Why are we falling so far behind in science?

SSgt Alex Robinson
Long article, but worth the read if you are an educator or instructor, as I am.
Note the article has bold type on this:
"Because social class inequality is greater in the United States than in any of the countries with which we can reasonably be compared, the relative performance of U.S. adolescents is better than it appears when countries’ national average performance is conventionally compared."

http://www.epi.org/publication/us-student-performance-testing/

My personal opinion is that some science is made up poppycock that kids can't rationale and therefore have difficulties remembering. My second opinion is the horrible science teachers, which is mostly based on my personal experience with hours pouring over chemistry books, study guides, and practice homework/examples just to be baffled by the completely unfamiliar material on the exam.

We have a political subculture that scoffs at scientific inquiry that doesn't speak well of their political/religious ideology; and a President/Administration that almost literally has no idea what it is doing. The people who celebrate this ignorance seem to think that, somehow, the US will still advance in these fields by raw virtue of ideology.

Going to be a rude awakening in a generation.

We don't have the hunger to do our best academically.

I think I mentioned this in another thread, I have a physics degree from UCSB, which always seems to be in the top ten in science. One class I had in classical mechanics had about 24-26 bodies. Only SIX of us were Americans. Kids aren't being raised to like science, in fact sometimes kids get beat up for being a geek. They want to act, sing, or be famous. Science even paying 70k, but nobody cares. Think about all the jobs we have that are filled by foreigners.

I would have to saw we lost our focus. Many schools teach that to be successful you have to be able to regurgitate from a textbook. They do not teach what to do when you do not have the answer... Or how to see if the answer is correct. It teaches that the only kind of intelligence that matters is the testing kind. This is because for a long time the only way to check progress it to have a test. Many parents would be upset if we gave them all tablets with data mining software on it but that would be the best option for a change. By the time they get out in to the "real world" they are primed to take a test. Most do not realize that they are being graded by their actions. Only now are we realizing that we now have better options to learn. Khan academy being a great example."We" also do not vector people in to jobs. If we were to set up a voluntary program to measure someones abilities and give a choice of job options that they are most qualified for bast on the abilities they have we might be able to fill some of the high skill required jobs that many do not even know exist. If you know that a job requires this certification you can aim for it. data mining could give our youth a big boost and a general sense of direction to see what awaits them. Even with so many education options many in the military end up waiting on there own education until after they complete their upgrade training. Unless they are doing school to change carriers or OTS I have not seen many do school until they require it.

VIDEO GAMES

Babysteps but sounds like some progress is being made.

No. Scratch that, HELL No!