In an op-ed
in the Record and Herald News (2/10), Priya
Natarajan, Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University writes,
"America's universities are not graduating nearly enough scientists,
engineers and other skilled professionals to keep our country globally
competitive in the decades ahead." Natarajan writes, "This critical
shortcoming appears in high school and possibly in elementary grades - long
before college. If we want more Americans to pursue careers in STEM
professions, we have to intervene much earlier than we imagined." STEM
subjects, she writes, "require an enormous amount of foundational learning
before students can become competent." She writes, "We need to help
students understand that math and science are cumulative disciplines and help
them enjoy learning even as they gradually build a base of knowledge."
-ASEE article
