LTE: Florida, nation need to improve science education

One of our board members, Jonathan Smith, had a letter to the editor published. Here it is for your enjoyment:

The editorial Saturday, “Shortchanging Science,” comes as no great surprise to those of us who are actively involved in the pursuit of science and scientific studies. This unacceptable attitude is not only prevalent toward the established scientific organizations, it has it roots firmly planted in the lack of adequate science education in our public school systems.

As a nation and as a society, our economic growth is increasingly dependant on technology. It is of critical importance that we remain competitive in a world market and, as a state, that we support our future success by investing in our educational system in the present.

If science is vital to our country and our state, why, then, do the many assessment tests find us so seriously lacking in the many facets of scientific education? Florida, in particular, received an F grade from the Thomas Fordham Institute, which judged the state standards to be “sorely lacking in content” and was marred by “a prevalence of errors in fact and presentation.”

The NAEP, a congressionally mandated project of the National Center for Education Statistics, found that 49 percent of Florida eighth-graders couldn’t perform at a basic science proficiency level.

As parents, teachers and scientists we should all be concerned about what awaits our children if we don’t ensure a first-rate curriculum now.

JONATHAN P. SMITH

I believe he wrote the letter in response to this piece.