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November 2018
‘The Best Use of a Life’
PE Community: Education

November/December 2018

Communities: Education
‘The Best Use of a Life’

TOP: JOHN HALL’S EARLIEST ENGINEERING ACTIVITY. BOTTOM: HALL FACILITATES A K-12 ENGINEERING ACTIVITY AT THE NSPE ANNUAL MEETING IN ORLANDO IN 2010.TOP: JOHN HALL’S EARLIEST ENGINEERING ACTIVITY. BOTTOM: HALL FACILITATES A K–12 ENGINEERING ACTIVITY AT THE NSPE ANNUAL MEETING IN ORLANDO IN 2010.

For more than 35 years, John Hall, P.E., F.NSPE, has served as a self-described “K–12 provocateur.” He has inspired engineers to educate children about engineering, and he has championed the integration of engineering into the K–12 curriculum.

This spring, Hall was honored with the Norm Augustine Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES), for his demonstrated ability to communicate the excitement and wonder of engineering.

As president of the Florida Engineering Society’s Miami chapter, Hall established a program connecting students and counselors with working engineers. As FES president, he launched a database of engineers—accessible to teachers across the state—who volunteered to visit classrooms, as well as an online resource of K–12 activities. And, later, as a member of Florida’s STEM Strategic Plan Steering Committee, he ensured the inclusion of the “E.”

During his tenure as Florida’s delegate to NSPE, Hall became “Mr. K–12,” authoring articles and blog posts. And, more recently, he has been working with Ioannis Miaoulis, president of the Museum of Science, Boston and founder of the National Center for Technological Literacy, on a shared vision.

PE: What is your dream?

Hall: It’s really simple. The dream is to get engineering in the curriculum nationwide from pre-K through 12th grade in a manner that takes the mystery away for students about who engineers are and what we do. We don’t have a lot of direct contact with the public…for all the public knows, we’re magicians.

I wrote an article called “Eight Good Reasons” for PE magazine: eight reasons why we need to get engineering in the curriculum, not so that it will improve and enhance the engineering profession, but because I believe engineering will enhance and improve our educational system.

It’s about applying math and science. It’s about hands-on activities, which are three-dimensional in a two-dimensional world. It’s about diversity in our profession and making sure those opportunities are available to all students. Affluent students have had opportunities in STEM for a long time. But students from economically disadvantaged groups have not. When it’s in the curriculum, all students will be reached.

PE: How can professional engineers help?

Hall: One, get involved in your own schools. Every time you visit a classroom, you can change a life…. You can make an engineer and you may never know it.

All K–12 is ultimately local. Until we get engineering in the curriculum, it’s the only way we’re going to teach kids about engineering. Other than the kids who happen to be children of engineers, or are otherwise associated directly with an engineer, and that’s a small percentage.

Two, get involved in your engineering society chapter and recruit other people to do what you’re doing. Whether it’s NSPE, ASCE, or any of the other organizations.

Read More

  • Eight Good Reasons
    “I firmly believe that we need to better equip our students for real-world challenges, and that engineering is a necessary element in any plan to do so.”
  • Engineering for All
    Teaching engineering in K–12 is a growing trend.

Three, I hope to partner with a national organization to create a nationwide database, so when the opportunities arise when we need grassroots support, we’ll have an army of people that can reach out. When we do that, add your name, so that you can be an advocate for the bigger dream, which is getting engineering in the curriculum.

PE: Are you optimistic about engineering in the curriculum?

Hall: I’m beyond optimistic. I’m certain that it will happen. It’s just a matter of making the right people aware and overcoming the momentum of the traditional education system that doesn’t want to change. But I’m virtually certain that it will happen. I don’t know that it will happen in my lifetime, but that doesn’t matter.

I have adopted this motto: William James, the late 1800s philosopher, said, “The best use of a life is to spend it on something that outlasts it.”

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