In my last post, I wrote about the very cool new Google Sky and how it could be a fun way to teach kids about astronomy. As an astronomy major myself, and someone who is married to an engineer, I’m all for science education, particularly for girls, who still tend to be overlooked when it comes to math and science exposure.
Two pieces of recent news about science education therefore caught my eye. President Bush two weeks ago signed legislation to recruit thousands of new science and math teachers, improve the science and maths skills of existing teachers, and help interested children along the path to research careers. It also calls for “significant increases” (though unspecified) to the National Science Foundation budget, and gives $300 million to a funding agency for new energy systems. Elsewhere, Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) has proposed free college tuition for math, science, and engineering majors who agree to work or teach in the field for at least four years.
All well and good. Science and technology do help our country’s competitiveness and can lead to all kinds of good things like alternative energy sources and cures for cancer. As a major in history as well as astronomy, though, I have to ask “What about the poets?” What about the humanities majors who have a passion for chronicling the world, for weaving stories to capture imaginations, for creating art to provoke and inspire, for probing human morality, for studying the past so we don’t repeat its mistakes? Science education needs help in this country, but so does education overall. The No Child Left Behind Act is a shambles, hit with lawsuits and a plethora of ideas on how to fix it.
Science is inherently more expensive an endeavor than the humanities, and so it does make sense that it gets more raw dollars. Let’s not, however, forget the importance to our culture (and to the inspiration even of scientists) of literature, music, art, philosophy, and history, and the teachers who can pass them on to a new generation. One of my son’s favorite books is Frederick, by Leo Lionni, the tale of a mouse poet whose words inspire his friends through a long, cold winter. It’s a fable worth remembering.