Re: Disturbing - What to do now?
Yeah, it's not so much public vs. private, it's all about priorities. I guarantee you'll find a direct correlation between parents who are passionate and proficient in math and science and the 2% of students who are "proficient" as well. It's also no coincidence that the kids who struggle in school have parents who don't/didn't read to them as children, don't read much for themselves as adults and are just generally incurious about the world in which they live. Not to mention the fact that what people "believe" and "feel" has now been substituted for scientific facts, reason and evidence (e.g. "I don't believe in evolution, therefore it doesn't exist.", or "Hey I'm not a scientist, man." , or "You can't get pregnant from rape.", "Sure, sea levels are rising, but we don't like it so we'll just pass a law saying they aren't and they'll go away") Never mind the political connotations of such statements (all of which were disastrous, thankfully) they're simply factually incorrect and should therefore be ignored and dismissed. Yet in America, everyone is always right, no one is ever wrong, all opinions are equally valid, and we all get a trophy just for playing the game (Yippee!), all of which are utterly antithetical to science and the scientific method.
All the while the rest of the world laughs and laughs. They do Calculus in sixth grade in Vietnam, Japan and China for Pete's sake. Meanwhile, you can get through college in America and never even take Algebra!?!? WTF!!!! That's ok though, we'll just make up an excuse like "Well, I'm just not good at math", or "My major doesn't require that pesky science class, so I won't take it", or "I'm really smart, I just have ADD." etc...
Don't believe me, go look at the Chemistry, Physics, Engineering and Math departments at your local college/university and you'll find a distinct lack of homegrown talent, and that's no coincidence. Those students come from countries, cultures and families that value (scientific) education and rationalism over athletic endeavors and social popularity like so many of their American counterparts. In other words, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Curious, studious parents generally have curious, studious kids that do well in school.
Unfortunately, these issues follow the kids for the rest of their life. If you were and employer, who would you hire? The kid that did Calculus and programed robots in their free time since middle school without ever making an excuse, or the ignorant (and almost certainly fat) American who's only about inch away from believing the world is flat, but sure can hit a ball with a stick (but is probably too fat to retrieve it without getting winded)? Just look how many people go to high school sporting events vs. science fairs in America.
We praise and glorify ignorance in this country like no one else in the world, and yet we wonder why we're scientifically inept. Case in point, they just built a $20 million dollar High school football stadium in Texas at a time when almost half of their students are functionally illiterate and the educational laughing stock of the nation (and that's hard to do in America). The scariest part of all is that the parents didn't even care. In fact, they seem to take sort of a perverse pride in their ignorance. I guess it's not surprising when one of our own presidents had to ask himself "is our children learning?", shortly after he explained that the internet was "a series of tubes". Yeah, that guy went to Harvard and got to be president.....twice! That should tell you how much we "value" science in this country.
I do chemistry and math tutoring in my free time, and I can't even begin to tell you how ignorant these kids are about even the most basic aspects of the their own anatomy, physiology and physical forces at work in the world. It's especially worrisome that our scientific knowledge is plummeting, while our world is more dependent on science and technology than ever. Ultimately, kids do what you do, not what you say. If you're intellectually and scientifically incurious, or dogmatic in your thinking, then your kids will be to.
