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WordKeeper · 06-26-2009, 06:00 AM

I am deeply concerned with the state of math and science education in our nation. I have been reading a number of books on globalization and economic trends and it does not bode well for our nation.

ON a micro level, as a mother, I am not pleased with the math and science education that is available to our children. I have been talking about this in recent weeks and one former teacher told me that her experience is that if the curriculum is too tough then the administration's response is to water it down.

My son just completed 2nd grade. Kids from his school go to top US colleges - Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Duke, Williams etc. His teachers never touched on division and just barely covered multiplication. When I was in first grade we covered division by January. I know because I had an accident that month as was out two weeks and had to stay after school several days to learn division. And we only went to school until noon in the
1st grade.

Well I finally decided to do something about the lack in science education. So i am planning a science camp and inviting 4 or 6 boys to join us. We will start with a fabulous Pokemon type game around the Elements. It was developed by a young teenaged boy and is very clever. We will have a section on combustion and rockets (with Mentos/Coke explosions), a segment on paleontology (an expert at the local science museum and losts of dinasaur bones 1/2 hour away), a segment on electro-magnetism and one or two others.

If it goes well I will approach the local science museum about developing a weekend Science Club to encourage young children to get involved with experiments and develop science projects for competition.

If anyone has recommendations for websites or other sources for good experiments for young children please let me know.

06-26-2009, 06:00 AM	#1 (permalink)
WordKeeper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 814	Math and Science Education in America I am deeply concerned with the state of math and science education in our nation. I have been reading a number of books on globalization and economic trends and it does not bode well for our nation. ON a micro level, as a mother, I am not pleased with the math and science education that is available to our children. I have been talking about this in recent weeks and one former teacher told me that her experience is that if the curriculum is too tough then the administration's response is to water it down. My son just completed 2nd grade. Kids from his school go to top US colleges - Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Duke, Williams etc. His teachers never touched on division and just barely covered multiplication. When I was in first grade we covered division by January. I know because I had an accident that month as was out two weeks and had to stay after school several days to learn division. And we only went to school until noon in the 1st grade. Well I finally decided to do something about the lack in science education. So i am planning a science camp and inviting 4 or 6 boys to join us. We will start with a fabulous Pokemon type game around the Elements. It was developed by a young teenaged boy and is very clever. We will have a section on combustion and rockets (with Mentos/Coke explosions), a segment on paleontology (an expert at the local science museum and losts of dinasaur bones 1/2 hour away), a segment on electro-magnetism and one or two others. If it goes well I will approach the local science museum about developing a weekend Science Club to encourage young children to get involved with experiments and develop science projects for competition. If anyone has recommendations for websites or other sources for good experiments for young children please let me know.