Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. Launched by the Soviet Union, Sputnik has been viewed as the feat that started the space race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. It also spurred a push towards improving the math and science skills of American students to meet the obvious foreign competition. Deja vu, anyone? Well, yes and no.
According to this interesting Ed Week article, Sputnik placed fear in the hearts of the American people. (Quite fascinating to read about since Sputnik was before my time.) It was a sign that maybe the U.S. was no longer the most technologically advanced and educationally superior.
Legislators, principals, teachers, families...everyone rallied around their shared concern for this "crisis" and did everything they could to close the gap in the race. Seventh-graders were plunged into high school math skipping 8th grade math altogether. The best and the brightest math students were pushed and supported. New math and science curricula emerged.
But the approach focused only on the top tier of "talented" math kids. Susan Scalfani, former assistant secretary for vocational education in the current Bush administration said, "It was a very elitist approach...(that) never got down to all kids."
Today, we're faced with a similar crisis. Globalization is real. The competition is fierce, yet U.S. students are losing the international math and science race. We want all kids have a quality education, yet struggle to connect the dots. But there isn't a beach ball-sized satellite to drop in the middle of our comfortable American existence and cause a shudder. Instead, as Craig Barret, chairman of the Intel Corp observes, "It's more of a slow, creeping crisis."
Parents don't think there's a problem, apparent in the Kansas and Missouri study. And students are no longer motivated by a single landmark event like Sputnik. It's a new generation of kids who need a more personal approach where the benefits are clear.
The threat of losing the global race is out there. It's a reality so spread the word! Those of us who understand this, need to do a better job of convincing others. And those who aren't believers, do some research and learn more about it.
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