STEM education gets some attention from Jobs Council
National competitiveness through STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) got some attention this week from the the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which released a new report entitled Road Map to Renewal, laying out a set of recommendations to improve US competitiveness over the long term.
At the top of that six bullet list is:
Invest in our future by ensuring Americans have the right education and skills to realize their full potential and drive our nation’s economic success. This chapter calls for a transformation of our education system from preschool through K-12, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, as well as ensuring that our higher education and professional training programs are better aligned to meet student needs.
We’ve heard this before from the Jobs Council, which is made up of 27 leaders from business, labor, and academia including Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. And it’s been a message straight from the President’s mouth (take this speech he made while visiting Cree in North Carolina, for example).
The message is great. It’s recognition of what STEM can do and does do for the US in terms of not only competiveness, but education, life skills, and national employment. But it’s time for more action. The Road Map to Renewal is, as titled, just a road map. Let’s get behind the wheel and let’s not wait for the government to gas up the car with its education reform (who knows when that will actually take shape, especially in an election year).
In a recent post to EDN’s Voice of the Engineer blog, we note that National Engineers Week is just around the corner. The week, this year February 19-25, celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and acts as a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. In the blog post, we ask: What can each of us do each day to help inspire more interest in STEM?
There are a million simple ways to inspire a passion. As engineers, as members of the electronics community — not as politicians with bureaucracy and agendas weighing us down — what can we each do?
What do you think? Share your answer to that question or your thoughts on the Roadmap to Renewal below.
Margaret commented:
There is a magcial time in the city that most bikers miss and that time is 5 AMThe world is asleep the city streets are your playground and its quiet so very quiet.Have I mentioned watching the sun rise from Grandville island yet?Slap a dozen lights on your ride chart a course for your fav all night coffee shop and greet the day with a grin.
been there commented:
My group includes people with advanced degrees in computer science, math and engineering. After beeing bought by a larger company, my group was reduced to 1/3 its original size with replacements hired in Asia. Any job that can be done and communicate via the internet is exposed to being outsourced. It is disengenuous for politicians to say we can't employ people because they don't have the right skills. I know first hand that companies lay off people with the right skills and replace them with cheaper employees because they can do it without any repercusions. My parent company when asked why they are doing this explained that our competitors are doing it, so we have to respond to stay competitive. I am one who believes STEM education is good, but it won't by itself prevent the loss of jobs in this country. We need companies to in additional have an incentive to hold on to U.S. employees and a disincentive for sending jobs overseas.
