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Finding mentors and opportunities


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I don't know that I belong here but I was hoping to not come off too braggy.......

 

My son seems to have made some maturity leaps and he keeps kinda blowing me away and not only me but he is regularly impressing outsiders with his depth of understanding, knowledge and interest. Now he isn't PG by any means but bright and it seems suddenly there is a gap with his peers, whose parents are asking me what I'm doing to prepare him, meanwhile I've been hands off and generally don't even know what he's talking about. I'm hoping that some people have some great ideas to help him.

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If you have a local college/university, follow the FB page for any department of interest and bookmark campus events pages. A lot of events-guest speakers, thesis defenses, talks by faculty on research, etc are open to the public. If your DS is interested, go. Let him talk to people and ask questions. If he can take notes, he should-on paper, not on a cell phone.

 

It takes time for a child to be noticed as an interested person, not as a tag-along with a parent, but eventually it will start to sink in. In my experience, it can take a lot of knocking on doors to get one person to answer-but once one person does, other doors start opening as well. We have found that one mentor leads to others.

 

I will also suggest looking at journals-many are now open access and are a way for an interested kid to get more information. Consider joining professional associations-student memberships are often not too expensive. Some conferences will allow pre-college students to attend if the student is ready (but if they're not reading journals for fun, they're going to have a hard time managing talks that are the journal article distilled into 15 minutes-attending a conference is mentally exhausting even when you're a professional in the field.)

 

Good luck!

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Thanks for the ideas dmmetler. You have gave me some great ideas to start with, I know being vague, I'm not even sure what I'm looking for, perhaps I'll know when I find it. I put the closest STEM college on my follow list, perhaps I need to look at a subscription to some magazines at a higher level then what we've been getting, he does love magazines, not sure that he wants journals yet but maybe some DiY thing, MAKE maybe would give some good ideas for some home projects. I need to look at Science magazine again.

 

I'm not sure of specific interest yet, engineering type things, I know that's too vague. My dh would be a great mentor but he has been so stinking busy lately and overloaded now I can't put anything more on him until things slow, and I don't know when that will be. His understanding is beyond my level, he can just picture with how things work and has a memory for facts and details that I don't possess. I'm not sure what direction to go. I don't know if he would be ready for college level talks, perhaps highschool, I'm not sure what is considered highschool or college level really(and of course with any science there is math and we are only entering Pre-Algebra now-so he can't advance too much with a lot due to that). He has already shown me he can take notes and he does do so with paper. 

 

UGH. I know this doesn't make much sense, as I said he has had this leap that has rather surprised me and I'm still a bit befuddled, trying to figure at where he is at. Seeing him shine makes me want to find him more opportunities to do so.  Maybe some camps would be a good fun start?  I could look in the city. I'd like him the opportunity to do some projects, I'm trying to think of something around the house but nothing I feel competent enough to oversee.

 

I'm trying to think of events that are held locally, naturalist things are more easy. I did notice one festival upcoming that had a go green theme with lots of info on diy'ing that might be up his alley but he has plans then. I guess perhaps it is a matter of looking for them right? STEM is hugely popular now so surely there is something. 

 

I put the closest STEM college on my follow list, perhaps I need to look at a subscription to some magazines at a higher level, he does love magazines, not sure that he wants journals yet but maybe some DiY thing, MAKE maybe would give some good ideas for some home projects.

 

 

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I suggest you also look for a Science Olympiad team he could join. SO has been a great resource for my kids, especially dd15 since she's been able to allocate so much time to her events.

Yes! Science Olympiad! My astrophysicist professor husband did SO for 6 years and loves loves loves it. :-)

 

My husband won't mentor high school kids anymore due to a very bad experience. If a high school kid came to him knowing how to computer program well, and with proof of it, and having read his papers (as opposed to, "Hello, Professor, I'm interested in what you do."), he might listen to him. Someone who tells him he can learn? No way.

 

I suggest you go to places where people who are interested in youth are already volunteering. Maybe Boy Scouts? Volunteer at the planetarium and get to know the professionals? Or go to a place where the professors get lousy or no graduate students. I'm thinking of a place along the lines of a Cal State university, and go to talks. They are often doing very good research but the competition for top jobs and top students is really really really tough.

 

Emily

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Hmm, I've heard of SO but we don't have any teams here, the closest I think is probably 2 hrs away, I'm having a heck of a time navigating their site. From what I see there isn't any events for the elementary level in our region, so that would have to wait but as I said I don't know that we could do both FLL and SO, practically, unless it was a lot more laid back but I don't really know much about it yet. 

