(2007-10-09) Goodnight Science Education Sputnik

SAS co-founder Jim Goodnight took the 50th anniversary of Sput Nik as an opportunity to decry where we stand in Educating Kids in Math And Science. The country mobilized; Congress mobilized. They passed the National Defense Education Act, and President Eisenhower signed it in 1958. It gave money and grants to universities, high schools, middle schools, even private schools to get involved with more science and math, and to fund research labs. It poured money into our school systems to stimulate teaching and interest in Engineering. What we saw was really the beginning of Silicon Valley and the technology boom in this country... The arms race is over. It's now a mind race. Countries like China, India, and Korea have invested heavily in education over the last decade. They are now producing more scientists and engineers than we are. It is my concern that as we look to the future, Innovation is going to come from the other side of the world... Their world is one of total interactivity. They're in constant communication with each other, but when they go to school, they are told to leave those "toys" at home. They're not to be used in school. Instead, the system continues teaching as if these kids belong to the last century, by standing in front of a blackboard.