One Pound in a Two-Pound Bag: Is It Half Full?

Math—the keystone of all science, and for that matter, learning—is slowly slipping away.

I recently read where the law “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) was dumbing-down our children to raise the overall grades of the whole. It shocked me that schools here are passing children that in the past would be held back all in the name of “No Child Left Behind." I started looking very closely at the overall picture of our once-great state of education to see if we are better today after NCLB or are functional better with past education policy.

The real picture is we are spending more (60+ %) nationally on education and are seeing no improvement over our old system. Why is that? Because frankly it’s coming from the top down by our elected officials, saying, “We must make this work no matter the cost.” Which is scary!

I have stated several times here that schools need to expand on math and computer sciences so that companies have a pool of talent to draw from. The lack of these programs and better scores is sending a message, a very negative one to the business world. The lack of driven expansion into these sciences will, in the long term, have a huge effect on our youth. 

Think about it. If only the top 10 percent are really getting into these companies what is happening to the others? If manufacturing and related is going off-shore, what will these kids being doing once they finish college? For that matter, will they even be going to college?

Instead of complaining or marching at the NATO summit, how about writing a letter to our top tier officials in Congress about education. A well-written letter asking why we are spending on a program clearly broken may have more impact in the long run. We need to educate our youth so they can make clear choices for all our future. Clarity is the key word today, people, we need to demand that our future will be better and that our kids can solve a basic math problem. Knowing the answer is based on what goes into the bag of life, and having the education to solve it is the solution.

CAW (Cool Application of the Week):

Math has always been there for me, mainly because I was not the best student in English. I always had issues with knowing what verb or pronoun, etc., was where and why. I still do! But math could draw me into that zone that was like a blanket of warmth. So even today I like math and still work on solutions for my business using math.

I have installed on my systems a great math tool from Microsoft called Mathematics 4.0, which helps me check those crazy calculations in my business.  Now this calculator is a little heavy duty and will help in understanding concepts in pre-algebra, algebra, trigonometry, physics, chemistry, and calculus. You know, math. So take it for a journey. You may just help find the top quark.