Science Cheerleader

Bart, from Huntsville, AL, posted a comment to this article where I asked what you think the federal government should do to prepare K-12 students for the science and technology driven 21st Century? (One of seven questions recently presented to Congress by a consortium of science organizations.)      

He suggested the use of space exploration as a means to spark excitement in science teachers and the students they teach. He even included some examples.

Sonia, of Philadelphia, PA, wrote in with this:

“While our government is busy slashing [art, music, and horticulture] programs, our youth (aka future) suffer indoor boredom, while sitting unnaturally still and passively ‘learning’ abstract concepts that seem to have no relevance to their lives. And it shows in both their test scores and Ritalin prescriptions. So my suggestion is this: there is so much to be learned through the arts. Why not focus on music, art and gardening as seedling programs for our youth? Anyone who sticks with them long enough will gain so much with regards to math and science…”

As I mentioned here on Wednesday, decision-makers are listening to you.

Here’s a response to Sonia’s question from Susan Mason at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF is an independent federal agency with an annual budget of about $6.06 billion–the source of funding for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. (more…)

In Friday’s post, I asked readers this: What do you think the federal government should do to prepare K-12 students for the science and technology driven 21st Century? (One of seven questions recently presented to Congress by a consortium of science organizations.)

Predictably, you/the readers, replied with some terrific suggestions. Fact is, your comments are often better than my posts. As it should be. I’m just here to rally the troops and serve as a conduit between the public, government and science. Nothing will change without your reactions.

So, scan the comments, reply with your thoughts, and keep the conversations going. Never know who is reading them. Case in point: my last article prompted famed Professor Marvin Minsky–aka the Father of Artificial Intelligence and co-founder of MIT’s Media Lab–to post a comment. Earlier, David Brin–science fiction writer and author of The Postman–weighed in with some thoughts.

We’re all on an even playing field here. Your comments are as valuable as Minsky’s and Brin’s. They want to hear from you. So does Randy Atkins at the National Academy of Engineering. And Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (I’ll post my recent interview with Alan, soon).

In the words of Bart, a Science Cheerleader subscriber, “if this site gets a conversation started on what sort of future we want and what is needed to get us there, more power to you!”

Pop quiz. Of 30 wealthy nations, where do our 15-year-olds rank in average science scores?

a) 1st
b) 8th
c) 13th
d)17th

How about in math scores?
a) 1st
b)10th
c)16th
d) 24th

If you guessed “d” both times, you’re right. 

Assuming this pattern carries across to other age groups, and not just 15-year-olds, what do you think the federal government should do to prepare K-12 students for the science and technology driven 21st Century? Currently, most education issues are handled by state and local policy makers. The Feds take a hands-off approach. Clearly, this approach isn’t working.

So, what do you think the President and Congress should do to fix the current state of affairs? I’d like to hear your thoughts.  

I’d also like to hear how my Congressional candidates would reply to that and six other questions a team of science organizations just announced. And they’ve made it really easy for me, and you, to do so.

In the words of the ScienceDebate 2008 team (which now includes me as their director of public engagement): (more…)

If you’re anything like millions of other adult Americans, you were of legal drinking age before you learned that all engineers do not work on trains.

Engineers are the source of technology. They take scientists’ basic (and critical) research and they figure out ways to apply that research. The common terms used to describe these two actions are “Basic Research” and “Applied Technology.” Each needs the other.

Society gives lots of credit to scientists but we often neglect the engineers. (Until recently, it should be noted, science and engineers neglected us, our input, our opinions.) In the spirit of teamwork–in my crusade to kick-start dialogue between scientists, engineers, and citizens–I reached out to a friend, Randy Atkins. Randy is the Senior Program Officer for Media and Public Relations at the National Academy of Engineering. He filled me in on some terrific public outreach programs his group is creating.

Here’s one I’d like to highlight today. More will follow.

The other day I reported here on a reader’s idea to consider science fiction as a serious source of science information. Even posted a challenge:  free Science Cheerleader t-shirt to the first person who reads a science fiction book and reports back here what (if any) “real science” was learned. (Publisher Brian Hades saw that post and wrote to say he’d be “delighted” to add two books to the prize package: JEMMA7729 andTime Machines Repaired While-U-Wait. Thanks, Brian!):

Well folks, David Brin, winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula Awards for bestselling science fiction novels, wrote this terrific reaction to the post (thank you, David!). If you are a teacher, student or someone else interested in finding new ways to increase science literacy, I think you will find this very useful:

 

 

(more…)

Tired of watching the know-it-all, walking encyclopedia get all the attention at cocktail parties and neighborhood BBQs? Here’s your chance to steal the spotlight (if only for 2.5 minutes). Try one of these trivia questions on for size and let me know how it goes. (This is part of our ongoing Social Network Science experiment.)

