One Nation Under-Taught

by Dr. Vince M. Bertram

  25 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Thomas Wolfe.” Encyclopedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/topic/646559/supplemental-information.

  26 “Reagan Quotes.”

  27 In writing about the “Carter years” and mentioning the presidents and candidates, I mean to make no political judgments—simply to jog memories—I have long believed presidents have but a small responsibility and effect on employment rates.

  28 NPA Services Inc. “United States Misery Index.” US Misery Index. http://www.miseryindex.us/indexbymonth.aspx?type=UR.

  29 Ibid.

  30 Ibid.

  31 Zuckerman, Mortimer. “Mort Zuckerman: A Jobless Recovery is a Phony Recovery.” Wall Street Journal. July 15, 2013.

  32 Portlock, Sarah, and Jeffrey Sparshott. “ GDP Revisions Make Recovery Look Better, Recession Not as Bad.” Wall Street Journal. July 31, 2013. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/07/31/gdp-revisions-make-recovery-look-better-recession-not-as-bad/.

  33 Amadeo, Kimberly. “US GDP Growth.” About. http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/a/US-GDP-Growth.htm.

  34 House, Jonathan. “U.S. Economy Shrinks by Most in Five Years.” Wall Street Journal. June 25, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-gdp-contracted-at-2-9-pace-in-first-quarter-1403699600.

  35 Ibid.

  36 Ibid.

  37 Leubsdorf, Ben. “GDP Expanded at 4.2% Rate in Second Quarter.” The Wall Street Journal. August 28, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/articles/gdp-expanded-at-4-2-rate-in-second-quarter-1409229416.

  38 Mitchell, Josh. “Student-Loan Debt Tops $1 Trillion.” The Wall Street Journal. March 22, 2012. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303812904577295930047604846?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577295930047604846.html.

  39 O’Shaughnessy, Lynn. “College Grads Overconfident in Job Prospects.” CBS News. May 9, 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-grads-overconfident-in-job-prospects/.

  40 Koba, Mark. “Job Picture Looks Bleak for 2013 College Grads.” CNBC. April 26, 2013. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100673848.

  41 Shierholz, Heidi, Natalie Sabadish, and Nicholas Finio. “The Class of 2013.” Economic Policy Institute. April 10, 2013. http://www.epi.org/publication/class-of-2013-graduates-job-prospects/40/.

  42 Neal, Meghan. “Half College Grads Can’t Find Full-Time Work, Studies Show.” Daily News. May 10, 2012. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/college-grads-find-full-time-work-study-shows-article-1.1075873#ixzz2bP9BlZsW.

  43 Koba, Mark.

  44 Ibid.

  45 Porter, Eduardo. “Dropping Out of College and Paying the Price.” The New York Times. June 25, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/business/economy/dropping-out-of-college-and-paying-the-price.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.

  46 Richmond, Emily. “High School Graduation Rate Hits 40-Year Peak in the U.S.” The Atlantic. June 6, 2013. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/high-school-graduation-rate-hits-40-year-peak-in-the-us/276604/.

  47 Bennett, William J. and Wilezol, David, Is College Worth It? Thomas Nelson, 2013. P. VII.

  48 “H1B Visa Application.” H1B Visa. http://www.h1bvisa.org/.

  49 Khan, Huma. “Are Americans Losing High-Skilled Jobs to Foreigners?” ABC News. February 1, 2012. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/are-americans-losing-high-skilled-jobs-to-foreigners/.

  50 Calderon, Sara. “STEM Visa Immigration Reform Most Likely to Benefit Asians.” Politic 365. January 31, 2013. http://politic365.com/2013/01/31/stem-visa-immigration-reform-most-likely-to-benefit-asians-not-latinos/.

  51 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. “Report to the President: Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math(STEM) for America’s Future.” White House. September 1, 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-stemed-report.pdf.

  52 Ibid.

  53 West, Darrell. “Improving STEM Education in the United States.” Brookings. September 12, 2011. http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2011/09/12-stem-west.

  54 Weihua, Chen. “PEW Poll: China Will Top US.” China Daily. July 19, 2013. http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2013-07/19/content_16798933.htm.

  55 Ibid.

  56 Kurlantzick, Joshua. “China Falling? Not So Fast.” Bloomberg Businessweek. June 28, 2013. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-28/china-falling-not-so-fast.

