Dr. LaChanda McGuire, new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) integrationist at Discovery Community School and Madison Elementary School describes herself as just a “Carolina girl” from South Carolina. It’s her roots from the South that stirred her passion for education, particularly in the sciences.
“I grew up in a home where education was valued,” explains McGuire. “My mom ran a daycare out of her our home and it was my first exposure seeing my mom as a mom, but also as a teacher. She had a very strict and rigid structure … So, I had a chance to be a part of that experience, and education just grew on me through that experience.”
It was later in high school when McGuire toyed with the idea to be a scientist, doctor and teacher. Her high school biology teacher really captured her attention through lab investigations. She then realized during the transition between high school and college that being a doctor wasn’t a fit for her. The realization came from a summer science program that connected her with Duke University to do research in the neonatal department.
“It was a test of my strength,” remembers McGuire. “During the day we were studying inflammatory diseases with mice, and at night, we went over to the hospital and saw how that one inflammation was a part of preemies. During that experiment, I thought, ‘Um, maybe I could keep with the science and the research but not so much the medical practice.'”
She graduated from the College of Charleston and moved through many grade levels teaching and then began working at a preschool as its assistant director. She eventually became the director. Through that lens, she noticed the curriculum wasn’t quite full. As a scientist, she felt the experimental science piece was missing. McGuire enlisted the help of one her teachers, and then preschoolers began science investigations in school. It was a success.
“That’s when I realized how much I missed science and how I wanted to be in public education,” smiles McGuire. “That led me to teaching middle school science, and from middle school, I went to a residential high school that was all STEM. In that experience … it allowed me to go out to elementary, middle and high schools working with students and teachers to do STEM investigations. I’ve always had that niche for young children.”
Now at Discovery and Madison, she works with kindergarten through fifth-grade piquing curiosity and engaging students through STEM investigations.
“They’re curious!” says McGuire. “They want to know how things work, how it happens, even if they can’t see it. Sometimes they make their own assumptions of how things work based upon their own experiences. For me, it’s so satisfying to see that light bulb come on and their little brains turning and coming up with answers. … They get it.”
McGuire runs STEM investigations every day in her classroom. Her kindergartners are just finishing up with wood, and their next unit will be fabrics. On the side, McGuire is a fashionista through and through. She has journals upon journals of fashion sketches she’s done since childhood which she hopes to have in a boutique one day. She has one garment she created that she’ll share in her class.
McGuire feels she is in a position to impact young children just as the need for more STEM professionals is at an all-time high. There are hundreds of thousands of STEM jobs that can’t be filled due to a lack of workers. Her goal this year is to focus on engineering concepts to produce critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers and team collaborators. The future is filled with STEM jobs – some that already exist and some that don’t. McGuire knows that this is the age to get students thinking about their future.
One day these young students will be the next generation who can say “I’m just a Minnesota girl (or guy)” who . . .
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