Last Tuesday, I attended a summit sponsored by Senator John Ensign. In addition to the senator, the keynote speakers were Dr. Craig Barrett, the Chairman of the Board of Intel, and Dr. Irwin Jacobs, the founder and Chairman of the Board of Qualcomm. Both Dr. Barrett and Dr. Jacobs provided an interesting perspective on our nation’s competitiveness. It’s no surprise that they both felt that we need to have more emphasis on education in math and sciences. What may be surprising is that they felt we need to start in elementary school.
I attended the education focus group, and most of the discussion centered on getting better math and science teachers in the elementary grades. Many of the people in attendance were teachers, and they felt that there should be teachers that specialize in math or science. They also discussed the hurdles to getting and keeping good teachers. Pay was one hurdle, but the teaching requirements were another. For example, Dr. Barrett was a professor at Stanford, and he is not qualified to teach in our school district.
I am a big believer in education. There is no better way to improve you or your family’s earning potential and life. It’s a crying shame that our education system is so tough to change due to factors including people trying to protect their power and maintain the status quo. I’m usually optimistic, but I’m almost certain that we as a city, state or country will not do anything about restructuring our education system until it’s obvious to everyone that we can’t compete with the rest of the world because our system is broken.
