STEM Gathers Steam with Public and Private Sector Support

I want to continue to update you on activity related to STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) issues as it gathers steam with the Obama Administration, with the support of key industry representatives, foundations and thought leaders.

Recently, a colleague and I attended a briefing hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide an update on the President’s Educate to Innovate initiative that was introduced last November. This campaign is designed to

• Improve the participation and performance of America’s students in STEM by increasing demand for STEM education
• Improve STEM teaching in the schools to make our children more competitive on international exams such as the Programme for International Student Assessment, where American student ranked 21st out of 30 in science literacy and 25 out of 30 in math literacy among students from developed countries, and 
• Expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups including minorities, girls, and rural children through innovative programs.

This “call to action” builds on the 2005 report by the National Academies, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” which warned that the U.S. is falling behind in math and science education, endangering America’s competitiveness and national security. Several private-public partnerships have already been announced including: 

• Time-Warner Cable, Discovery Communications, Sesame Street, and other partners will get the message to kids and students about the wonder of invention and discovery.
• National Lab Day will help build communities of support around teachers across the country, culminating in a day of civic participation. 
• National STEM design competitions will develop game options to engage kids in scientific inquiry and challenging designs. 
• Five leading business and thought leaders (Craig Barrett of Intel, Ursula Burns of Xerox, Glen Britt of Time Warner Cable, Antonio Perez of Kodak, and Sally Ride of Sally Ride Science) will head an effort to increase private and philanthropic involvement in support of STEM teaching and learning.

At this briefing we heard from representatives of the Carnegie Corporation as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who are providing leadership and financial support for this critical initiative as well as representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. We also had time to brainstorm possible collaborative efforts among all the supporting agencies to ensure that this initiative will have a transformative impact on STEM.

As both an educator and the daughter of a Nobel Prize Laureate in Science (and the first American-trained woman to achieve this honor), the challenge of preparing the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, technologists, and engineers is both personally and professionally important to me. I will continue to follow this issue and keep you apprised as work progresses.

In the meantime, I ask that you help your own children appreciate the wonder of science and inquiry, give them the needed vote of confidence that they can succeed in these areas if they have the will to do so, and find opportunities to expose them to the wonder of scientific discovery from museums, nature walks, star gazing, science camps, gardens, and even the kitchen. 

Science and STEM more broadly can be discovered everywhere, and your children will take their cues about it from you, their parents and their first and most important teachers.

President Obama Recognizes Importance of Science and Math In Education

Just last week, President Obama announced a $250 million funding package new and innovative public-private partnerships with companies, universities, foundations, and government agencies to reward and encourage outstanding educators in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). In addition, the President honored over 100 outstanding mathematics and science educators for excellence in teaching and mentoring. In his remarks, President Obama acknowledged the critical role of educators in shaping the success of the next generation to address critical issues that will shape our future.

“The quality of  math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering and math,” President Obama said. “Passionate educators with issue expertise can make all the difference, enabling hands-on learning that truly engages students—including girls and underrepresented minorities—and preparing them to tackle the grand challenges of the 21st century such as increasing energy independence, improving people’s health, protecting the environment, and strengthening national security.”

There is no doubt that passionate educators play a significant role in promoting a love of science and mathematics in young children. But with all due respect to the President, as parents, our role is even more significant in starting our children off on the road to scientific literacy. A love of science can be nurtured and developed in very young children, capitalizing on their natural curiosity about themselves and the world around them. Basic scientific skills such as observation, prediction, and classification can be promoted by encouraging children to ask questions, describe the world around them, make predictions, and even just spending time outdoors observing nature.

The November 2009 edition of Young Children, the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, focused on ways to promote an interest in science in our youngest learners, whether in school or at home. Supplemental programs for children such as the Science Adventures program that is offered at KinderCare Learning Centers and in partnership with many school districts further develop children’s inquiry skills and their natural interest in the world around them.

As our society wrestles with complex issues such as climate change and national security, we need an informed citizenry who can ensure that we make critical decisions based on facts, not rhetoric. And if we are to continue to lead the world in technology and innovation, we must ensure that our children are prepared to meet this challenge. Recognizing and rewarding outstanding STEM educators is an important step in this process as they partner with you to develop your child’s natural curiosity–the key ingredient to developing the inquiry skills needed to unlock the next generation of young scientists.