Thanks to my new-found twitter glory, I found my way to the white house website [thanks Liz K.!]. I don't think I have visited that site since elementary school, at that was when we had a president that played the saxophone and had a cat named Socks. However, I digress.
I found a blurb on President Obama's official stance on science.
In the past, government funding for scientific research has yielded innovations that have improved the landscape of American life — technologies like the Internet, digital photography, bar codes, Global Positioning System technology, laser surgery, and chemotherapy. At one time, educational competition with the Soviets fostered the creativity that put a man on the moon. Today, we face a new set of challenges, including energy security, HIV/AIDS, and climate change. Yet, the United States is losing its scientific dominance. Among industrialized nations, our country's scores on international science and math tests rank in the bottom third and bottom fifth, respectively. Over the last three decades, federal funding for the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences has declined at a time when other countries are substantially increasing their own research budgets. President Obama and Vice President Biden believe federally funded scientific research should play an important role in advancing science and technology in the classroom and in the lab.This highlights what I believe is just the tip of the iceberg. These are lofty goals: lots of money will be thrown around, and that is great, but there is still one problem. I was reading "The Fischbowl" [a high school staff development blog that can be found here] and it was alluded to below.
...It reminds me of when I was a math teacher. In about 80% of the parent conferences I had with students who were struggling, at least one of the parents would say "I was never any good at math either." While I don't doubt the truth of the statement, it was the fact that they said it and almost seemed proud of it that bothered me (and of course the message it sent to their student). I can't imagine a parent saying "Oh, yeah, I never learned how to read" and being proud of it. It seemed like there was a different standard for math - not knowing math was socially acceptable, not knowing how to read was very unacceptable.The bottom line is this: how did this culture of... apathy?... come to be? How did math/science illiteracy become acceptable? Didn't anyone else play in the dirt and wondered what made it...well, dirt? Or wondered why a color was indeed that particular color? Or how are we able to continually provide new technologies to the masses [e.g., why the new macs have super awesome battery lives. hint: it's not just because battery technology got better]? Maybe it is a lack of ownership- a disconnect between one's perceived ability to contribute to society and one's actual potential?
Please don't get me wrong; I am not picking on people who really do struggle with math and science. Not do I think we should all be scientists and mathematicians and engineers. However, it troubles me that about 90% of people [with the exception of my fellow colleagues in the MAC program] I tell of my professional aspirations to be a high school chemistry teacher the reaction is a combination of: "really?" or "Chemistry was my worst subject." or "I never liked chemistry."
For those of you who are thinking, "Tracy, if you feel so passionately about this, why don't you do it yourself?". My response: I don't think enough people know what they are truly capable of, nor what opportunities really are out there. And that's one [of more than one] reason I'm pursuing a teaching career that reaches students before they reach college.
I would love to hear what you think about this.
-t
Tracy-
ReplyDeleteThanks for that post! It was really interesting to read, we science teachers have got to stick together! What I found especially interesting is the comparison of being reading illiterate to math/science illiterate... It's so sad to me that people will pull out their cell phone to make simple calculations in the grocery store - aren't these skills just as important for managing a successful life?
I also think that I share a similar view on why I want to to teach Biology. While research in scientific fields are becoming increasingly important, I think that introducing these topics to students so that they know its an option that they might excel in is also extremely important!
Tracy, I really appreciated reading your thoughts on this subject. I think we all grieve when students or former students reveal their struggles or apathy with our beloved discipline! I see this in social studies too. But I agree that there is a pervasive acceptance of mediocrity and detachment when it comes to math and science. I think I was one of the people that commended you for going into the field because I struggled so much with chemistry in high school! As a society, we have to expect more from our students and from ourselves! I pride myself on tallying up my scrabble scores rather than using my cell phone calculator and my husband and I use Brain Age to keep those math skills sharp!
ReplyDeleteway to go Stella! You keep sharpening your math skills! :)
ReplyDeleteTracy, I too appreciate your thoughts on this challenging subject. I think that is part the reason I want to be a math teacher. I want to get other people to enjoy math and, as you said, realize that it is something they can do. One way I think we can do this (and maybe this pertains more to math than chemistry) is to use it in real world applications outside of the classroom (or in the classroom if it's not possible to go out). I think people don't realize just how much they use math and science and therefore think it's not a big deal if they can't use them. I also think that the issue of reading literacy is so prevalent that it overshadows math and science literacy. I am interested to see how we can bring this issue to the forefront of our schools and districts to try to solve this problem.
ReplyDeleteWow... this blog is hitting on some great points. I too have experienced the look of shock when I said that I was going to teach science and that Chemistry is one of my favorite science topics. I once had a girl, who is 17, tell me to teach biology and not chemistry because I would be liked better if I didn't teach chemistry. I think this stigma is horrible and we need to show kids that they do like chemistry... they just might not know it yet =).
ReplyDeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteI'm an English major, but I loved chemistry in high school. I had a great teacher, which probably made all the difference.
cha-ching...
my two cents. :)