American Students Lacking in Math and Science • 12/11/08

The Gap
The current state of US education in the subjects of math and science is in shambles. Although ahead of most of the world, the US has not been following its traditional path of greatness. Asian nations and students dominate the fields of math, and have been gaining in science. The US lags behind 1 out of every 10 developed nations in the world in these fields. It is time we get our act together.

With Asians dominating math and science, the American students lag behind. Korea, China, and Hong Kong, are all nations that have recently surpassed us on international tests. Although getting better, we are still behind the other nations. We had better start to close the gaps before it becomes to late.

The Gains
As the US slows its progress in math and science, other nations, mostly Asian, are beginning to catch up and some are surpassing. Fifteen years ago, the US was ahead of nations such as Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan in the fields of math and science. Now these countries, and several others, have scored higher than the US on international tests.

Also, within our own country, gaps are being closed. Girls are beginning to close the gender gap. Recent studies show that at fourth grade, the gender gap is barely noticeable and by eighth grade, the gap has disappeared entirely. Hispanic and Africa American students are beginning to close the gap between them and white students, but there is still much progress that needs to be made.

The Problems and Solutions
One of the major problems that we have that is the reason why we are slowing down in math and science is the lack of good teachers. It is a deathly cycle—of the people who are strong in the areas of math and science, only a fraction become teachers, and only a fraction of teachers are really experienced, and all the teachers that aren’t as experienced don’t teach as good, and so students don’t learn as well as they should.

Teachers today don’t seem to be devoted to their work as they should be. For one, they aren’t regarded properly. It is the teachers that accept the students for who they are and who teach them the things that they will need to know to succeed in life. Without teachers, society as we know it would cease to exist. They deserve more respect that what they have now.

Teachers are not the source of the problem, it’s every single American citizen. Did you treat your teachers the way you should have? If you didn’t, shame on you! It is they who got you to where you are in life right now. It is they you gave you your education to help you in the real world, and what kind of thanks did you show them? It is time we start treating teachers how they should, and most definitely deserve, to be treated.

Another major problem is the lack of disregard of these subjects, as well as the seeming lack of interest in school from children. Yes, children will be children, but being children shouldn’t get in the way of their learning. Math and science should be the things that kids are interested in, but the way the majority of teachers are teaching today doesn’t make it seem interesting. The lack of interest in these subject is a major cause of why we lag behind. If the US wishes to close the education gap, we will seriously need to think about changing our teaching methods.

provatized schools would become no better than public schools as soon as the population of students shift from public to private. It's kinda like how Apple computers don't have as many malware bugs because not as many people use them as they do Pcs.

it's pretty rhetorical crap to suggest that kids learn to think instead of memorize by rote while imagining that staggered scale wages for "better" teachers will produce anything other than accusations of corruption while the PRODUCT of kids' education is not immediately discernible. As if these "good" teachers won't be teaching by rote while fighting over which kids will make their "success rate" appear better than everyone elses.

hell, not to mention that teaching kids that a jewish ghost waved a magic finger in the science class will do them a lot of good in a private setting...

provatized schools would become no better than public schools as soon as the population of students shift from public to private. It's kinda like how Apple computers don't have as many malware bugs because not as many people use them as they do Pcs.

it's pretty rhetorical crap to suggest that kids learn to think instead of memorize by rote while imagining that staggered scale wages for "better" teachers will produce anything other than accusations of corruption while the PRODUCT of kids' education is not immediately discernible. As if these "good" teachers won't be teaching by rote while fighting over which kids will make their "success rate" appear better than everyone elses.

hell, not to mention that teaching kids that a jewish ghost waved a magic finger in the science class will do them a lot of good in a private setting...

Entirely wrong. Privatized schools will do better because the focus will be on the product and not the system. That's why private businesses absolutely destroy government-run businesses.

private business is not a panacea and doesn't always destroy government business. I'm betting that your local police force is not a private business. Why not?

The system will have its own difficulties, that much is certainly true.

Inideed, and whose to say that they won't be WORSE than what we have now as millions of average kids fall between the cracks so that competitiveness amongst teachers causes more effort in advertising than education while fighting for the best crop of students? the FACT is that private schools cannot handle the capacity of all the students that public schools take on and I think you people are naieve as hell about the repercussions of your own ideas while trying to sell the concept.

That being said, teachers in our schools today are hamstrung by teaching towards one test and being forced to follow regulations which mitigate their efficiency.

forced by whom? No Child Left Behind wasn't created for the sake of better schools so much as it was created for the sake of the reputation of an ignorant president. You think private schools WONT have tests and likert scale multiple choice tests? Besides, You trade regulation for regulation. A difference which may not have the kind of result that you'd think.

How on earth does this bear any relevance to the topic at hand? Why are you bringing it up?

it's a classic motivation behind demonising public schools for the sake of private schools. This thread complains about math and science scores while your solution thus far is to thrust kids into a private environment where it's ok to teach kids that a jewish ghost is more valid than the scientific method. Ironic considering the thread title.

private business is not a panacea and doesn't always destroy government business. I'm betting that your local police force is not a private business. Why not?

Inideed, and whose to say that they won't be WORSE than what we have now as millions of average kids fall between the cracks so that competitiveness amongst teachers causes more effort in advertising than education while fighting for the best crop of students? the FACT is that private schools cannot handle the capacity of all the students that public schools take on and I think you people are naieve as hell about the repercussions of your own ideas while trying to sell the concept.

it's a classic motivation behind demonising public schools for the sake of private schools. This thread complains about math and science scores while your solution thus far is to thrust kids into a private environment where it's ok to teach kids that a jewish ghost is more valid than the scientific method. Ironic considering the thread title.

sure, sure.. no one claims to be talking about jesus christ when bringing up intelligent design either. If you think this facet of the debate is irrelevant then perhaps you should stick to the non sequiters and tired talking points like you've done thus far and leave the thinking to others.