Feeble US attempt to address the issue of scientific illiteracy.

[NNadir]

In this forum we frequently touch, directly and indirectly on the problem of scientific illiteracy amoung the general US population. The ideologues in the current administration have apparently diverted their attention from bible study to chew the fat about the problem and offer their solution: Tours of National Labs by fifth graders.

"

(AP) Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced an initiative Thursday to promote "science literacy" and boost the number of American students interested in becoming scientists and engineers.

The program will award scholarships at national labs for math and science teachers. It also will require the 17 labs to host a total of 2,000 fifth- and eighth-graders for at least one day each year...

...According to an international study completed in 1999, U.S. fourth-graders ranked among the world's best in math and science. By eighth grade, they fell below the international average. By 12th grade, they trailed students in nearly every other industrialized country.

Abraham said the department has not yet figured the program's cost, but he expected the country's national labs to contribute money, equipment and employees.

It's unclear whether the initiative will stem years of declining enrollment in science programs among American college students, and it's unlikely to change a broader concern: Engineering and science graduates from India, China, Russia and other developing nations dramatically outnumber those from U.S. universities. "

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/09/tech/main628404.shtml

[hatrack]

1. Well, gee, if you happen to live near a cyclotron or weapons lab, cool

Otherwise, you're kind of out of luck.

There's also the little question of just what kind of an impact this proposal would have. Let's see . . . 293,000,000 total US population . . . 2,000 schoolkids = 0.00000682% of the total population who will be potentially intrigued and inspired by visiting scientific labs.

Of course, correcting for school-age kids as a percentage of total population would yield a slightly higher percentage. :evilgrin:

[NNadir]

2. Actually, I had the privilege of taking my kids on a tour of the Princeton

Plasma Physics lab, where we were able to view prototypical fusion reactors. It was a wonderful program; my kids and I enjoyed it very much. (They haven't had another "open house" to my knowledge in several years, though.)

But like all Bush league "solutions" it's just window dressing and PR. The problem of scientific illiteracy in the United States has to do with our cultural values. It happens that all of our most science dependent industries are no longer run by scientists, but rather by MBA's with degrees in history, economics or religion.

In fact the person who is presented by our media as being "President of the United States," is a functionally illiterate MBA. Sometimes I think we're doomed.

[hatrack]

4. Reminds me of the Reagan/Bush "plan" to attract new teachers

Have a contest so that one of them could fly on the space shuttle. We all know how well that worked out.

[cornfedyank]

5. If they taught kids the science -- kids would not buy their junk

what could be the answer to why test scores fell so much as the grade level rose.
earth science and a little physics go a long way toward showing the hidden costs of the consumer lifestyle.
advertisers do not want informed, educated buyers.

[Scottie72]

7. Those living by national lab.. take your children

or go yourself and take tours if and when they have an open house. I work at JLab and we have an open house every other year. The main attraction is the the tour of the accelerator tunnel. There are numerous activities for childen and demonstrations.

This is far far far from a solution to the scientific illeteracy here in the United States. It is nothing more than a window dressing for the * administration to say he has done someting. What the open house can achieve is a real enthusiasism for science. Kids today need to be excited about science and math. I remember taking physics as a senior and just was blown away by some of the simple demonstrations.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. There is this underlying sinking feeling

that some of this scientific ed. will have some "faith based" requirement ....scary thought...

[gorrister]

6. the US sure is feeble

compared to Europe.

[DemBones DemBones]

8. My idea for solving this problem

is to have science specialists teaching in all elementary and middle schools, in the same way that there are art, music, and p.e. specialists who work with all the kids. Actually, I'd have math specialists, too, and leave the classroom teachers to handle reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and social studies, since that's typically what they are best at teaching. Kids don't usually get a good foundation in math and science in elementary and middle school, with science in particular lagging because the teachers aren't as comfortable when teaching science. Even if you're not very good at math, after all, you can handle basic arithmetic and are unlikely to have kids ask questions you can't answer. Not so with science! So the classroom teachers should be allowed to teach from their strengths, and specialists should be brought in to teach science.

[porkrind]

9. Science and Engineering

Kids may be wowed by seeing science labs, experiments, and amazing works of engineering, and this is great. Hopefully a better education in math and science will dispel some of the superstition and ignorance widespread the US.

However, they won't go into engineering because the USA doesn't ***MAKE ANYTHING*** anymore except weapons. There are no manufacturing jobs out there. They have mostly been shipped overseas.

:dem:

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Read about the Right-Wing "Master Plan": http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/sam/sam-contents.html

Have you read "War is a Racket"?: http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

Read George Orwell's classic "1984" free online here: http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984