I agree with the spirit of the article, “What’s our Sputnik?”, by T. L. Friedman. The space race definitely grabbed our attention and held our attention for many years. As a result of our ingenuity, our country was the first to land a person on the moon successfully. Since then, our accomplishments have paled in comparison. Although we live in a highly technological society, many of the computers, cars, and appliances we use are made in other countries. In addition to money pouring out of the country because of our technology purchases, a high percentage of our Federal budget is allocated to war spending. I saw the attached political cartoon a few weeks ago. It is sad but true that far too much of our monetary resources are being spent on war. Yes, waste needs to be removed from the Federal budget. However, unfortunately, the proposals cut too deeply into education. The kicker is, it is only via an educated society that we will have our Sputnik.
Another cartoon also caught my eye a few weeks ago. In this cartoon, penguins are standing on a diminishing iceberg with the pollution from a factory wafting into the air in the background. Our Earth is suffering from the consequences of centuries of industrialization. Something has to be done.
At a local level, STEM education should be a priority in the schools. In order to have our Sputnik, students must be highly educated in science, technology, engineering, and math. Unfortunately, this is not the case. According to the White House Blog, “American 15-year-olds ranked 21st in science and 25th in math compared to other countries.” Other countries are making education a priority. In order to remain competitive, we should do the same.
At the state level, education should be a protected budgetary item. Everyone in a society benefits from a well-educated society. As crime is increasing in many areas, it is clear to see that we all have a better life if we are not surrounded by poorly educated people that do not have the potential for gainful employment. For the third year in a row, Maryland public schools have been ranked number one by Education Week, a leading education newspaper. We were also ranked number one by the College Board for AP performance. Teachers in Maryland are being thanked for this great accomplishment by facing steep budget cuts, which will decimate the high-quality programs that we have. A rally is planned at the state capital next week against proposed education funding budget cuts. I will be there to make sure that my voice is heard.
President Kennedy made a declaration that we should land a man on the moon before the Soviets. Our president should point the country in the right direction with a declaration and financial backing. I think we need a new event to spark attention and commitment to science education reform to bring it back to the forefront of global competition. What could be our Sputnik? I think it could be the perfection of nuclear fusion that could provide a feasible, clean energy source for the 21st century and beyond. Something that would leave the need for fossil fuels obsolete. Free and clean energy in buildings, and converters for free and clean energy in vehicles. A source of energy that would not only allow us to save our planet, but that would also make it possible for us to allow humans to travel past the moon…to other planets, and other worlds.
References
Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.
Changing the Equation in STEM Education. The White House Blog. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/16/changing-equation-stem-education
Welcome to MSDE. Maryland State Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE
Danita,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your comment that we all benefit from a well educated community. I was reading an article that compared education in the U.S. to education in other higher achieving nations. The article pointed that high achieving countries invest more money into education and more time into revising and developing curriculum. It pointed out that we must shift our focus and ensure that we are educating all our citizens to the best of our ability. "States that would not spend 10,000 dollars a year to ensure adequate education for children of color in under-resorced schools later spend more than 30,000 dollars a year to keep them in jail" (Darling-Hammond, 2010). I think we must change our focus in America so that we can help our citizens realize their greatest potential. We'd all benefit from living in such a society.
References
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Restoring our schools. (cover story) Nation, 290(23) 14-
20.
Danita, it is true and ironic how much moeny is spent on importing technology and war, while the greater focus should be on education that would support these technologies and prevent money from puring out. In Egypt students here target STEM careers for different purposes. They know those careers provide better money and social status in the future so families push their kids too hard into those careers. Now Egypt has a great deal of qualified STEM professionals, but the country itself lacks the resources and finances to support and embrace these qualifications. Many of those people end up leaving the country to work for others.
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