Educators, biz leaders push better science education

I would not argue too much with this. The need for a strong foundation in the sciences is certainly something that needs to be addressed, but I have another little something. Funding for schools. I understand that no one wants taxes raised (myself included), but it sure would be cool to be able to give our kids a better education. After all, we are lagging bigger than life when compared to the rest of the world.

The U.S. needs to use tax money to give college scholarships, and to provide more interesting math and science classes in high schools, to avoid losing its leadership position in the technology industry, a group of educators and business leaders said Thursday.

Witnesses at a congressional hearing on competitiveness in math and science offered a number of recommendations to lawmakers, including full scholarships for high-achieving math, science and engineering students. The U.S. needs to respond now just as it did in the late 1950s, when Congress passed a broad-ranging education initiative after the Soviet Union launched the first space satellite, said Thomas Magnanti, dean of the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Technology groups, including TechNet and the Semiconductor Industry Association, have made education reform a top legislative priority this year. In April, Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles) Corp. Chairman Bill Gates blamed the U.S. kindergarten through 12th-grade education system for the lagging number of math and science students in U.S. colleges. India and China each graduate three times the number of engineering students per year than the U.S. does, Magnanti said. [Read the rest]