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Quote: California faces a persistent and critical shortage of fully prepared math and science teachers and lacks the capacity to produce enough math and science teachers to meet future needs, according to a new report released today by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.

"The shortage of fully prepared math and science teachers is undermining the quality of the state's education system and hampering the ability to produce college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,"...

full article: http://www.ccst.us/news/2007/20070305TCPA.php

Quote:The problem with advanced math and science is that those with the education to teach it can make a lot more money not teaching it...

That empirical lesson in supply and demand explains why high schools have a harder time attracting qualified teachers in calculus, physics and chemistry than other subjects, and why the Kentucky General Assembly is considering two incentive plans to change that: Senate Bills 1 and 2.

Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, who cosponsored SB2, calls them companion bills that could be combined, but were initially kept separate because sponsors feared the idea of differential pay - debunked by the Kentucky Education Association as "demoralizing" - would politically sink both...

full article: http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...50358/1014

Quote:Should Schools Pay Math and Science Teachers Higher Salaries than Other Teachers

Yes.  The US is rapidly becoming a nation of math and science illiterates.

Only if they fully fund the arts and music programs, and bring back in full force physical education to all grade levels.
Music enhances and improves math scores.
8)

Quote:bring back in full force physical education to all grade levels

:blinkie:

I always hated (hated, hated, hated) physical education classes as a child.  When other 10 year olds were playing baseball I was reading encyclopedias and the New York Times...and yes, the fact that NYU didn't have a physical education requirement was a factor in my choosing it when I picked a college.  ;D

[quote author=bargainbloodhound link=topic=8291.msg46951#msg46951 date=1173931110]

Quote:bring back in full force physical education to all grade levels

:blinkie:

I always hated (hated, hated, hated) physical education classes as a child.  When other 10 year olds were playing baseball I was reading encyclopedias and the New York Times...and yes, the fact that NYU didn't have a physical education requirement was a factor in my choosing it when I picked a college.  ;D
[/quote]


Now all of that knowledge has paid off.

I agree with Rose and Chiquita.

We are becoming a nation of math and science illiterates.

And, we are also becoming a society that does not value the arts.

Additionally, obesity is a huge health problem, and the fact that kids are no longer required to participate in a full phys ed program is one of the factors contributing to obesity in children and adults.

Regardless, I have to disagree with Chiquita in that I feel that the growing 'illiteracy' in math and science are far more likely to endanger our society than the other factors. As a culture, we also need the arts. For survival in a rapidly changing world, math and science are key.

Quote:I always hated (hated, hated, hated) physical education classes as a child.  When other 10 year olds were playing baseball I was reading encyclopedias and the New York Times...and yes, the fact that NYU didn't have a physical education requirement was a factor in my choosing it when I picked a college.  Grin

I did also and my son is the same. I was the kid who at age 9 read the 3,000+ page (unabridged version) 'Count of Monte Cristo' by Dumas.The New Yorker was my favorite mag, and we were all three required to read certain sections of The NY Times in order to participate in dinner table discussions.
However, I also walked everywhere and was a cheerleader.