Re: The Phoenix has landed!

"Paul J Gans" <gans@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Mike Dworetsky <platinum198@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Robert J. Kolker" <bobkolker@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Mark Isaak wrote:


I have seen firsthand that that is not true, at least not when I was in
High School. NASA had active outreach to schools in the 1970s; I
presume
it still does.


Instead of bitching that NASA does NADA why don't you see for yourself?

http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/

BTW a few years ago one of my former students was hired by Space Telescope
Institute as director of public outreach. Not NASA but both publicly
funded.

Why do U.S.A. students do shitty in math and science compared to
students
in other nations?

Because it is hard to get good teachers who know these subjects? I think
you will find that there are [oversimplifying] two groups of students, a
small one that does extremely well, and a larger group that includes many
who do very poorly.

I'd put it differently. Anyone with brains enough to be
a good teacher can double or triple his or her salary by
working in private industry.

It is capitalism at work, sub-branch "you get what you
pay for".

The result is that most of our teachers are dedicated (less
than a majority) or ill-trained and ill-equipped (far more,
and possibly a majority.)

Couple that with students bombarded from birth by ads that
stress the importance of being Mr. Big and the unimportance
of getting a decent education. Where on TV does the Geek
get the girl?


"Chuck". Well, he's a nerd, not a geek. And she has other motives than
physical attraction...

But your point is well taken in the general case.

--
Mike Dworetsky

(Remove pants sp*mbl*ck to reply)

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