Tech educators slam Bush budget
If America has a pressing need for improved math and science education, as apparently we do, then why does the 2007 budget trash education technology programs? That's what the International Society for Technology in Education wants to know. The organization developed the National Educational Technology Standards. In a press statement last week, the group says:
The Administration’s proposed budget, particularly the elimination of The Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program, will have a devastating effect on the ability of schools and states to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind Act. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) calls for the Administration to commit to restoring funding to this program to ensure schools have the resources to educate students and train teachers to keep the United States competitive in the global marketplace.“America’s share of the world’s science and engineering doctorates is predicted to fall to 15 percent by 2010,” according to the U.S. Department of Education’s document on Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World: Strengthening Education in the 21st Century, January 2006.
Donald G. Knezek, Chief Executive Officer of ISTE, said in the release:
“We are deeply disappointed that the Administration has chosen, once again, to eliminate federal funding for education technology. Understanding and using technology are critical components of all students’ academic careers and, most certainly, barometers of their future employment prospects.
Given the President’s emphasis in the State of the Union on the importance of developing math and science skills in America’s students in order to keep America competitive globally, we do not see how eliminating federal education technology funding advances his global competitiveness agenda or helps our students.”