The Following article, excerpted below, appeared in the Dallas Morning News (8/7/06):
"Away from headlines about Iraq, Israel and immigration, the Bush administration is betting the farm on another issue: ramping up America's scientific and technological IQ…The plan contains several elements, the latest being the panel Education Secretary Margaret Spellings recently appointed to determine how schools can best teach math…."
"Make math and science relevant. Kids spend their days living in a world of computers and technology, Dr. Orsak [Southern Methodist University's engineering dean] says, but most of their science classes focus on the natural world. Schools need to get them into experiments that relate to their lives…."
"Curriculum also matters. Not only does rigor count; years of math and science instruction should build upon one another. Abilities to master calculus start in elementary school, where children should acquire the skills that will allow them to progress into algebra, geometry and calculus…."
"By coming up with ways to make math relevant, the Bush panel can build up America's scientific base so we stay atop a world that spins on the brains of problem solvers and imaginative thinkers."
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