
By: Robin Murray-o'hair
Re: Need for Science Education

STUDY EMPHASIZES NEED FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION

by Conrad Goeringer

 While political leaders and religious leaders push "put God back
into the public schools," the need for more emphasis in science
education is apparently being ignored.

  Studies by the National Science Foundation indicate that most
Americans are "technological illiterates" who lack a basic
understanding of fundamental scientific processes in the natural
world. Worse yet, the United States seems to be placing less and
less emphasis on basic science and math, especially "hands-on"
scientific education in the schools. A study released yesterday
by the Bayer Corporation and the NSF now tells us that while
teachers want to emphasize science in the school curriculum, most
of them feel they do not have the training and background to do
that job effectively. Research Communications, Ltd. conducted a
poll recently involving more than 2,000 elementary school
teachers and parents. While 70 percent of the teachers called for
more emphasis on science, only 36 percent of them considered
themselves to be "science literate." 77 percent called for more
hands-on lab activities, but only half of this group claimed to
have the background for this sort of instruction. Only 32 percent
of parents described themselves as science literate, meaning they
could "understand stories about science on TV and in magazines."

  Earlier NSF studies have show that more than half of the current
American population do not give basic and intelligent accounts
(in the layperson's language) of how a nuclear power plant or a
television operated. Both scientists and educators have warned of
the long-range consequences of not emphasizing science and math
in American schools. Referring to the latest study, Bayer's
president, Richard L. White, said, "No wonder 50 percent of all
children get turned off to science by the third grade . . .
unless we reach out to (them now, while they are ripe for
reaching out to, then we may never get them back again."


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 * WCE 2.0/2394 * One man's religion is another man's belly laugh.