 

We do First Lego League with him, we had to start our own team and it has been fabulous for him, this is where I have seen him shining but FLL really isn't set up to be all year, the way it is structured makes it where it is so focused on getting it done by tournament that we were done by the time our qualifier we are finished. I think I'd like something that was a little more even but we aren't ready to give up FLL either. Ds is a scout, moving onto Boy Scouts in Dec and they do have various opportunities there, much more so as a Boy Scout.

 

Perhaps keeping an ear out and things will come up? Having some patience and talking to him more to see where his interests are? 

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Have you looked at 4H? They have a lot of STEM programs.

Not at our 4H(they have animals, shooting sports and just general activities- my girls are joining this year), they were begging us to do their robotics program for them, they got someone but she has no experience, whereas dh does it for a living. I've considered for the future but we'd probably have to start a team. Now, I also talked to dh about SO, we have a few more years in FLL and we don't see ourselves moving on just due to the huge money sink and 4H or SO might make a great replacement.

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Dd did both FLL and SO in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Her FLL team met on Wednesdays and Sundays, with the qualifying competition in December and the big regional competition at the end of January/beginning of February (her team didn't progress to Worlds--they either placed third or won one of the special trophies). State SO is always at the end of March for Division B, the middle school division. We didn't have many team meetings for SO, relying on partners to meet whenever it worked best for them.

 

This is the time to start looking for a middle school/Division B team :)

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Dd did both FLL and SO in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Her FLL team met on Wednesdays and Sundays, with the qualifying competition in December and the big regional competition at the end of January/beginning of February (her team didn't progress to Worlds--they either placed third or won one of the special trophies). State SO is always at the end of March for Division B, the middle school division. We didn't have many team meetings for SO, relying on partners to meet whenever it worked best for them.

 

This is the time to start looking for a middle school/Division B team :)

Oh, well that is a thought if they can do a lot of the SO stuff at home, maybe just meeting one other kid that would be much more doable but I wonder how many kids you typically have, I know it said up to 15 but with FLL I know most don't come close to the max.  From what I can see there is no SO team in my area, if there was even a school team we wouldn't be allowed to join, so we would have to start one up. We do have a lot more hs'ers these days but science is generally weak for hs'ers and commitment is even weaker, we screened a bit for FLL members and stressed very hard the commitment required to make sure we didn't have that issue with our FLL team but I don't know if we could scrounge up an SO team too. I wonder if they are ever ran through 4-H clubs, we could draw on public and homeschoolers then? I know we strongly considered doing robotics through them and they are easy to start. Typically they meet once a month, once a month with more work at home would be very doable. I guess I need to know more about the structure of SO, I really like what I see as far as the projects.

 

Last year was our first with FLL, we were a fraction away from advancing, one of the veteran teams that had went to state had said we would but alas we didn't although we won some awards and did very well, we were disappointed but it was a relief too, we put so much into it. This year we aren't working as hard and as much just because I don't want us all to end up stressed and burned out again, it is so conflicting though. In a way I like the competition because I think it gives a goal to work towards but I don't want to end up pushed so hard we're stressed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think you are already on the right track. I can tell you the path my oldest dd took. She started out with FLL. After a few years, she moved on to FRC. While on the team, she attended an event at U of M and ended up speaking to a professor who allowed her to apply for a grad research position (as a sophomore in HS.) It eventually became a paid research position, and she used that to get into engineering school, where she continues to work/talk her way into great things. 

 

Finding a mentor and pushing forward came after many years of preparation. Lots of math, reading, science. Getting ahead in her school work and becoming efficient so she had time for research. Learning to speak and write well. She already had a passion and an idea by the time she went out to find a mentor, because she had read and studied broadly first. She combined her long time volunteer work with her interest in computers and engineering. Then she was able to get a great mentor to invest in her because he saw her drive and interest.

 

I am deeply involved in FLL (I'm the event coordinator for our state event, local event, I train coaches, etc.) A few years of FLL is one of the best investments you can make in a child with a STEM interest (or even without one for that matter.) I am not naturally a person to ask for things or network, but I had to learn to do those things to find opportunities for my kids and now to create opportunities for many kids. We go to events, and I speak to a lot of people. Most of the time, it doesn't lead to anything, but sometimes I happen to get the computer science author who would love to talk to my kid for a few hours, or the person who knows a person who knows a person who could show our team around X labs or company.