  57 Arcega, Mil. “US 2nd Quarter GDP - Lackluster, But Better Than Expected.” Voice of America. August 1, 2013. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-second-quarter-gdp-lackluster-but-better-than-expected/1717104.html.

  58 Dillon, Sam.

  59 Strauss, Valerie. “New Data on Public Education Released.” Washington Post. October 12, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2012/10/12/new-data-on-public-education-released/.

  60 Conrad, Cameron. “U.S. Education Spending Tops Other Countries.” Students First. July 3, 2013. http://www.studentsfirst.org/blog/entry/u.s.-education-spending-tops-other-countries.

  61 Gorman, Christine. “Advances in Science Drive Economic Growth.” Scientific American. July 26, 2012. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/07/26/science-drives-economic-growth/.

  62 “President Hockfield Stresses Innovation in Speech to U.S. Governors.” MIT News. July 15, 2011. http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2011/nga-conference-hockfield-0715.

  63 Ibid.

  64 The story of GM’s bankruptcy and recovery is complicated by a great many political judgments, but this Forbes Magazine account is but one of the explanations on how GM recovered through ingenuity as well as public investment: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danbigman/2013/10/30/how-general-motors-was-really-savedthe-untold-true-story-of-the-most-important-bankruptcy-in-u-shistory/

  65 Spangler, Todd. “Dan Akerson Meets with Members of Congress to Boast of GM’s Resurgence.” Detroit Free Press. March 21, 2013. http://www.freep.com/article/20130321/BUSINESS0101/130321039/.

  66 Dumaine, Brian. “FedEx CEO Fred Smith on … Everything.” Fortune Magazine. May 11, 2012. http://fortune.com/2012/05/11/fedex-ceo-fred-smith-on-everything/.

  67 Adkins, Rodney. “America Desperately Needs More STEM STudents. Here’s How to Get Them.” Forbes. July 9, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/07/09/america-desperately-needs-more-stem-students-heres-how-to-get-them/.

  68 Information Technology Industry Council. “Private Sector Leaders Committed to Efforts Focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education.” PR Newswire. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/private-sector-leaders-committed-to-efforts-focused-on-science-technology-engineering-and-math-stem-education-71572447.html.

  69 “About Change the Equation.” Change the Equation. http://changetheequation.org/about-change-equation.

  70 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

  71 Ibid.

  72 West, Darrell. “Improving STEM Education in the United States.” Brookings. September 12, 2011. http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2011/09/12-stem-west.

  73 Black Point Policy Solutions, LLC. “Building a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education Agenda.” National Governors Association. http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/1112STEMGUIDE.PDF.

  74 Rosen, Linda. “STEM Is Where the Jobs Are at.” STEM Blog. May 21, 2012. http://blog.stemconnector.org/linda-rosen-stem-where-jobs-are.

  75 Bennett & Wilezol, Supra. P. 92.

  76 Ibid., P.93.

  77 Ibid.

  78 Ibid.

  79 Ibid., P. 95.

  80 Bui, Quoctrung. “What’s Your Major? 4 Decades Of College Degrees, In 1 Graph.” NPR. May 9, 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/09/310114739/whats-your-major-four-decades-of-college-degrees-in-1-graph.

  81 Ibid.

  82 Ibid.

  83 Ibid.

  84 Ibid.

  85 Ibid.

  86 Langdon, David, George M
cKittrick, Mark Doms, David Beede, and Beethika Kahn. “STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future.” Economics and Statistics Administration. http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/stemfinalyjuly14_1.pdf.

  87 National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Achieve, Inc. “Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive AWorld-Class Education.” http://www.edweek.org/media/benchmakring for success dec 2008 final.pdf.

  88 Hanushek, Eric A., Peterson, Paul E., Woessmann, Ludgar. Endangering Prosperity-A Global View of the American School, Brookings Institution Press. 2013, pp. 11-12.

  89 GreatSchools Staff. “Thinking Globally.” GreatSchools. http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/2458-Eric-Hanushek-interview.gs?page=all.

  90 Hanushek, Peterson, Woessmann. op.cit. pp.12 & 63.

  91 The National Commission on Excellence in Education. “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education United States Department of Education.” Data Center. April 1, 1983. http://datacenter.spps.org/uploads/sotw_a_nation_at_risk_1983.pdf.

  92 Ibid.

  93 Finn, Chester. “The Case for Saturday School.” Wall Street Journal. March 20, 2010. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704207504575130073852829574?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704207504575130073852829574.html.

