States boost STEM efforts
Politicians seek to cultivate STEM programs.
Rick Nelson, Editor in Chief -- Test & Measurement World, 11/1/2009 1:00:00 AM
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STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education got a boost on several fronts last month. Here in Massachusetts, The MathWorks hosted Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray at a ceremony during which Patrick signed an executive order establishing the Governor's STEM Advisory Council.
Jack Little, The MathWorks president and founder, welcomed the state officials on behalf of the 1500 MathWorks employees in Natick. He said that as a supporter of STEM initiatives over the years, The MathWorks was honored to host the event. He said that The MathWorks benefits from a work force educated in STEM disciplines, and he expressed hope that the new initiative would ensure that interest in STEM would be nurtured early in the young and sustained as they grow.
In comments after the signing ceremony, Patrick emphasized that the commonwealth of Massachusetts already has strong STEM programs, but he added that they are organic. They might be effective, he said, but added, “If you really want to lift the whole commonwealth, you have to have a much more coordinated strategy, and the council will do this.”
When asked about federal support for STEM, Patrick said, “I know it sounds boastful, but it's true that we [Massachusetts] are setting benchmarks in federal policy.” He added, “There is a lot going on. What we need is greater coordination, and at a time when everybody is fiscally stressed, we need to make sure we are having a laser-like impact. I think what we get from the federal government is a lot of encouragement, and Congress has looked at us in some ways as a laboratory for things that work.”
Just a day after The MathWorks event, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced a $160 million initiative to expand the number and scope of Texas STEM (T-STEM) academies. The governor made the announcement at Berkner High School, one of 46 T-STEM academies. He intends to double that number to 92.
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“Accelerating the pace of our high-tech education is essential to maintaining a globally competitive workforce,” Governor Perry said, as reported in a press release. “This will continue to provide Texas students the opportunity to pursue the education they need as they fulfill their potential and keep Texas moving into the future.”
In yet another announcement last month, the NC STEM Community Collaborative announced that it had supported the development of the newly formed Joining our Businesses and Schools (JOBS) Commission, whose goal is to better prepare North Carolina students to enter the workforce. The 20-member commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton, will find ways to strengthen ties between education and business, and they're going to communities to do it.
At the Massachusetts event, Lieutenant Governor Murray told The MathWorks employees that the Massachusetts constitution directs legislators and magistrates “to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences.” And the NC STEM organization says North Carolina is the only state in the union with a constitution citing education as a right of the people. Such explicit statements are nice, but they shouldn't be necessary to get states to organize and fund STEM programs.
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