Why is STEM Education So Important?
“Mathematics and science are essential parts of the foundational knowledge that all students need to acquire, and learning in these disciplines enables students to acquire skills and understanding that are increasingly essential to their ability to succeed in high school and in careers. All students need a sophisticated working knowledge of mathematics and science; their schools must not fail them in this.”
The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy. Carnegie Corporation of New York, Institute for Advanced Studies.
“Rather convincing empirical evidence suggests that most children who are ‘turned off’ by mathematics and science have already arrived at that conclusion by the time they are in 4th grade. The die is usually cast by a teacher who finds teaching science and mathematics an unwelcome and intimidating burden or by a parent with a disinterest or disdain for these fields.”
Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth? (2007) National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine (SEM).
