Education and Labor Hearing on STEM Partnerships
July 22nd, 2008 by Jesse LeeToday the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing, “Innovation in Education through Business and Education STEM Partnerships,” to examine how business-education partnerships can help drive innovation and strengthen math and science education in America’s schools. A report released by the National Math Panel in March found that the nation’s system for teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. In May, the Committee first examined the report’s findings and recommendations; this hearing follows up on that hearing.
Chairman George Miller gave opening remarks:
Chairman Miller: “I am a firm believer that the best thing we can do to help our children succeed in math, science, and every other subject is to invest more in the success of their teachers. One of our witnesses, John Castellani from the Business Roundtable, captured it especially well. He said that the expanded talent pool of Americans with a firm grounding in math and science is [a] critical element to the innovation agenda that our nation needs to pursue in order to remain competitive in the 21st century.” |
Phil Mickelson, professional golfer and co-founder of the Mickelson Exxon Mobil Teachers Academy, gave testimony:
Phil Mickelson: “In the last three years… only 15% [of our graduates] were in the science and engineering field, as opposed to Singapore with 67% and China with 50%. We wanted to give these teachers new, innovative ways, innovative tools to inspire their children, and so we bring them in for a week-long session with the National Science Teachers Association and Math Solutions providing the curriculum as well as the staff. And we’re able to give these teachers the techniques they need to go back to the classroom and inspire their kids.” |