Electrical Engineering - Call Bush to Action on Science, Math, and Engineering Education

Author

Call Bush to Action on Science, Math, and Engineering Education

ckurasek@gmail.com

2005-08-05, 1:21 am

Below is the text of a petition urging President Bush and our national
leaders to call upon the nation to embark upon a modern-day 'Manhattan
Project' in scientific education and research to protect and extend
America's position of global leadership in technology and science; a
position that becomes more fragile and tenuous every passing day that
we continue to let our public schools lag behind the rest of the
industrial world, and increasingly Asian nations, in the sciences.

Would you be willing to sign this petition and pass it along to your
fellow scientists, mathematicians, and engineers? You can sign an
electronic copy of the petition and see who else has signed it at:

http://www.CallBushToAction.com

The petition will be delivered to President Bush and your respective
Congressmen on September 1, 2005.

The text of the petition is as follows:
America's Engineering, Mathematics, and Scientific Communities: A
Petition Urging President Bush to Call America to Action in a
Modern-Day 'Manhattan Project' for Scientific education and Research

Whereas historically, the most powerful weapons the West has fielded in
defeating threats to liberty are education and research, specifically
in math, science, and engineering; from the intelligence and technology
that sank the axis powers in WWII, winning the Cold War, to the
stabilizing technology-enabled Western presence today, the champions of
liberty have always relied upon having the most educated and innovative
scientific minds;

Whereas Western technology has created a modern global political
economy in which geography and other traditional Western defenses are
increasingly irrelevant;

Whereas the United States has been the primary engine for scientific
progress throughout the 20th century, whether directly or indirectly
through stimulated competition;

Whereas the current trajectory for US education and scientific research
makes the West's position of prominence in science and technology
unsustainable, as well as the service economies based upon scientific
innovation;

Whereas the United States, and indeed the entire Western world, is
facing a dynamic world of unprecedented threats, change, and challenge;

Whereas we believe the American people are capable of overcoming and
achieving any challenge when called upon, whether it be defeating
fascism and communism, or being the first to walk on the Moon;

Whereas the nations of East Asia have long since embraced their own
call to action and are undertaking their own Cold War-esque 'arms race'
in scientific education and research and are now poised to unseat the
stability and prosperity of the West;

Whereas we believe it is reckless and irresponsible to continue
ignoring this challenge when American leadership, spirit, and ingenuity
are so desperately needed by the West;

Whereas your challenge to reach Mars is in the right spirit, but rings
hollow, irrelevant, and fails to capture the American imagination since
it lacks the competitive element of the Kennedy challenge you sought to
invoke;

Whereas we believe with the downfall of the Soviet Union, we need a
leader to focus and tap into the American drive by first acknowledging
and defining this new competitive environment and secondly, calling on
American's to rise to the challenge through action and sacrifice;

We, the undersigned members of America's engineering, mathematics, and
scientific communities, hereby call upon you, President Bush, to
reaffirm our government's commitment to research and summon Americans
to this momentous challenge to tackle head-on the threats facing our
next generation by embarking upon a modern 'Manhattan Project' aimed at
maintaining and extending our position of leadership in science, math,
and engineering education and research, our sole sources of competitive
advantage in an increasingly competitive and dangerous world.

SQLit

2005-08-05, 12:21 pm

<ckurasek@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1123212093.255266.60770@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Below is the text of a petition urging President Bush and our national
> leaders to call upon the nation to embark upon a modern-day 'Manhattan
> Project' in scientific education and research to protect and extend
> America's position of global leadership in technology and science; a
> position that becomes more fragile and tenuous every passing day that
> we continue to let our public schools lag behind the rest of the
> industrial world, and increasingly Asian nations, in the sciences.
>
> Would you be willing to sign this petition and pass it along to your
> fellow scientists, mathematicians, and engineers? You can sign an
> electronic copy of the petition and see who else has signed it at:
>
> http://www.CallBushToAction.com
>
> The petition will be delivered to President Bush and your respective
> Congressmen on September 1, 2005.
>
> The text of the petition is as follows:
> America's Engineering, Mathematics, and Scientific Communities: A
> Petition Urging President Bush to Call America to Action in a
> Modern-Day 'Manhattan Project' for Scientific education and Research
>
> Whereas historically, the most powerful weapons the West has fielded in
> defeating threats to liberty are education and research, specifically
> in math, science, and engineering; from the intelligence and technology
> that sank the axis powers in WWII, winning the Cold War, to the
> stabilizing technology-enabled Western presence today, the champions of
> liberty have always relied upon having the most educated and innovative
> scientific minds;
>
> Whereas Western technology has created a modern global political
> economy in which geography and other traditional Western defenses are
> increasingly irrelevant;
>
> Whereas the United States has been the primary engine for scientific
> progress throughout the 20th century, whether directly or indirectly
> through stimulated competition;
>
> Whereas the current trajectory for US education and scientific research
> makes the West's position of prominence in science and technology
> unsustainable, as well as the service economies based upon scientific
> innovation;
>
> Whereas the United States, and indeed the entire Western world, is
> facing a dynamic world of unprecedented threats, change, and challenge;
>
> Whereas we believe the American people are capable of overcoming and
> achieving any challenge when called upon, whether it be defeating
> fascism and communism, or being the first to walk on the Moon;
>
> Whereas the nations of East Asia have long since embraced their own
> call to action and are undertaking their own Cold War-esque 'arms race'
> in scientific education and research and are now poised to unseat the
> stability and prosperity of the West;
>
> Whereas we believe it is reckless and irresponsible to continue
> ignoring this challenge when American leadership, spirit, and ingenuity
> are so desperately needed by the West;
>
> Whereas your challenge to reach Mars is in the right spirit, but rings
> hollow, irrelevant, and fails to capture the American imagination since
> it lacks the competitive element of the Kennedy challenge you sought to
> invoke;
>
> Whereas we believe with the downfall of the Soviet Union, we need a
> leader to focus and tap into the American drive by first acknowledging
> and defining this new competitive environment and secondly, calling on
> American's to rise to the challenge through action and sacrifice;
>
> We, the undersigned members of America's engineering, mathematics, and
> scientific communities, hereby call upon you, President Bush, to
> reaffirm our government's commitment to research and summon Americans
> to this momentous challenge to tackle head-on the threats facing our
> next generation by embarking upon a modern 'Manhattan Project' aimed at
> maintaining and extending our position of leadership in science, math,
> and engineering education and research, our sole sources of competitive
> advantage in an increasingly competitive and dangerous world.

