Rising Above the Gathering Storm: initial report and addendum...

"Rising Above the Gathering Storm" is a massive report done to address our then (and now) declining position in Science and Technology.

On page 94, second paragraph, section "Educational Challenges":

"The rise of new international competitors in science and engineering is forcing the United States to ask whether its education system can meet the demands of the 21st century. The nation faces several areas of challenge: K–12 student preparation in science and mathematics, limited undergraduate interest in science and engineering majors, significant student attrition among science and engineering undergraduate and graduate students, and science and engineering education that in some instances inadequately prepares students to work outside universities."

I take exception to the last paragraph on page 95, continued on page 97:

"One key to improving student success in science and mathematics is to increase interest in those subjects, but that is difficult because mathematics and science teachers are, as a group, largely ill-prepared. Furthermore, many adults with whom students come in contact seemingly take pride in 'never understanding' or 'never liking' mathematics. Analyses of the teacher pool indicate that an increasing number do not major or minor in the discipline they teach, although there is growing pressure from the No Child Left Behind Act for states to hire more highly qualified teachers (see Table 5-1). About 30% of high school mathematics students and 60% of those enrolled in physical sciences have teachers who either did not major in the subject in college or are not certified to teach it. The situation is worse for low-income students: 70% of their middle school mathematics teachers majored in some other subject in college."

..."because mathematics and science teachers are, as a group, largely ill-prepared."

Ill-preparation can take several creative iterations. In an urban setting, ill-preparation could mean not trained in the socio-economic group and conditions under which you are instructing. That could also mean you don't have the budget to do exotic experiments every week. It could also mean that (for me) science itself was the excitement of the subject. There was not "You Tube" or "Myth Busters" or a warmup/"hook": as far as I recall, the teacher or professor launched into the subject she/he outlined from notes they took from the book and assigned work from the same resource.

We now live in a society of 24/7 entertainment; news is "infotainment" (less info; more entertainment), hundreds of channels and versions of the Cartoon Network; using DVDs of children's favorite shows (as early as three) as defacto "baby sitters"; parents text messaging their cell phone addicted child during your class time and lecture in violation of district policy; video games that can be played between Texas and Australia to the detriment of a child's sleep and therefore attention span in your classroom.

Yeah...ill-prepared: for the society we've built around our children.

..."many adults with whom students come in contact seemingly take pride in 'never understanding' or 'never liking' mathematics."

Unfortunately, many of these credible adults in their lives are now parents.

They are the parents of the children that struggle with the concepts taught in a science or mathematics classroom as THEY did years before. Rather than teaming with the teacher, they transfer their past anxiety and phobias (and the fear of loss of status) into their progeny, who "act out" in class and cause much grief to a teacher that has to "redirect" - eventually write a referral on - said child to get them (and the class) back on task.

"Analyses of the teacher pool indicate that an increasing number do not major or minor in the discipline they teach..."

The purpose of teacher certification is to satisfy state requirements in the area of the discipline. In that regard, it's actually unnecessary to have majored in the area specifically - I know biology majors that took the composite biology/chemistry/physics certification; I took the composite mathmatics/physics certification: I just happened to have majored in Engineering Physics as an undergraduate and worked for Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector (now Freescale), Advanced Micro Devices and IBM. I know accounting majors that took the mathematics certification exam. What I think matters is: 1) knowing the audience you're addressing; 2) communicating effectively to teach the information outlined as important for the district the teacher is working for.

This is not a glitzy entry with fancy JPEG photos: it is a call to action,  The fact the embed below says the subject is "revisited" says we're not investing into the changes needed to ensure a prosperous future...we're depending upon the myth of "American exceptionalism" to see us through the global market that has other options than the United States for new 21st Century ideas and productivity...

Mote Science Gap - Rising Above the Gathering Storm Revisited