Leslie Nielsen discusses plans for her eighth-grade engineering class with middle school principal Jason Goings and Denny Snyder, Mansfield City Schools' career tech director.
Leslie Nielsen is eager to tap the natural curiosity of 13- and 14-year-olds in a first-ever engineering class for all Mansfield Middle School eighth-graders.
“Kids don’t want to be spoon-fed answers. They want to ask questions: Why is that? What is happening here?” said Nielsen, a licensed electrical engineer. She will teach five classes daily when school opens Aug. 28.
The middle school initiative is part of Project Lead the Way’s Gateway to Technology, a national curriculum designed to stimulate students interest in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – careers.
“We will focus on all students, but we particularly want to try to get more girls and minorities interested in STEM careers,” said Denny Snyder, director of Mansfield City Schools’ career tech program.
“This engineering class is a huge step for the district. For kids who don’t pursue engineering, we want them to know that in high school they can move into other areas of technology, including precision machine tooling, computer-aided drafting and CISCO computer networking.”
Nielsen said she will start by making students aware that everything around them was designed by someone.
“Too many kids, particularly girls, think engineering is some pie-in-the-sky thing they can’t do. It’s not,” said Nielsen, a Malabar High School graduate who earned her engineering degree from General Motors Engineering and Management Institute in Flint, Mich.
“Eighth-graders will take a problem-solving approach and learn about teaming – how to work together to solve problems, Nielsen said. “The curriculum will be based on state academic standards. Kids will learn how engineering ties into math and science.”
The Gateway to Technology middle school engineering curriculum allows students to envision, design and test their ideas in areas ranging from robotics and animation to solar, thermal and wind power.
Principal Jason Goings said the engineering class will open new doors for students.
“I am absolutely excited about this. I think once kids get a taste of the hands-on presentation, what they can create, it’s going to be fantastic. I expect more females will become interested in STEM careers,” Goings said. “I’m excited too to see how this engineering class will help students’ performance in science.”
Nielsen worked in the aerospace industry in Indianapolis for eight years before staying home to raise two sons. She home-schooled her sons in the primary grades and taught math to other home-schooled children.
Nielsen and her husband Paul moved back to Mansfield to be near family and started LPN Home Improvement Services Co. in 1989. She earned her secondary math teaching certificate then taught three years at Senior High before her position was among those cut in 2007. She then taught three years at St. Peter’s before losing her job to a reduction in force.
“We’re losing jobs to other countries because we’re not producing enough engineers,” Nielsen said. “We want to ignite interest in students that will take many of them to STEM careers. We’ll start with eighth-graders to set the stage for their high school curriculum. It’s an exciting opportunity. I’m eager to get started.”
Evening programs planned
Leslie Nielsen has been awarded a $2,500 NASA mini grant to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics study among Mansfield City Schools students and their parents. She will use the grant for a series of evening programs during the first semester.
“Recent surveys from the school show that parents are the students’ primary influence. They cannot encourage their children when the parents themselves do not understand the opportunities for their students,” Nielsen said in her grant application. “If we can increase awareness of the technology career pathways, Mansfield can attract tech businesses by presenting a better trained base of young people. We wish to create a rising tide of awareness and opportunity.”
Nielsen said the evening programs will feature materials and modules “that are interesting, fun and will generate and increase interest in the engineering fields and career possibilities.” The sessions will be 90 minutes to two hours and will feature other local adult engineers. A schedule will be announced soon after the start of school.