 

Oh, and a side FLL note: Many teams win awards but don't qualify for states because they aren't balanced. We look for teams who are the strongest overall in all three areas. If you can figure out what your weakest area is and work on that one, you have a better shot for next time. :)

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I think you are already on the right track. I can tell you the path my oldest dd took. She started out with FLL. After a few years, she moved on to FRC. While on the team, she attended an event at U of M and ended up speaking to a professor who allowed her to apply for a grad research position (as a sophomore in HS.) It eventually became a paid research position, and she used that to get into engineering school, where she continues to work/talk her way into great things. 

 

Finding a mentor and pushing forward came after many years of preparation. Lots of math, reading, science. Getting ahead in her school work and becoming efficient so she had time for research. Learning to speak and write well. She already had a passion and an idea by the time she went out to find a mentor, because she had read and studied broadly first. She combined her long time volunteer work with her interest in computers and engineering. Then she was able to get a great mentor to invest in her because he saw her drive and interest.

 

I am deeply involved in FLL (I'm the event coordinator for our state event, local event, I train coaches, etc.) A few years of FLL is one of the best investments you can make in a child with a STEM interest (or even without one for that matter.) I am not naturally a person to ask for things or network, but I had to learn to do those things to find opportunities for my kids and now to create opportunities for many kids. We go to events, and I speak to a lot of people. Most of the time, it doesn't lead to anything, but sometimes I happen to get the computer science author who would love to talk to my kid for a few hours, or the person who knows a person who knows a person who could show our team around X labs or company.

 

Oh, and a side FLL note: Many teams win awards but don't qualify for states because they aren't balanced. We look for teams who are the strongest overall in all three areas. If you can figure out what your weakest area is and work on that one, you have a better shot for next time. :)

Thanks Angela for your input, lots of good thoughts. We need to keep at it, network and work the skills. I'm certainly no where near the level you are at but it has really lead to a lot of growth for me as well and as I said I'm beyond shocked with the growth I've seen in ds, I would not have known for his strengths in research and presentation for it not for FLL, the computer stuff was already expected and a nice bonus on top of all of the other work we do.

 

Our weakest spot in FLL was teambuilding; quite frankly we have a kid who although not diagnosed is a poster kid for aspergers, the kids have a very hard time engaging him. We had great marks except with team building; our kids tried engaging him a few times during the competition portion but he was in his own world and they got stuck thinking it was better to move forward doing it than to keep harassing him to join in. At that point in the day he had given all he could give and was just out of it. We had talked to the kids about the main point being that they work together but it is hard to ignore the task you are given when there is a time limit. We are working on some different strategies for next time to keep him engaged; giving him a job and assigned task is our best thought. But I guess it is what it is, he has many other great assets and if we lose out because of him so be it. We don't want to be in it just to win, we also have my son who has been strong traits but is ADHD and one kid this year with a severe speech impediment-we'll see how our presentation goes, we'll just keep practicing and do our best.

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Our weakest spot in FLL was teambuilding; quite frankly we have a kid who although not diagnosed is a poster kid for aspergers, the kids have a very hard time engaging him. We had great marks except with team building; our kids tried engaging him a few times during the competition portion but he was in his own world and they got stuck thinking it was better to move forward doing it than to keep harassing him to join in. At that point in the day he had given all he could give and was just out of it. We had talked to the kids about the main point being that they work together but it is hard to ignore the task you are given when there is a time limit. We are working on some different strategies for next time to keep him engaged; giving him a job and assigned task is our best thought. But I guess it is what it is, he has many other great assets and if we lose out because of him so be it. We don't want to be in it just to win, we also have my son who has been strong traits but is ADHD and one kid this year with a severe speech impediment-we'll see how our presentation goes, we'll just keep practicing and do our best.

 

That can also be impressive to judges. The years we've won have often been years when things went wrong or there were difficult students. We always have a few special needs kiddos on our teams. One year, a student with ASD was a challenge, but the kids found ways for him to participate. At the technical judging, he knocked the whole table and the students were very kind to him. The judges loved that they were so nice and just dealt with it and moved on, and it was  big part of them going through to states as rookies. One year, we had a really difficult girl, and we made her the "star" of the skit for their project presentaiion, but didn't give her many lines. Because she was the main character, though, she was happy to behave.

 

Do you give the kids pre-determined roles for the teamwork challenges? That really helps our teams. A difficult child can be assigned the time keeper. We also usually assign someone as "includer" or "cheerleader" and they can work to draw others in as the process still moves forward.

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