From what I have seen at in places called Los Alamos, Sandia Labs, and
Livermore labs this is already being done. Remember the quiet company?

ckurasek@gmail.com

2005-08-05, 4:21 pm

If this is already being done, it's being done poorly and very quitely.
US primary education lags behind virtually the entire industrialized
world, we graduate a tiny fraction of the scientists and engineers that
China and India do, the policies of our government are causing a
'brain' exodus to countries with more conducive policies towards
research, especially in biomed research, etc.

SQLit wrote:
>
> From what I have seen at in places called Los Alamos, Sandia Labs, and
> Livermore labs this is already being done. Remember the quiet company?

mike

2005-08-08, 1:21 am

ckurasek@gmail.com wrote:
> If this is already being done, it's being done poorly and very quitely.
> US primary education lags behind virtually the entire industrialized
> world, we graduate a tiny fraction of the scientists and engineers that
> China and India do, the policies of our government are causing a
> 'brain' exodus to countries with more conducive policies towards
> research, especially in biomed research, etc.
>
>
> SQLit wrote:
>
>
>

An interesting research paper was done by Renford Reese... He is a
professor at a small university in Northern California. For a time he
spent a couple of years at WWU (Western Washington University) in
Bellingham WA. Being very close to the US Canada border, I had the
pleasure of meeting with him here in Vancouver.

Renford had devised a simple 250 question test that he gave to his
Sophomore students (I think sophomore is the equivalent to 2nd year
university here in Canada). He graded 200 students with the same test.
After the grading it was discovered that the average mark was 75%
correct. And as a result he and many of his students took a few drinks
at the local tavern to celebrate.

Renford then came up to Canada in the Vancouver area and found another
group of 200 students to take the exact same test.... Lo and behold!!
They scored 80% correct. Now Renford was aware that many Canadians
boasted of the higher levels of education Canadians were thought to have
over the Americans students.... Whats this? Only a negligible 5% more?
Haaa...

However rather than give this class a celebration time at the tavern
after the tests, it was held in the school gymnasium. As the class was
unable to attend the tavern to celebrate...

After all a GRADE 8 student is only 13 years old!!!

petersonra@aol.com

2005-08-16, 7:21 pm

I suspect you could find US schools where this would be the case as
well.

I do beleive that the US public education system is a disaster. Its
not for lack of money. We spend a lot more than is necessary to
actually educate children.

But much of it is siphoned off into administration and other
non-academic things (like sports, art, music, etc) that are popular but
of dubious educational value.

phil-news-nospam@ipal.net

2005-08-16, 8:21 pm

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On 16 Aug 2005 14:25:32 -0700 petersonra@aol.com wrote:

| I suspect you could find US schools where this would be the case as
| well.
|
| I do beleive that the US public education system is a disaster. Its
| not for lack of money. We spend a lot more than is necessary to
| actually educate children.
|
| But much of it is siphoned off into administration and other
| non-academic things (like sports, art, music, etc) that are popular but
| of dubious educational value.

You forgot to include lawyers in that list.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Phil Howard KA9WGN | http://linuxhomepage.com/ http://ham.org/ |
| (first name) at ipal.net | http://phil.ipal.org/ http://ka9wgn.ham.org/ |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael A. Terrell

2005-08-19, 2:21 am

John Gilmer wrote:
>
> That's part of it.
>
> Another part is that the system keeps kids in the system who could easily
> handle college work (on the one extreme) or just don't want to be there in
> the first place (on the other extreme). Some kids would easily do college
> work and don't want to be in HS>
>
> In my system the school administration has a very strong adversion to
> "skipping" kids who test well in elementary school. Yet, the system would
> save about $8000 per kid is let's bypass a grade.

No, they would lose most of that $8000 in state and federal money.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

John Gilmer

2005-08-19, 10:21 am

>
> No, they would lose most of that $8000 in state and federal money.

Actually, they would lose about $5000 in state and federal money.

But your point is accepted: there is a lot of payment by "3rd parties"
which tends to cause the local schools to push services that aren't really
needed.

>

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