Although this article might be a little outdated, some of the points still hold a lot of truth. I believe that America is a good thing that has created a lot of bad things. This article highlights the decline of American students interested in and pursuing science and engineering degrees; it also highlights America's culture which is now geared towards having fun, watching television, and making money. Many Americans want a job that they can enjoy; they want to be creative, but not in a science or engineering sense, they want to be creative in their own sense, have fun, and make money at the same time. America gave their citizens the freedom to define themselves how they please, although it is somewhat limited to the culture that surrounds them, so America also has to deal with the fact that its students are not defining themselves with science and engineering careers (although the future success of the country is up to the citizens.)
This also brings up the crisis in the education system. It could be said that the nation is now aware that it's education system is lacking, but how much can change in a country that doesn't know how to embrace change? The Texas standardized test change from TAKS to STAAR stirred up so much controversy amongst the education agency, teachers, parents and students. I wrote an article on this topic in the midst of the decision-making, and most of the parents were concerned because the test was going to be tougher than the TAKS and and they feared their child would not pass. Although changes in testing and curriculum need to be accompanied by changing teaching method, these controversies over small changes are only foreshadowing the anger that will come with a national change, if one is made.
In the article, Eric Stern touches on students' disinterest in sciences and maths. From my own education experience, an almost daily phrase I heard in middle and high school, in regard to math and science classes, was "I am never going to use this in real life." I'm not sure what we all thought "real life" was, but it certainly didn't include any consideration of science and engineering careers.
This also brings up the crisis in the education system. It could be said that the nation is now aware that it's education system is lacking, but how much can change in a country that doesn't know how to embrace change? The Texas standardized test change from TAKS to STAAR stirred up so much controversy amongst the education agency, teachers, parents and students. I wrote an article on this topic in the midst of the decision-making, and most of the parents were concerned because the test was going to be tougher than the TAKS and and they feared their child would not pass. Although changes in testing and curriculum need to be accompanied by changing teaching method, these controversies over small changes are only foreshadowing the anger that will come with a national change, if one is made.
In the article, Eric Stern touches on students' disinterest in sciences and maths. From my own education experience, an almost daily phrase I heard in middle and high school, in regard to math and science classes, was "I am never going to use this in real life." I'm not sure what we all thought "real life" was, but it certainly didn't include any consideration of science and engineering careers.
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