{"id":700,"date":"2008-08-31T14:50:18","date_gmt":"2008-08-31T18:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=700"},"modified":"2008-09-28T21:53:32","modified_gmt":"2008-09-29T01:53:32","slug":"science-on-the-national-political-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=700","title":{"rendered":"Science on the national political stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just some brief notes about science in the presidential campaign here. Barack Obama responded to 14 science-related questions posed by ScienceDebate 2008<\/a>. Question 4 is about science education. Here is his response:<\/p>\n

4. Education.\u00c2\u00a0 A comparison of 15-year-olds in 30 wealthy nations found that average science scores among U.S. students ranked 17th, while average U.S. math scores ranked 24th.\u00c2\u00a0 What role do you think the federal government should play in preparing K-12 students for the science and technology driven 21st Century?<\/strong><\/p>\n

All American citizens need high quality STEM education that inspires them to know more about the world around them, engages them in exploring challenging questions, and involves them in high quality intellectual work. STEM education is no longer only for those pursuing STEM careers; it should enable all citizens to solve problems, collaborate, weigh evidence, and communicate ideas. I will work to ensure that all Americans, including those in traditionally underrepresented groups, have the knowledge and skills they need to engage in society, innovate in our world, and compete in the global economy.<\/p>\n

I will support research to understand the strategies and mechanisms that bring lasting improvements to STEM education and ensure that promising practices are widely shared. This includes encouraging the development of cutting edge STEM instructional materials and technologies, and working with educators to ensure that assessments measure the range of knowledge and skills needed for the 21st Century. I will bring coherency to STEM education by increasing coordination of federal STEM education programs and facilitating cooperation among state efforts. I recently introduced the “Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education Act of 2008” that would establish a STEM Education Committee within the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to coordinate the efforts of federal agencies engaged in STEM education, consolidate the STEM education initiatives that exist within the Department of Education under the direction of an Office of STEM Education, and create a State Consortium for STEM Education. These reforms will strengthen interagency coordination at the federal level, encourage collaboration on common content standards and assessments for STEM education at the state and local levels, and provide a mechanism for sharing the latest innovations and practices in STEM education with educators. I also recently sponsored an amendment, which became law, to the America Competes Act that established a competitive state grant program to support summer learning opportunities with curricula that emphasize mathematics and problem solving.<\/p>\n

My education plan is built on the recognition that teachers play a critical role in student learning and achievement. My administration will work closely with states and local communities to ensure that we recruit math and science graduates to the teaching profession. Through Teacher Service Scholarships, a Teacher Residency Program, and Career Ladders, I will transform the teaching profession from one that has too many underpaid and insufficiently qualified teachers to one that attracts the best STEM teaching talent for our schools.<\/p>\n

We cannot strengthen STEM education without addressing the broader challenges of improving American education and other priority issues. In addition to a focus on high quality teachers, my comprehensive plan addresses the needs of our most at-risk children, focuses on strong school leaders, and enlists parent and community support. My proposals for a comprehensive \u00e2\u20ac\u0153zero to five\u00e2\u20ac\u009d program will ensure that children enter school ready to learn. And when they finish school, I will make sure that through the new $4,000 American Opportunity Tax Credit, they will have access to affordable higher education that will provide them with the science fluency they need to be leaders in STEM fields and across broad sectors of our society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

John McCain has yet to provide his answers. However, his selection of running mate has raised some serious concerns when it comes to science education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The volatile issue of teaching creation science in public schools popped up in the Alaska governor’s race this week when Republican Sarah Palin said she thinks creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the state’s public classrooms.<\/p>\n

Palin was answering a question from the moderator near the conclusion of Wednesday night’s televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 when she said, ‘Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just some brief notes about science in the presidential campaign here. Barack Obama responded to 14 science-related questions posed by ScienceDebate 2008. Question 4 is about science education. Here is his response: 4. Education.\u00c2\u00a0 A comparison of 15-year-olds in 30 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[18],"tags":[30],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-bi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":715,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=715","url_meta":{"origin":700,"position":0},"title":"Science on the national political stage, part II","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"September 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I had posted here a little while ago that presidential candidate Barack Obama had responded to science-focused questions posed by ScienceDebate 2008. In that earlier post I had included his answer to question 4 (science education question) in full. So, here is presidential candidate John McCain's answer to that same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election season '08"","block_context":{"text":"Election season '08","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2016,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2016","url_meta":{"origin":700,"position":1},"title":"What’s being done?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"There's a disconnect somewhere. As I've monitored the ups and downs of science education over the past several years, I've seen quite a few programs meant to capture students' interest in pursuing science as a career. Here's a recent example: Girls Who Code Launches In Miami, Tries To Close STEM\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1682,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1682","url_meta":{"origin":700,"position":2},"title":"Sigh, more crappy news about Florida science ed","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"September 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There has been a recent release of a state-by-state analysis of the \"K-12 STEM learning enterprise.\" It's the STEM Vital Signs report in which several questions are answered about each state. Sample questions are \"can the state meet the demand for STEM skills,\" \"are students exposed to challenging and engaging\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1682#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3486,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3486","url_meta":{"origin":700,"position":3},"title":"A decade later and science education is still not important to Florida’s leaders","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"July 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday was the big day! The results for the annual statewide education assessments were released. A press release from Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran's office celebrated score increases in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and Biology. He praised \"awe-inspiring\" teachers and he highlighted a new law that pushed all\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1130,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1130","url_meta":{"origin":700,"position":4},"title":"Senate report on STEM education","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"October 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"An interim report was completed by the Florida Senate Committee on Education Pre-K \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 12 \u00c2\u00a0(pdf document)recently. Its purpose is to examine math and science education in our state. As reflected in the report, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is a major concern. Our own state exams (FCATs)\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1130#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":777,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=777","url_meta":{"origin":700,"position":5},"title":"Math and science education getting attention","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"November 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This article in the Northwest Florida Daily News highlights a program to help schools teach math and science. With academic standards changing every year, it can be difficult for teachers and administrators to keep pace. Principals across Okaloosa County are joining 600 school administrators from throughout Florida in a yearlong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "In the Classroom"","block_context":{"text":"In the Classroom","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}