Can Obama make science cool?
Summary: On Monday, I wrote about the decline of science education in the US, as well the rise of "unscience" and our growing struggle to compete with China in terms of real innovation. As if he wanted to hand me the perfect segue, President Obama announced the administration's Educate to Innovate program.
On Monday, I wrote about the decline of science education in the US, as well the rise of "unscience" and our growing struggle to compete with China in terms of real innovation. As if he wanted to hand me the perfect segue, President Obama announced the administration's Educate to Innovate program, encompassing everything from increased funding to public-private partnerships to an annual White House Science fair.
The President's announcement is available here and video of the speech is embedded below.
The key idea, though? Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in this country is hurting for many reasons. Regardless of the reasons, it's time to change this and "...show young people how cool science can be." The President also said something that hopefully we all know:
...because a great teacher is the single most important factor in a great education, we're asking states to focus on teacher effectiveness [through the Race to the Top initiative] and to make it possible for professionals -- like many of the people in this room -- to bring their experience and enthusiasm into the classroom.
Will anything actually come of this rhetoric? I sure hope so. For now, the program involves some significant partnerships (quoted below), but I'll be watching for real action and funding to trickle down to schools who manage to really address the STEM deficiencies the President outlined. Here are the initial partnerships announced Monday:
- Time-Warner Cable, Discovery Communications, Sesame Street, and other partners will get the message to kids and students about the wonder of invention and discovery.
- National Lab Day will help build communities of support around teachers across the country, culminating in a day of civic participation.
- National STEM design competitions will develop game options to engage kids in scientific inquiry and challenging designs.
- Five leading business and thought leaders (Sally Ride, Craig Barrett, Ursula Burns, Glen Britt, and Antonio Perez) will head an effort to increase private and philanthropic involvement in support of STEM teaching and learning.
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Talkback
Give him a Nobel for Science for his science speeches!
Obama is good with one thing and that's giving speech and interviews and creating hype. Stop living in your fantasy world. He is no different from his predecessor.
Only parents and teachers make science cool for a child. And Mr. Obama is zillion miles away from that child.
What has he done lately for science apart from his speeches? Nothing nada.
Though I didnt mean to share this project here, but here it goes, so you know what is the difference between a dog who just barks and dog who can bite: http://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/tuva/index.html -
OR maybe watch this and share it with kids you know: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/video_ScienceIsCool.html
Bill Gates is a real squealer. And so is Steve Jobs. I don't have anything to share from Apple farm for now but I am sure thet are also doing "real" ground work. Can we get Obama to do some real work and show us real results?
Our Leader is our master
Doesn't deserve? He won the election, right?
So does the Constitution.
So please stop spouting ignorant crap like that.
As far as promises, he has kept a few
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/promise-kept/
broke a few, and been 'in the works' on most.
Sorry to ruin your day with facts.
No, you didn't ruin it...
I've got doubts too
And as a former Republican turned independent, the GOP is doing no one any favors by undermining our President at every turn, just to make a point.
I disagree with a lot of his policies, I think he has a lot of areas he needs to work on. But I've had enough of "a majority of us don't want this". We all had a chance to vote in the election, and he won. You don't have to like every thing he does, but putting down everything and in some cases outright lying diminishes your credibility.
In short, everyone grow up, act like adults, and work towards improving the country.
Why? Jobs are not there.
Here is what is really being said by industry. We want you to go deep in debt and get a Masters in one of the sciences, and then be willing to work for the wages we pay in India.
So what?
Science and maths are the foundation of most occupations, and 100% of
productive ones. The last thing we need more marketers and solicitors.
I'm unsure how a science ignoramus will make science cool, unless we're
talking about the modern "all about the vibe" kind.
then start paying decent wages to science major
So why should anyone join science. Stay far from it. When the system fixes itself (by which time America would be considered a developed country in poverty) the things might change.
That requires some major changes
Spot On
and two post-docs overseas (one at Cambridge) my only offer was a
postdoc in the US that paid less than the poverty line. Thanks but no
thanks.
Obama's whistling in the wind, unless...
The modern history of (primarily K12) US education shows that America and its state and federal governments care less about education. Yes, they all make "positive statements" and "firm bipartisan policies" but when it comes down to it, they care less. The evidence for that is quite clear, just look at how many teachers have lost and are losing their jobs, all the while while politicians are proclaiming their commitment to education.
So, unless he's going to address that complete lack of interest in education he's dreaming about this sort of initiative doing anything.
People are smart enough to see that education and teachers aren't valued by the system, and if they aren't then the students sure aren't of any value. All that is seen is more and more administration and "accountability" and less and less actual education.
Ok, rant over.
Well said (nt)
Students not valued.
Last I recall, he wants standards for teachers as they are the problem...
Unless things have developed since then, but with that program, Obama was sounding a LOT like Bush... it's not just the teachers. It's rather less myopic or parochial than that, puns quite intended...
Teach Hindu or Chinese instead
That's "Hindi".
I will agree on basic issues like literacy, personal space, and common decency in public. People lost those traits a h!ll of a long time ago. Well, many have... not all...
It's simply NOT true! We do NOT need more,,,
Sorry but this is nothing more than an urban myth and is reationary to other countries supposedly graduating more science and math majors. While it may be true they do push the sciences in other countries it does NOT mean there are jobs available for them or US students. Secondly, getting a degree in the sciences does not make anyone innovative, the truth is most of these folks will be put into cubicles designing the next pop open flap on a cardboard box, or re-writing code for an old application, or other "business as usual" position, NOT in any R&D field.
Bottom line, every field of the sciences is seeing the highest unemployement rate in history in the US, that hardly screams we don't have enough people in the sciences. Of course in the US if you happen to be over 40 and in the hard sciences you are screwed. Everyone knows anyone over 40 can't possibly innovate. [sarcasm] Ask any engineer over 40 that has been laid off what his/her job prospects look like.
Chris, as a teacher do NOT push kids into sciences.
Bottom line
This is no myth, India and China do graduate more people in both sciences and math annually then the USA. Though they each have much larger populations by a factor of 4 or 5, even including that their per captita rates of graduation in said fields are still higher.
To a degree you make a valid point, given the [i]current[/i] economic situation, the levels of unemployment in all fields, science included, are not good.
But that is about where your point is valid, as when the recovery begins, and some suggest its already started, the leading countries in the 21st century will be those that are the most inovative, & generally such inovation requires engineers who understand the science.
I think this article touches on a bigger picture than simply pushing science education/degrees so we have better domestic inovation. It could equally relate to another issue which is regardless if we make science cool or not, the overall science illiteracy in the US is appaling and this impacts the ability of the citizens to make accurate decisions.
Industry has been saying it for 20 years, still not true.