each grade level, but our educators tailor each lesson to the specific needs of their classrooms. For example, one of my YSP classes has multiple English-language learners, but the other has fully proficient English speakers. For the former, I make sure students are paired with bilingual/multilingual students and that they have vocabulary words in their languages. I also call on them a lot to participate, as they are often too shy to do so during typical class time.
When explaining scientific concepts, we use real-world examples that students may find in their homes and communities to further solidify ideas. In one of our 4th grade lessons, we explore symbiotic relationships in ecosystems. One of my students reminded me that just as some animals depend on one another for survival, humans depend on other humans. He told the class that farmers and people who don’t farm have a symbiotic relationship – farmers produce crops for us to eat, and we pay them for their crops. It’s imperative that students see how their lives relate to the world around us.
The most striking difference between my academic upbringing and the experiences of youth in my community is the prospect of success. When children grow up in poverty, they carry around a certain weight with them all their lives. They are less likely to feel like they can achieve because they may lack the resources and the support to do so. We need to tell children that despite their circumstances, they are capable of moving mountains. We need to support them and uplift them. They cannot be conditioned to believe that they must remain stagnant in life. I was never as affluent as my school peers, but my academic career was enriched by others believing in me.
Before I began teaching my YSP students, they took a “Draw a Scientist” test. Some of them drew doctors, others drew Albert Einstein. The common theme is that students drew mostly white, male figures. After several weeks of YSP instruction, most of my students drew themselves. It was great to see so many black and brown faces enjoying science. Representation is key in STEM curriculum because for so long, it’s been a fairly homogeneous field. Students of color may not think they can even enter science fields if they don’t see themselves represented. Fortunately, programs like YSP and MSP let students know that they are scientists and that they do belong.
I am inspired to teach for YSP and MSP because I want students in my community to receive the same level of support and motivation that I received. I want students to know that they are capable, that they are worthy, and that they must keep asking questions. After just one science lesson, I could see the intrinsic curiosity and observant nature of my students. STEM education is so important, especially in low-income communities, because we are priming students to be independent thinkers. STEM skills apply everywhere, not just in a laboratory. Students in YSP and MSP know how to ask questions, make educated predictions, test hypotheses, and draw conclusions about their findings. More important than any skills they have acquired, they believe they can achieve.