The Would-Be Revolution in Science Education WILL Be Televised—on C-SPAN
My previous posts have described some promises and some challenging that the groundswell of support for in-depth STEM education to supersede science education as we’ve known it, specifically around the forthcoming Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
But this particular effort is only one front among many in the coming revolution. Many other institutions are putting their shoulder to the STEM wheel in other ways, including, but not limited to, our very own U.S. Congress. (Really.)
You may be well aware that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (popularly known as “Nickelby,” “NCLB” or “No Child Left Behind”) was up for an overhaul.
But most folks don’t realize that the current Senate draft of the legislation includes mandates to re-direct much of the U.S. Department of Education’s work on (and funding of) science education. The Department of Education will encourage states and districts to compete for grants that will:
- Provide more students opportunities to take STEM courses
- Recruit and train more STEM teachers to teach those courses
- Support STEM teachers and students with robust tools
- Create state-wide STEM education plans
- Add an outside-of-school component by supporting STEM-related competitions
But as is so often true, there’s a fly in the ointment. Because of some partisan battles about the future of high-stakes testing, the aforementioned Senate draft for re-authorizing NCLB has been bottled up in Senate committee for about two more months than originally expected, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to magically escape real soon. If it does, though, I’ll be sure to tell you all about it in this space.
Mark Grayson heads up STEM, or, as he puts it, “Everything but Reading!” He’s focused on making sure America’s kids stay globally competitive.
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