  94 Ibid.

  95 Ibid.

  96 Milken, Michael. “Where’s Sputnik? Summoning the Will to Create the Next American Century.” The Milken Institute Review: A Journal of Economic Policy, 2011. http://www.mikemilken.com/wheressputnik.pdf.

  97 Gates, Bill. “How Teacher Development Could Revolutionize Our Schools.” Washington Post. February 28, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/27/AR2011022702876.html?hpid=news-col-blog.

  98 Bennett, William. “For Superior Teachers, Reward Excellence.” CNN. March 7, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/02/bennett.education.teachers.unions/index.html.

  99 Ibid.

  100 McKinsey and Company. “Closing the Talent Gap: Attracting and Retaining Top-third Graduates to Careers and Teaching.” McKinsey on Society. September 1, 2010.

  101 Ibid.

  102 Ibid.

  103 Ibid.

  104 “Teach for America Press Kit.” Teach for America. June 19, 2012.

  105 MetLife. “The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher.” Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED530021.pdf.

  106 Hanushek, Eric. “Valuing Good Teachers: How Much Is a Good Teacher Worth?” Hoover Institute Stanford University. January 1, 2011. http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/valuing-teachers-how-much-good-teacher-worth.

  107 Moe, Michael, and Luben Pampulov. “Demography Is Density.” Next Up: Insider Insights on the Growth Economy. June 26, 2011. http://mikemilken.com/pdfs/NextUp.pdf.

  108 Sethna, Beheruz. “Messages From a Flattening World.” University of West Georgia. May 1, 2006. http://www.westga.edu/president/messages_from_a_flattening_world.php.

  109 “Family Structure and Children’s Education.” Family Facts. http://www.familyfacts.org/briefs/35/family-structure-and-childrens-education.

  110 Drew, Christopher. “Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard).” The New York Times. November 4, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.

  111 Ibid.

  112 Ibid.

  113 Ibid.

  114 Pinker, Steven. “Science Is Not Your Enemy.” New Republic. August 6, 2013. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114127/science-not-enemy-humanities.

  115 Ibid.

  116 Ibid.

  117 Bennett, William. “U.S Lag in Science, Math a Disaster in the Making.” CNN. February 9, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/opinion/bennett-stem-education.

  118 Ibid.

  119 Hrabowski, Freeman. “4 Pillars of College Success in Science.” TED. February 1, 2013. http://www.ted.com/talks/freeman_hrabowski_4_pillars_of_college_success_in_science.

  120 Cordoza, Kavitha. “Chronic Absenteeism: Public School’s Forgotten Problem?” WAMU American University Radio. June 1, 2012. http://wamu.org/programs/metro_connection/12/06/01/chronic_absenteeism_public_schools_forgotten_problem.

  121 Adkins, Rodney. “America Desperately Needs More STEM STudents. Here’s How to Get Them.” Forbes. July 9, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/07/09/america-desperately-needs-more-stem-students-heres-how-to-get-them/.

  122 Tai, Robert. “An Examination of the Research Literature on Project Lead the Way.” Project Lead the Way. November 1, 2012. http://www.pltw.org/sites/default/files/PLTW DR.TAI-brochure_pages.pdf.

  123 Ibid.

  124 “Exposure to Engineering Doubles Teens’ Career Interest.” Intel Newsroom. December 6, 2011. http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/12/06/exposure-to-engineering-doubles-teens-career-interest.

  125 Ibid.

  126 Steel, David. “This Is How You Make Kids Love Math.” Washington Post. June 4, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/this-is-how-you-make-kids-love-math/2012/06/04/gJQAw38XDV_story.html.

  127 “The STEM Crisis.” Nation Math Science Initiative. https://www.nms.org/AboutNMSI/TheSTEMCrisis.aspx.

  128 Ibid.

  129 Abdul-Amin, Jamaal. “Experts Differ on Route to Getting Talented Teachers to Most Challenged Schools.” Diverse. April 4, 2013. http://diverseeducation.com/article/52410/.

  130 Soave, Robby, and Rachel Stoltzfoos. “Here Is the Conservative Defense of Common Core.” The Daily Caller. March 12, 2014. http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/12/here-is-the-conservative-defense-of-common-core/.

  131 Booth, Ryan. “A Conservative Defense of Common Core.” The Hayride. May 1, 2013. http://thehayride.com/2013/05/a-conservative-defense-of-common-core/.

