The United States was once a great powerhouse on the global stage. No one dared question our authority, the reach of our arms, or the intelligence of our scientists. That is until Russia entered the ring. We eyed the Soviet Union with cold distrust and puffed out our chest as we each tried to assert our dominance over each other. The world held its collective breath in anticipation.
So, where are they now? Who won? We look at these two "powerhouses" today, and it's almost like looking at those stereotypical "football captain" and "homecoming queen" from high school. They peaked early, and now sit around telling the story of their glory days to anyone who happens by. Everyone knows they used to be great, but the rest of the world moved forward, leaving them in the past with their outdated achievements and grudges.*
The United States seems to be living in a reverie where we are at the top of the pack. We are the latest and the greatest, the best and the brightest. While this was true decades ago, we tend to forget what got us there. Our industrial/manufacturing focus built a strong foundation upon which we grew, but it was Sputnik that launched our country to reach for more. It was as if the entire country awoke one day and decided that we could not be second place. Support, both financial and educational, poured into the collective goal that we reach the moon first. Everyone worked together to achieve.
While we have been reveling in our past achievements and living off of old accomplishments, China and Taiwan have left us locked in a global pissing contest with everyone else in the world. Like the "band geek" no one looked at twice, our two Asian counterparts grew up and left everyone thinking, "Were did they come from?"* China and Taiwan have decided collaboration is the way innovation and are driving forward the technology we are consuming. (Friedman, 2010) Instead of using this as motivation, the U.S. is looking every which way but forward. Why are we not using this as our Sputnik and making another collective goal to push our sciences forward? Why are we not entering into partnerships with other countries in order to live those 21st Century skills that science teachers are struggling to teach students in order to keep up in a 21st century world? If STEM is now, why isn't the country more concerned with producing global citizens right here instead of importing them to fill our open positions?
Now is the time to commit to our students and the future of our country. We need to look at the accomplishments of our past and use them to move ourselves forward. All levels of government need to recognize the value of STEM and the benefit for us all. No one wants to be the "has been" when we talk about where everyone is now. We should be the bar everyone else is trying to reach.
References:
Friedman, T. L. (2010). What's Our Sputnik?. The New York Times. p. 8.
*It is not my intention to offend anyone. I am using stereotypes to enhance my writing. I was a band geek.
