- #31
Bobbywhy
Gold Member
- 1,732
- 52
"will this transformation cause an intellectual collapse in the nation?"
SixNein, You raise important issues about the quality of the education our students are getting. My first impression is that your characterization of the problem as a potential “intellectual collapse” is not an exaggeration. Our USA students are lagging behind many other countries in proficiency:
“Fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 25th among peers from 34 countries on a math test and scored in the middle in science and reading, while China’s Shanghai topped the charts, raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/teens-in-u-s-rank-25th-on-math-test-trail-in-science-reading.html
At the national level:
“About a third of eighth-graders who took a national science exam in 2011 were proficient, according to results released Thursday, a statistic called "unacceptable" by a teachers association leader.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...cational-progress-science-test_n_1504537.html
And this, dated 11 August 2012:
“In recently released rankings of how states' primary education systems are preparing students for careers in engineering, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey top the list. Mississippi trails as the worst in the country, following West Virginia and Louisiana.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/state-education-rankings-_n_894528.html
The comment from the first source above, “raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy” is especially worrisome to me. How can the United States of America expect to compete in this “globalized” economic system when its students are not adequately prepared in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? My answer is: The US cannot expect to be a successful international competitor if it continues to graduate unprepared and uneducated citizens.
If I wanted to hire folks for my company I would direct my Human Resources Manager to use that map in the last source above, showing individual state rankings. I would not hire youngsters educated in those “below average” and “far below average” states and conversely, and would give preference to students educated in those states that excelled. This is simply because I want the best educated employees at my firm. Who would want to hire an ignoramus? It is a sad commentary that here in the USA some religious groups prefer to educate their children based on Iron Age myths and fantastic stories of miracles. This not only threatens our country’s competitive chances internationally, but is grossly unfair for those students left ignorant and in the dark. In my opinion, it borders on criminal neglect.
SixNein, You raise important issues about the quality of the education our students are getting. My first impression is that your characterization of the problem as a potential “intellectual collapse” is not an exaggeration. Our USA students are lagging behind many other countries in proficiency:
“Fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 25th among peers from 34 countries on a math test and scored in the middle in science and reading, while China’s Shanghai topped the charts, raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/teens-in-u-s-rank-25th-on-math-test-trail-in-science-reading.html
At the national level:
“About a third of eighth-graders who took a national science exam in 2011 were proficient, according to results released Thursday, a statistic called "unacceptable" by a teachers association leader.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...cational-progress-science-test_n_1504537.html
And this, dated 11 August 2012:
“In recently released rankings of how states' primary education systems are preparing students for careers in engineering, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey top the list. Mississippi trails as the worst in the country, following West Virginia and Louisiana.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/state-education-rankings-_n_894528.html
The comment from the first source above, “raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy” is especially worrisome to me. How can the United States of America expect to compete in this “globalized” economic system when its students are not adequately prepared in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? My answer is: The US cannot expect to be a successful international competitor if it continues to graduate unprepared and uneducated citizens.
If I wanted to hire folks for my company I would direct my Human Resources Manager to use that map in the last source above, showing individual state rankings. I would not hire youngsters educated in those “below average” and “far below average” states and conversely, and would give preference to students educated in those states that excelled. This is simply because I want the best educated employees at my firm. Who would want to hire an ignoramus? It is a sad commentary that here in the USA some religious groups prefer to educate their children based on Iron Age myths and fantastic stories of miracles. This not only threatens our country’s competitive chances internationally, but is grossly unfair for those students left ignorant and in the dark. In my opinion, it borders on criminal neglect.
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