Fifty-four years ago, the American people became frightened by a
beeping signal coming from space. It was no extraterrestrial alien
invasion that provoked the terror, but the Soviet Union’s launch of
the Sputnik satellite on Oct. 4, 1957. The sphere high overhead
terrified Americans who saw it as an example of our nation’s
failure to compete with the U.S.S.R.
Fifty-four years ago, the American people became frightened by a beeping signal coming from space. It was no extraterrestrial alien invasion that provoked the terror, but the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite on Oct. 4, 1957. The sphere high overhead terrified Americans who saw it as an example of our nation’s failure to compete with the U.S.S.R. Sputnik woke us up to the fact that Americans were falling behind in the space race.
The year after Sputnik, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act, which infused public and private schools with $1 billion – more than $7 billion in current dollars. This law led to the enhancement of our nation’s space initiatives, allowing us the inspiring endeavor of landing humans on the moon a decade later.
But the act gave us much more than a trip to the moon. It helped Americans develop their minds to the point where our scientists and engineers were able to achieve tremendous success in basic research in communication and computer technology. This research led to innovations that created new industries – and greater wealth and productivity for America. Silicon Valley grew into the world’s technological hub thanks in part to the enhanced brain power stimulated by the National Defense Education Act of 1958.
Now, something truly terrifying is threatening America. We now increasingly fail to appreciate the importance of science and math education in our lives. I suspect a lot of this failure has to do with how our schools have declined in helping young people to learn scientific and mathematical knowledge.
Our minds are the most amazing part of us human beings. Unless there is something neurologically defective in an individual, every person can potentially learn any knowledge or skill. The key is that they must be sufficiently motivated to learn, and they must possess effective learning strategies designed for their own unique individual educational style. Experts on how the brain works say that, with high motivation and a solid learning strategy, an average young person can learn twice the information in half the time compared to the usual ways of teaching students in schools.
The best teachers ignite in their students a curiosity and a deep passion to acquire new information. When learning is made into a fun and joyful experience, students learn more effectively.
Unfortunately, too many students find their classroom hours boring and tedious. Too many ineffective teachers kill the quality of curiosity in their students – and so, students turn off their minds to gaining new knowledge.
How can we overcome this challenge? Perhaps at the start of the school years, South Valley schools could help young people learn how to learn. Before they step into the classroom on the first day of school, we could give students fun memorization skills, dynamic speed and comprehension reading techniques, and effective note-taking habits. There are simple, effective and inexpensive “learn to learn” systems to do this.
If America is to compete in an increasingly globalized marketplace, we must prepare our future leaders with the skills they need. Despite the rhetoric we’re hearing from politicians on both sides of the party aisle, we Americans are missing the big picture toward true and lasting job creation for our citizens. We must significantly improve the way we learn. Brain power leads to economic power.
Congressman Jerry McNerney and I recently published “Clean Energy Nation: Freeing America From The Tyranny of Fossil Fuels” to encourage all Americans to work together to win our nation’s energy freedom. Chapter 11 is titled “Energy and Education.” It promotes the idea of vastly improving science and math skills so that we can build American businesses and corporations that can better compete in the emerging global clean energy economy. To revitalize our nation’s economy and generate millions of jobs, America must come up with innovative new ideas that can compete in the global market. Innovations come from brain power. And brain power comes from improving our schools so that our young people learn the knowledge of science and math.
To stimulate long-term job growth, let’s enhance the quality of math and science learning in our schools, community colleges and universities. We saw more than half a century ago with Sputnik that America can fall behind in technological expertise. We also saw that by making good educational policies, we can catch up and pass other nations in advanced technological innovations.
