Today's guest post is from JK Mergens the author of the Learn Math Fast System. I have had such a positive response to her first post I asked her to come back and visit.
You can still purchase the books for $5 off with the code OHIO It is valid until August 31, 2014. The coupon code is entered during checkout in the field below the "Phone Number" and "Email" fields, but it doesn't work with Paypal. (Paypal customers may use "Contact Us" form, tell JK the coupon code, and she will refund $5 to their account.)
author@LearnMathFastBooks.com ) This post contains an affiliate link.
Most little boys want to grow up to be a fireman. Little girls typically want to be a veterinarian or nurse. Never do you hear, “I want to be a Mechanical Engineer when I grow up.” But if you have a child who enjoys math and is fascinated by machinery, then Mechanical Engineering may be the perfect career choice. As homeschooling parents, the best thing we can do for our children is to help them select a career that interests them and then show them the path to get there.
Our
son grew up watching his Dad build houses, so the construction industry was an
obvious career choice. But our son was
more interested in a job that climbs the corporate
ladder than an actual ladder. He really excelled in math, so my husband and I explained to him that an engineer is the
person who uses math to make sure the houses will be strong enough to withstand
high wind speeds and heavy snow loads. His
eyes popped open and from that moment on he knew he wanted to be a Structural
Engineer. Now we just had to figure out
how to accomplish that goal.
We
did some research and found that he would need to earn a Bachelor’s of Science
in Civil Engineering in order to become an engineer. Before that, he would need to earn an
Associate’s Degree; his path was set. He
graduated at 16, enrolled in college, took all the required classes, and by age
21 he had that degree. Today he is a successful Engineer.
If
you have a student who enjoys math, then engineering may be an excellent career
choice. There are several different types
of engineering professions and knowing a little bit about some of them may help
you find an intriguing career path for your math loving student.
Transportation Engineer
Have
you ever seen a map that shows a freeway with one of those “four-leaf clover”
on/off ramp systems? Have you ever
noticed that some yellow lights stay on longer than other traffic lights? And why do you suppose the angle of the road
changes during a sharp curve? It is all
based on math. A Transportation Engineer
is the one who designs our roads and freeways and each decision is made using
math. If your child seems fascinated by
this design, then this may be the career path for him/her.
Structural Engineer
Have
you ever heard of someone wanting to remove a wall in their house, but
uncertain whether or not it is a load bearing wall? Well my son can tell you. He combined his math skills with his
construction knowledge and became a Structural Engineer. He now spends his days calculating things
like what size beams should be used in order for a building to be structurally
sound. How many and what size nails are required
to make sure a house doesn’t sway in the wind or fall during an earthquake. He can tell you how much concrete needs to be
poured into the ground to make sure a tall sign won’t fall over. He uses geometry to draw the construction
plans and believe it or not, he uses algebra every day.
Electrical Engineer
Have
you ever blown a fuse in your house? Did
you have to go to the fuse box and flip a switch to restore the power? That panel of circuits is what it takes to
give your house enough power. Now
imagine the size of panel it must take to run a shopping mall. That type of electrical panel needs to be
designed by an Electrical Engineer.
An electrician runs wires through your
house and hooks them up to the electrical outlets and lights. An Electrical Engineer is the one who
designs an electrical system. For
example, an airplane has miles of wires inside it to provide things like the
little overhead lights and seatbelt signals.
An electrical engineer is the one who draws this system on paper for the
electricians to install.
To
find out if you have a young electrical engineer, purchase a toy similar to
this one at Toys R US and see how long it keeps his/her interest.
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| http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3902432&ab=TRU:tproduct_rr |
Civil Engineer
The
next time it rains, have your children watch where the water goes. Does it flow down the roof, into the gutters
and then disappear into an underground pipe?
Does it run down the streets and drain into a steel grate? Rain water has to be routed to the right
place, so the streets and your yard don’t flood. There are miles of pipes underground and they
are all designed by a Civil Engineer.
Ask
your kids where they think the water in the kitchen sink goes or where it came
from. They are both connected to another
set of underground pipes. A Civil Engineer has to make sure these pipes
run downhill or are pumped uphill. If
you could see through the ground, you would see all kinds of pipes, tanks, and
pumps. That is called the
infrastructure. This is all the work of
a Civil Engineer.
If
your family has ever been through a flood, explain to your child how it
happened and see if he/she is interested in finding a cure. Sometimes a tragedy can be the catalyst to a
career path.
Mechanical Engineer
When
I was a child, I watched Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood on TV. During a segment
of that show called “Picture Picture,” Mr. Rogers would show footage of a
factory at work. I loved watching how the
machines could do stuff like turn a roll of metal into soup cans and then
seconds later they are labeled, sealed, and packed in a box. Those machines are designed by Mechanical
Engineers. They use math and ingenuity to
design machines with moving parts that will perform a certain task. This is called automation.
One
day when I was homeschooling my son, we spent a few hours making a little contraption
that would ultimately turn on a little fan.
It started by dropping a ball down a plastic race car track. That would trigger something else to cause a
chain reaction until finally something heavy would land on the button that
powered the fan. It was much like the
game “Mouse Trap.”
Try
making a mini-factory or gravity-powered contraption during your homeschool day
and see if it sparks any interest. We had a blast making ours.
Is Math Holding Your Student
Back?
These
are just a few examples of the many, many math related careers. I encourage you to take a day to explore some
career options with your children. Look
for their individual strengths and interests and then give them ideas of
occupations that use those skills. If
math is holding them back from their dream job, try reading my series of math
books, the Learn Math Fast System. Even if your child is years behind in math, it’s
not too late to give them the tools and power they need to get the degree of
their choice.
 |
| www.LearnMathFastBooks.com
.
You can still purchase the books for $5 off with the code OHIO It is valid until August 31, 2014. The coupon code is entered during
checkout in the field below the "Phone Number" and "Email" fields, but
it doesn't work with Paypal. (Paypal customers may use "Contact Us" form, tell JK the coupon code, and she will refund $5 to their account.)
|
JK
Mergens is the author of the Learn Math
Fast System, a series of six books that teach 1st - 11th
grade math using the unique methods she created to teach her son. JK has been married to Mick, her high school
sweetheart, for almost thirty years.
Together they homeschooled their only son in the beautiful state of
Washington. Her articles have been published
in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Red
Deer’s Child Magazine, Edmonton’s Child Magazine, and in the June 2014
issue of the Washington State Homeschool Organization’s (WHO) Newsletter. Her seventh book, High School Geometry, will
be released later this year. Please
visit her website www.LearnMathFastBooks.com.
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