Women: Why does organic milk have a longer expiration date than regular milk? See Scientific American’s simple but comprehensive answer here.  

Men: Does jet lag cause Major League Baseball teams to lose games? See what Scientific American has to say here.  

Yesterday, like thousands of other people, I returned home from Washington, D.C. wrapped in the comfort of an Amtrak train.

Somewhere close to Baltimore, MD, the conductor announced, “Due to the excessive heat, we will be 15 minutes delayed at every stop.”  

I couldn’t help notice the confused, annoyed expressions on the faces of my fellow commuters. “What the [beep] does the heat have to do with the train?” I overhead one ask. I had to refrain from quipping, “I heard the trains unionized recently.  Now they’re authorized to take a 15-minute nap for every hour of working in excessive heat.”  I had the good sense to realize that comment would flop (as it just did).

I also realized this: Had the conductor elaborated on the reasons for the heat-related delays, the passengers would have learned a bit about science, politics and the benefits of being an informed citizen. May I elaborate? Dream a bit? (more…)

Kym Murphy, a retired Sr. VP at Disney, recently posted an interesting suggestion in reply to the post: Benefits and Challenges of Engaging the Public:

“Many years ago I read an exciting fictional novel about World War II. It was riveting, heart wrenching, sexy and full of accurate information regarding this important historical chapter that has stuck with me to this day.

Then came, “Pillars of Earth”, Di Vince Code”, etc., etc. All works of fiction but amazingly thought provoking and educational. I refer to reading novels such as these as, “inadvertant learning.” 

I bring this up, because I believe this form of learning (stimulation) is rarely used by our country’s science teachers/professors. I’m sure there are those who would scoff at this approach, but what better way to learn than through enjoyable experiences!”

Thank you, Kym. Hey, no need to concern ourselves with scoffy educators*. The majority of the visitors to this site have completed school (I have absolutely no data to back that up) so we can think aloud here as independent, free-thinking adults. Shake off Sister Mary’s elements chart and say tootles to Mr. Zapparo’s pickled pig-in-a-jar.   We’re starting over. Learning science from scratch. Social Network Science we’ll call it. For now. Until I’m sued for some copyright infringement. 

I say we give your idea of learning science through science fiction stories a shot and raise the stakes a bit by posing a challenge. A free Science Cheerleader t-shirt to the first size-medium person who reads at least one science fiction book and reports back here what (if any) “real science” was learned.

To get you started, here’s a list of top science fiction books, compiled by Business Week.

*Note to NEA attorney: We are fortunate to count among our visitors intelligent, innovative and non-scoffy science educators.

Cheers!

Go ahead. Let it go. Unload the memories of telling your mom: “Why do I have to study this stuff? I’m never going to use it!”  Forget the dated science textbooks with the tea-stained pages and that huge, impossible-to-memorize elements chart Mr. Priestly showcased at the front of the room.  

It’s time to start with a clean slate.  Let’s begin here, on this page, together.

Science is something every single person deserves to experience in its most fascinating forms. Unfortunately, it often becomes entangled in politics, trapped in the net our complicated education “system,” or dissed entirely by the media (our conduit to world events).

As a first step on our journey of reintroducing ourselves to science, I am providing two excellent essays from authors who are far more articulate than I am. (Don’t worry, they are short articles.)

This one appeared last week in The New York Times. It’s written by Brian Greene, founder of the World Science Festival. It is a terrific reminder of what science meant to us, as young children–before we started school–and what it should mean to us today, as adult citizens. So logical, so simple and so very hopeful.

This article digs a bit deeper. It appears in the current issue of Liberal Education (don’t let those words scare you off). The author, James Trefil, provides a concise, critical review of how science is wrongly taught in schools and he suggests a better way forward. Note his emphasis on people like us–citizens who could be more engaged in science policy discussions but aren’t, in part because they/we lack a basic foundation of a few science facts.  I am planning to interview Trefil so we can figure out what it is we, as adult citizens, need to learn, but didn’t learn in school.  And how this new-found grasp of basic science can enrich our lives.