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Date: | Tue, 30 Oct 2007 06:53:34 -0400 |
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ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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In today's NY Times in an article about inquiry based hands on
science learning going on in some gifted and talented programs, the
following quotation:
Many people wring their hands over the state of science education and
point to the appalling performance of America’s students in
international science and math competitions. Yet some of the direst
noises about our nation’s scientific prospects may be premature. Far
from rejecting challenging science courses, students seem to be
embracing them.
This year, for example, the American Institute of Physics said that
the percentage of high school students taking physics courses was at
an all-time high, and that the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded
in the subject had climbed by 31 percent since 2000. Moreover, there
are a growing number of “magnet” or “gifted and talented” programs in
secondary schools that emphasize science and math. While quality
varies widely, and some observers worry that the tiny, competitive
programs consume an outsized portion of a school’s budget, a visit to
Ms. Cascio’s class and her students, who are not only gifted,
talented and magnetic but hardworking, too, is almost enough to make
you wish you were back in high school.
========
I posted another article over the weekend which dealt extensively and
thought provokingly with the supposed gap in science learning between
the US and others <http://www.urban.org/publications/1001094.html>
So, has the tide been turning while we are making last decade's
argument? I remember the proliferation of computers and connectivity
that vastly narrowed the "digital divide" as it was being called at
the time forced us to rethink our programs. This is the NY Times
article (free registration required)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/science/30angi.html?th&emc=th>
Eric Siegel
Director and
Chief Content Officer
New York Hall of Science
www.nyscience.org
(718) 699-0005 x 317
esiegel at nyscience dot org
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