In this forum we frequently touch, directly and indirectly on the problem of scientific illiteracy amoung the general US population. The ideologues in the current administration have apparently diverted their attention from bible study to chew the fat about the problem and offer their solution: Tours of National Labs by fifth graders.
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(AP) Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced an initiative Thursday to promote "science literacy" and boost the number of American students interested in becoming scientists and engineers.
The program will award scholarships at national labs for math and science teachers. It also will require the 17 labs to host a total of 2,000 fifth- and eighth-graders for at least one day each year...
...According to an international study completed in 1999, U.S. fourth-graders ranked among the world's best in math and science. By eighth grade, they fell below the international average. By 12th grade, they trailed students in nearly every other industrialized country.
Abraham said the department has not yet figured the program's cost, but he expected the country's national labs to contribute money, equipment and employees.
It's unclear whether the initiative will stem years of declining enrollment in science programs among American college students, and it's unlikely to change a broader concern: Engineering and science graduates from India, China, Russia and other developing nations dramatically outnumber those from U.S. universities. "
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/09/tech/main628404.shtml