  132 Ibid.

  133 Blow, Charles M. “The Common Core and the Common Good.” The New York Times. August 21, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/opinion/blow-the-common-core-and-the-common-good.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=1&.

  134 Porter-Magee, Kathleen. “Why Conservatives Should Support the Common Core.” Thomas B. Fordham Institute. April 3, 2013. http://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/common-core-watch/2013/why-conservatives-should-support-the-common-core.html.

  135 For more on “shared value,” see: https://archive.harvardbusiness.org/cla/web/pl/product.seam?c=24811&i=25967&cs=e3c4e5ddc7e9cb91d18872a098ee63b6

  136 Tai, Robert. “An Examination of the Research Literature on Project Lead the Way.” Project Lead the Way. November 1, 2012. http://www.pltw.org/sites/default/files/PLTW DR.TAI-brochure_pages.pdf.

  137 Independence Hall Association. “Benjamin Franklin’s Inventions, Discoveries, and Improvements.” The Electric Ben Franklin. http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/inventions.htm.; Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “Jefferson’s Inventions.” The Monticello Classroom. http://classroom.monticello.org/kids/resources/profile/235/Jefferson-s-Inventions/.

  138 Aeppel, Timothy. “Economists Debate: Has All the Important Stuff Already Been Invented?” Wall Street Journal. June 15, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/articles/economists-duel-over-idea-that-technology-will-save-the-world-1402886301?KEYWORDS=econo.

  139 Aeppel, Timothy. “If You Had to Choose: IPhone or Toilet?” Wall Street Journal. June 14, 2014. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/06/15/if-you-had-to-choose-iphone-or-toilet/?KEYWORDS=bestinventions.

  140 Ibid.

  141 Potter, Andrew. “’Exciting’ Curriculum Helps MHS Lead the Way.” Times-Republican. July 27, 2013. http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/562380/-Exciting-curriculum-helps-MHS-lead-the-way.html.

  142 U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, and National Center for Education Statistics. “Fast Facts.” National Center for Education Statistics. January 1, 201
3. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372.

  143 Bennett, William J., Chester E. Finn, Jr, and John T.E. Cribb, Jr. The Educated Child—A Parent’s Guide from Preschool Through the Eighth Grade. New York: Free Press, 1999.

  144 Cunningham, Andrew. “Apple Breaks Revenue, IPhone, and IPad Records in Q1 of 2014.” ARS Technica. January 27, 2014. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/01/apple-breaks-revenue-iphone-and-ipad-records-in-q1-of-2014/.

  145 “Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard: ‘There Is a Reason the World Always Looks to America’” Los Angeles Times Blog. March 10, 2011. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/03/julia-gillard-australia-prime-minister-speech-to-u-s-congress-.html.

  Acknowledgments

  This book would not have been possible without many people and organizations that take the issues I have written about so seriously. It is no exaggeration to say that without them, this country would be far less than what it is today. Each comes from diverse backgrounds and experiences, but they share a common belief about what our country needs to restore her greatness - greatness they have seen before, and greatness they want desperately to see again.

  First, I would like to say “thank you” to Richard Blais, the late Richard Liebich, and the Charitable Leadership Foundation for their vision to develop and launch Project Lead The Way (PLTW).

  PLTW’s board of directors, past and present, is comprised of deeply committed, mission-driven leaders. For their extraordinary leadership and support, I want to thank our current directors Frank Zaffino, James Rahn, Dr. Mohammad Qayoumi, Kurt Liebich, Eunice Heath, Chris Bradshaw, John Calabrese and most recent former board members Dr. Hermann Viets, Marcia Peterson, and Dr. Joe Astroth.

  Thank you, too, to PLTW’s team of amazing educators and leaders. I admire their tireless work ethic and unwavering commitment to deliver a world-class education to all students in America. In particular, thank you to Kiley Adolph, Dr. Rex Bolinger, Jennifer Cahill, Dr. Andrea Croslyn, Jonathan Dilley, David Dimmett, Dorothy Gorman, Dr. Anne Jones, Carol Killworth, Cathy Lund, Valarie Osinski, and John Visconti.

  And also to our great business and corporate partners, state leaders, university affiliates, and master teachers for their work throughout the country to promote PLTW, help train school personnel, and support thousands of PLTW teachers and students. Thank you to our thousands of dedicated teachers and school administrators who have embraced PLTW and are making it available to their students, they—like all great teacher and school administrators—do the second most important job in our country, after parents.