I agree with Friedman that when Russia launched the Sputnik satellite into space, this event sent our country into a state of urgency to become more educated, innovative, and competitive. If we view the rise of China to become our economic partner and competitor as a kick in the pants to grow as a nation in education, innovation, and competition, at this point I think we will be disappointed.
As a country, it is in our best interest to use our resources to become independent of foreign oil. We are spending so much tax money on the war on terror and with our economy being in the state that it is in, we need to shift our thinking and prioritize how our money is spent. We are running out of time and money. Should we give countries a chance to work out their differences before we go in and give handouts to people that don't even want us in their country? It is certainly the American way to be involved in everything that doesn't involve us. On the other hand, when civil rights and women rights are so lacking in some parts of the world, is it our ethical responsibility to help? I would say yes, if we have extra money after taking care of our schools, police departments, fire fighters, children that live in poverty, etc.
I found an article on line about global competitiveness. Here is a quote from the article that confirmed what I was thinking. "Over the last decade, the world has changed dramatically," said José-Marie Griffiths, chair of the NSB committee that oversees production of the report. "It's now a world with very different actors who have made advancement in science and technology a top priority. And many of the troubling trends we're seeing are now very well established." The United States in not making science and technology a priority and we will soon be paying for it. The article listed some organizations that are working to keep the United States competitive.
SAVI This organization promotes communication and collaboration globally amongst scientists, engineers, and educators.
NSF Completes scientific research on ways to build innovation with technology, entrepreneurs, and the business community. Also in the process of providing classes and new technologies to people that previously did not have access to them.
SEES Focuses on innovation for clean energy development and how to improve with technology rapid response to extreme events.
http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122859&org=NSB&from=news
I know my school has a big push for using techology with our students, but we are only allowed to teaching science on Fridays, which seems crazy. I wish I could teach science and techology all day long. What do you think we need to do to make science and technology a priority?
ReplyDeleteI also run into that problem. I am only supposed to teach science 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. It is frustrating and is driven by our low test scores in math, reading, and writing.
DeleteWe are definitely falling behind other countries because of our lack of preparing our students for futures in STEM disciplines. There seems to be a lot of people saying we need to make this a priority while at the same time pull funding away from education. This seems counterintuitive to me. And then, there are situations like Diana's where students are only allowed to have science on Fridays. That definitely does not make a lot of sense. Perhaps making science competence an indicator of an effective school should be added to the list of mandated requirements, preventing schools from putting STEM disciplines on the back burner while they focus on reading, writing and math or find ways to incorporate them all together, which would seem to make the most sense.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that if high science test scores were a mandated requirement, my school would be spending more time and money on science.
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