STEM

I am super-excited about the White House finally doing some major promotion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education programs. They just launched a campaign called “Educate to Innovate”. It’s goal is to increase participation in these programs, through the work of the federal government, major corporations, non-profits, and other organizations.

Although there weren’t a lot of specifics about the campaign, it was announced that the White House will be partnering with Time-Warner, Discovery Channel, Sesame Street, Sally Ride, and other organizations and science-engineering big shots to make sure that American students are excited about science and math.

The President says that it is the goal of his administration to ‘move to the top in science and math education’ and that this campaign will be part of working towards this goal. During his speech, he mentioned that private companies have already committed more than $260 million.

One exciting element of the campaign was an after school program with FIRST Robotics, which I’ve had some experience with. I know it to be a great opportunity for students to learn in a hands-on way…and it gives them somewhere to go, and something safe to do, during the after-school hours.

Another program being launched - an annual White House Science Fair for students. The President spoke about how NCAA athletes visit the White House, and so should young scientists and engineers who are finding success in their fields.

The President spoke about the importance of hard work for students, support from parents, and a strong basic education system to work along with these specialized STEM programs. He told a brief story about meeting with the Mayor of Shanghai, where he learned of how teachers in his city were treated – with reverence and respect. There is no problem recruiting them because they are payed nearly as much as an average doctor or lawyer, which of course makes perfect sense.

Students from a local high school demonstrated a robot they built as part of a STEM program…and the President was genuinely interested. I feel like this program will be a great step forward in the Obama Administration’s Education Policy and I hope it succeeds in getting students excited about STEM and providing them with the knowledge to innovate for the future.

The White House Blog did a post about the program and Education Secretary Arne Duncan took questions from the online community. Here is the full text of the President’s remarks.