Climate Change Now
As more American kids are sent off to college unprepared in the areas of math and science, scientists are growing increasingly vocal about the administration’s disregard for their proper role in our society. Some are claiming to be pressured to change conculsions that don’t support policy positions (this happened to a woman Sarah works with whose input was sought regarding climate change).
Meanwhile, one can find stories of the attack on science in the classroom almost daily. Without sounding too alarmist, I wonder how we?ll compete against India, China, and other countries in the realm of science, technology, and research, when science is dismissed by our president and is becoming a four-letter word by many in our country.
A new report boils it down: our education system is failing, the best no longer want to be here, and federal R&D investment is faltering. For the “past 60 years America has been the beneficiary of an influx of many of the most talented minds on the planet” but post-9/11 immigration policy is sending these kind of people elsewhere. Creative Class cheerleaders, Richard Florida, and Austin’s own, Bill Bishop, are noticing the same phenomenon with creatives. Bottom line is that a lot of influential, talented, ground-breaking people no longer see the United States as being on the cutting edge of R&D, science, technology, and idea-driven progress. Who will take their place?
February 23rd, 2005
Brian Noel
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Most of the problem regarding American students performing so poorly in science has to do with the students, not faith. I would love to compare the science scores of a (Christian) home-schooled student w/ that of your average public school student. The majority of our students and teachers are just plain lazy–although, America?s children have always lagged behind in science and math. Think about the early Cold War and the space race. The majority of Soviet students overwhelmingly outscored American students in math. But who reached the moon first? Science does not necessarily prosper in a secular society. Think about the dominance of Asian and Central Asian ethnicities in science. I would guess that these foreign students represent large numbers in the best science and engineering schools across the country. Yet, entire countries like India and China, who are filled with billions of these serious students, have populations that live in 3rd world conditions. Why is that? Why did Western Europe, and more recently the US, end up dominating the world of science, technology, and R&D? I read some theory that the idea of a Judeo-Christian God allowed the Western mind to open up beyond the realm of normal science. It allowed our scientist to dream beyond what other societies were thinking about? This also goes hand-in-hand w/ America being an open, free, and democratic. I would also love to compare the science and math scores of our parents? generation with today?s more secular public schools. I think the ?dumbing-down? of universities; everybody gets an A at Ivy League schools now, kids shouldn?t be forced to do so much homework; some elementary schools cant post honor roll students because it might make another kid feel bad, it?s all about feelings and self-esteem in the current educational environment. That?s the problem, not religion!
Snail
Thursday, February 24, 2005
‘We’ve Got Climate Change’
So how does one make policy based on
Snail
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Creative Class War
In the first paragraph you can change the name Peter Jackson with Robert Rodriguez and the location to Austin and the story would be the same.
Emily
Sunday, February 27, 2005
While I am not well versed in the Texas educational system, I am currently experiencing the Georgia school sytem which would fit under the Bill Gates definition. As far as I can tell, the idea of “schooling for all” while touted as a universal, is nothing of the sort. Our educational system is based on a middle class white ideology of what it means to be educated (education for what?) and what it means to have parents involved. If we compare everyone to the same definition of what it means to be an involved parent, we will most likely see a group of people who look the same, and if not that, than they are in the same or similar SES group. The powers that be are not interested in changing the educational system because that might mean whole generations of kids may learn to question the status quo and who;s knowledge is valued.