'A Disaster in the Making'

So said, William J. Bennett, former secretary of education and senior advisor to Project Lead the Way, an organization dedicated to providing STEM education curricular programs, an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math (aka STEM education).

And the two indicators he cites,  as evidence of our nations’ students lackluster abilities and performance in those areas are, to say the least, a jaw dropper and wake-up call to educators and parents alike, especially to those who harbor the illusion that the USA still leads the way in providing a well-rounded, superior  education for our kids:

• American students score 23rd in the 2012 math and 31st in science tests, when compared with 65 other industrialized countries.
• In math, we are beaten by those from Lichtenstein and Slovakia to the Netherlands and Singapore. In science, we are whipped by countries from  New Zealand and Estonia to Finland and Hungary.

Bennett sums it up, by saying, “this is more than an embarrassment; for it’s a disaster in the making by what it portends for the future of own GDP, economic well-being and employer and employment needs.”

And adding the dire warning, that “if the United States wishes to remain the most innovative and competitive country in the world’s global economy, this cannot stand.”

But he ends on a positive note by offering the following measures for improving our students test scores viz a viz students from other industrial countries, and to allow our nation to become strong in innovation once again:

• Front-load STEM-related teaching. Tap into children’s natural curiosity and teach it earlier in school, and recognize subjects like math and science are as important as English.
• Recognize that teachers, especially in the early grades, need training in math and science so they can integrate it as much as possible into children’s school life and curriculum.
• Do not segregate math and science classes from the rest of the school building or coursework. Turn away from the notion of specialized elementary and secondary schools whose focus is on math and science.
• Each and every class taught should adopt forms of mathematical and scientific methods in its teachings, so as to increase the likelihood that students will learn the ideas of science and mathematics at a deeper more enduring level.
• School districts and principals should avail themselves of nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to supplemental training of teachers in STEM areas.

His closing comment: ”The test of whether we should do better at teaching STEM education is simply, ask any adult not employed in a STEM area of work: don’t you wish you studied and appreciated math and science courses earlier in school?”

“The answer is almost always yes.”  ”And so, too, should it be for students now-not as adults later.”

(As a personal note, I would also like to see classes in civics and American history added to the STEM areas, which are noticeable by their absence in most of today’s school curriculums, including in Carroll County’s schools. For  even though I was at the bottom of my high school graduating class in 1949, I was well aware of how the various levels of government were structured and of the separation powers, and could name at least a half-dozen of our founding fathers, as well as those of Indiana’s state senators and representative from my district–something which I daresay those graduating in more recent times would be hard pressed to do.)

Quote of the week: “We are shut up in schools and college rooms for ten or fifteen years, and come out with a belly full of words and do not know a thing; for the things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means of education.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.