Science and Education in the 21st Century
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Science and Education in the 21 st Century James S. Kahn
It is time to devise a new educational strategy for the 21st century. The educational System we know today was brought to thèse shores by the early immigrants, predominantly Europeans, who unpacked ail their resources—their culture and ethics included—when they arrived. Close families, little if any divorce, a strong work ethic, strong religious values, an appréciation for the importance of éducation, pre-schooling in the home, and strong discipline—ail were recognized traits of the frontier society in America. The school system, brought to the United States by our forefathers and influenced by their values and beliefs, srill prevails some 400 years later...but functions with mixed results that are, at best, partially successful. Wave after wave of immigrants has been educated by this system. It has afforded many of them the means to enter the économie mainstream, clearly a désirable goal for any educational system. It permitted this country to become the mightiest nation in the world. Unfortunately, this strategy is no longer working. Results of student tests from coast to coast attest to this. The test scores are pitiful, particularly in our urban centers. Cries for reform are heard across the nation—particularly in the cities. Thèse school Systems are the precursors to what may become the universal state of éducation everywhere in this country. Our nation's educational strategy has been challenged by the major attitude, value and behavior changes of the last several décades. There are many more broken families than ever before. Individuals of ail âges suffer from lack of discipline—mental, physical, and intellectual. Fewer children are fortunate enough to expérience home pre-schooling, so common when only one parent worked and divorce rates were lower. Récent démographie studies indicate new waves of cultures sweeping into the cities. America today bears little—if any—resemblance to the country the immigrants settled during the 1600s. In spite
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of this, our educational strategy remains basically unchanged. We srill use classrooms, desks, teachers, and blackboards. Is this the appropriate strategy for today? I think not. One has only to consider our loss of prominence in educational achievement and économie power to recognize today's leadership challenges. Thèse challenges generate targets of opporrunity. One such is éducation, which should be considered in any set of national stratégies developed for the 21st century. However, prominent considération should be given to the appropriate contemporary ways of devising the new stratégies. The key éléments that should influence new educational stratégies are the sets of interactions derived from the current demographics of the major American cities, the failure of U.S. science éducation, the existing U.S. educational strategy, and the recognized societal changes and trends in the country over the last several décades. It is time to devise a new educational strategy for the 21st century,
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