New Class: RamTEC
The world is changing, and changing fast. In 2017, more American startup companies were created than in the previous four years combined. The vast majority of these startups are tech-related, and therefore require coders and engineers to develop their websites and products. Hoping to produce future coders and engineers, Ramaz is launching a new technology, engineering and coding class called RamTEC. The hope is that this class will converge with other classes at Ramaz, including math, science, music and art. This class will be mandatory for all students in 9th through 11th grade. Seniors will be given the opportunity to take RamTEC as an elective. Ramaz Science Chair Lenore Brachot, who researched other schools’ STEM departments, will be running the RamTEC class.
It may seem surprising, then, that it has taken the Upper School so many years to institute its own STEM class. The school already offers AP Computer Science. It has an engineering club and coding club, and it also participates in Science Olympiad and has many students who have learned coding in after-school activities or summer camps. The Ramaz Middle School even started offering a STEM class last year.
Other Jewish day schools have already strengthened their STEM departments in recent years. Frisch High School prides itself on its flourishing STEM department. At Frisch, students in ninth and tenth grade have the opportunity to choose between taking Spanish, French, engineering or art as an elective. Many students choose engineering because of the class’ excellent reputation. During the two year program, after learning the basics of circuits and coding, students work in small groups to engineer a project. The projects are then submitted to the Rambam Innovation Award, which Frisch won in 2018. Additionally, eleventh grade students at Frisch are given the chance to take a computer science elective. Why it has taken Ramaz so long to institute a tech class is unclear.
New I believe in connected learning. For students graduating in 2019 or 2020, literacy in technology is essential. — Head of School Jonathan Cannon
Nonetheless, students at Ramaz have mixed feelings about the new RamTEC class. Michal Seinfeld ’21 says, “I feel like it [coding] will really help me in the future.”
However, not all of the Upper School’s students are as optimistic. Some expressed concern with having to take another class. “RamTEC has the potential to be a good thing, but with certain classes, like foreign language, we already have so little time and so much to learn,” said Elizabeth Newman-Corré ’20. Indeed, the additional workload may be too much for some students to handle. Some students wish that RamTEC were an elective, as it is for seniors, and not a mandatory class, while others support the decision to make RamTEC mandatory.
“It is better that it [RamTEC] isn’t an elective, because that way everyone can have the same experience whether or not they consider themselves a technology person, though as of now it is hard to tell if the class will add more stress,” says Rachel Araten ’20.
Although Ramaz has not been at the forefront of incorporating STEM into Jewish day schools, the creation of the RamTEC class is certainly an interesting addition to the school’s curriculum. Who knows if it will be a success, or just a stressor and a waste of time.
Rebecca Massel has been a journalist since lower school and is excited to be an editor-in-chief of The Rampage. She has been an active writer for the paper...