I have had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of young people in the US and recently the UK in an effort to understand why the number of young people (10-18), then (18-23) have dropped their interest in science and engineering to the current lowest world rankings in history, for these two countries alone.
Generally the answers were that the educational materials were boring, and surprisingly not the skill, but the innovation and enthusiasm of the teachers to engage the interest of the children.
Also science and technology were not presented to be an appealing life or interest.
The spark that certainly attracted me to become and remain interested in science and technology came from three teachers that I will never forget. Their passion for the subjects, ignited most of the class every time they walked into the room to teach. We were always "exploring science and technology together" in such visual and interesting ways that not many children felt intimidated, lost or fearful. We actually talked about these classes and about the things we melted or broke in class, during lunch or after school, because they were great memories, fun, and engaged our exploratory minds.
One of the TV shows in the early 60s our teachers "told us" to watch for fun, and would be part of our "experiments" portion, was Mr. Wizzard. Mr. Wizard was a weekly 30 minute show starring Don Herbert who played a science guy, and every Saturday morning a neighbor boy or girl would come to visit to help him work on a science idea proving something. Mr. Wizard always had some kind of laboratory experiment going on that taught everyone something interesting about science and technology. The experiments, many of which seemed impossible at first view, were usually easy enough to be re-created by all of us, and were. Passion for the subject creates the spark, we need to get this passion back.
Considering the world economy which remains in a terrible down turn for 2012, most education systems, including the arts, have been hit very hard and are struggling with great budget losses. This makes it very difficult in finding qualified and passionate subject matter experts in science and technology. Our world however, must discover now how to arrive more scientist and engineers (boys and girls) because they are desperately needed to support the near and long term future needs not only in teaching but in career working positions.
Currently there has been a continuing decline in men by over 36% and more so in women displaying an over 42% decline in Science and Technology interests as reported by OECD and ACER. These downward trends are more than alarming, because our future will depend heavily on science and technology solutions across every field. Without qualified teachers and interested students we will lose our near future technical advantages, job opportunities and most needed break thru leaps.
Please write me here to discuss any science and technology and in some cases I will also bring in some very interesting colleagues to discuss and debate all sort of interesting S&T topics. Next week we will discuss Zero Point Energy. Thank you!
Dr. Doug Linman, PhD
There is difficulty making the transition from 'playing' with technology to serious study in the middle/high school years. Competitions and extra programs that connect 'boring' math and science with real world applications can help bridge the gap. Most of these programs, like junior sports, depend on parent contributions, school budgets and volunteer mentors. Robotics is a great tool for creating passionate scientists and engineers, even if the robots are 'toys'. By the time students hit late teens, there are several robotics competitions for building 'real' robots. I think the real issue is can students see a career in science and technology, that meets all of their needs. Will it be fun, stimulating, cool and pay well? Will it offer opportunities to change the world, make a real impact? Will they be able to make their own unique contribution? Do they have to be a super nerd to do it or can they 'have a life'? Thank you for starting this debate. We'd love to see stories about some of the exciting young local scientists and engineers.
One other mention you had specifically " I think the real issue is can students see a career in science and technology, that meets all of their needs". Generally speaking, its the "business and technology industry" that generates the need to fill by "educationally qualified" applicants. So maybe we need to address "are the schools curriculum keeping up with the needs of the active job markets for graduating motivated S&T students that can fill these needed roles? Tell us what you think! Dr. Doug...
On the subject of "robtics" I most agree, being a former young builder myself of robots at the toy level. However, when you make the jump to light-speed to pursue "robotics" at the industrial level, then mathematics, physics, CAD/CAM and mechanical engineering are most necessary to have in your pocket as required tools. Science and Technology are wonderful and exciting subjects to master, and "are employable forever"...so think about this....
In the summer, many student science projects are judged and displayed at the annual Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton. It's always nice to see them. And, some of the local media (Pleasanton Weekly, Independent and TV30) have highlighted junior inventors, Fiona Lamont (Foothill HS) and Orla Lamont (Pleasanton MS). Their patented invention is profiled here - www.yuckease.com My daughter’s interest in science started with an excellent science teacher (“Mrs. L", Hearst Elementary) who really inspires the kids. There's also a great weekly after school Spectrum of Science class for those who can't get enough. With so much support available I asked my 13 year old young scientist why there are so few kids volunteering for science. She said that many kids start science thinking they’ll be doing fun and exciting things that are easy. However, when they start they find that actual science is not as much fun as they thought. Paraphrasing, she said that science is putting drops of iodine in a glass and not digging for dinosaurs. It’s also harder than it looks. Maybe science is oversold and just can’t live up to the expectations advocates set for it.