Senator Obama, Please Don't Trade Space Exploration For Education - TheShellyPalmerReport

quotThe early education plan will be paid for by delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years amp8230quot So opines a document entitled quotBarack Obama39s Plan For Life Success Through Educationquot This is not a new thought The Obama Camp has been saying this for a while but it just became the focus of an overly energetic highly passionate technopolitical conversation from which I could not escapeHere39s the story The Obama document quotes the conclusions of the Gathering Storm report as followsquotdanger exists that Americans may not know enough about science technology or mathematics to contribute significantly to or fully benefit from the knowledgebased economy that is already taking shape around usquot For example amp183 In 2003 the Program in International Student Assessment found that US 15 year olds ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematics and 19th out of 40 countries in scienceamp183 Almost 30 percent of students in their first year of college are forced to take remedial science and math classes because they are not prepared for collegelevel classesamp183 A recent report shows that of students entering college with plans to major in science or engineering less than 25 percent of underrepresented minorities graduate with a degree in that field within six years In 2000 minorities received only 14 percent of bachelor39s degrees in engineering and mathematicsamp183 While employment in science math engineering and technology STEM fields increased between 1995 and 2004 by 23 percent the share of higher education degrees in STEM fields fell from 32 percent to 27 percent and there were declines in the number of students earning degrees in engineeringThese statistics are dismal In the 21st Century everyone needs to know science and math not only to find employment but also to be healthy and wellinformed citizens Moreover over 80 percent of the fastest growing occupations are dependent upon a knowledge base in science and mathI don39t think anyone can argue with any of the facts or conclusions cited in the excerpt above By many estimates the body of knowledge of mankind has doubled every 60 months since 1900 and we are rapidly moving toward a society where continuing professional education let alone primary education is almost a fulltime jobThe technopoliticos in my discussion group were taking issue with how Senator Obama suggests funding part of his education plan Reducing NASA39s budget and delaying the Constellation Program does not make any sense at all In fact I would argue that we need to increase NASA39s budget to the highest extent possible and start as many applied engineering and applied research projects as can be managed We should work on new materials that are lighter and stronger Kevlar comes to mind from our investment in Cold War Space Exploration We should work on new computer technology SMPTE time code and machine synchronization came from the launch countdown codes in the 60s We will need new digital imaging technology and AI systems to interpret the data Think how useful that technology would have been during the early part of this decade Nanotechnology battery life solar power I could go on and onThere is nothing like a goal to inspire greatness We can be inspired in so many different ways Young people may want fame or fortune Some seek adventure Others have more modest dreams but in the end we each need to focus on some thing some goal to bring out the best in us What could be more inspirational than looking up at the night sky and believing that we can reach the stars Maybe the powerful motivation for a fully funded NASA program is the lowest tech and the most basic the need to survive We share this goal with every living thing on Earth To quote Stephen Hawking quotI don39t think the human race will survive the next thousand years unless we spread into space There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planetquotPerhaps survival of life on Earth is too lofty a goal Maybe you don39t think five years is a significant delay over evolutionary time scales OK fine How about this if there are no pure research jobs or applied science and engineering jobs at NASA where will all of these new scientists and mathematicians look for work Private industry is very happy to work on things that will be directly profitable It is the government and university system that has given us the venues for pure research And pure research as opposed to industrial research has given us the greatest innovations of the last 100 yearsThe Space Program should be the most inspiring most important education tool in America The byproducts of preparing to journey out into the cosmos can and will yield technological advancements that will truly change our world Perhaps supporters of Senator Obama can inspire him to modify his thoughts about where to find additional much needed funding for education Taking the wind out of NASA39s sails seems counter productiveShelly Palmer is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2006 Focal Press Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards He is the ViceChairman of the National Academy of Media Arts ampamp Sciences an organization dedicated to education and leadership in the areas of technology media and entertainment Palmer also oversees the Advanced Media Technology Emmyamp174 Awards which honors outstanding achievements in the science and technology of advanced media You can read Shellyamp8217s blog here Shelly can be reached at shellypalmernetCheck out the Shelly Palmer Report archive

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Senator Obama, Please Don't Trade Space Exploration For Education - TheShellyPalmerReport

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Senator Obama, Please Don't Trade Space Exploration For Education - TheShellyPalmerReport

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