Can We Legislate More Smart People?
from the good-luck-with-that-plan dept
While it’s a good thing that politicians are starting to recognize that the US education system isn’t churning out science and engineering grads as well as other countries any more, it’s not clear how they can fix that by legislation. They’re trying to create a new law that will help solve the issue, but it sounds like treating the symptoms rather than the problem. They’re coming up with some very specific ways specifically designed to look at encouraging more students to go into scientific and engineering fields — but that won’t matter if the jobs aren’t there or don’t look appealing. The way to get more students to get these types of degrees is to make jobs in those fields look appealing, which means encouraging innovation, encouraging a “tinkering” culture and getting people excited about technology and science by letting them explore and learn — not by locking them down under obsolete business models where only incumbents can thrive. Naming ten communities as “innovation hot spots” doesn’t seem as likely to do the trick.
Comments on “Can We Legislate More Smart People?”
Encouraging science and engineering careers.
Pay the scientists and engineers. Stop using them as layoff fodder. Stop making them work nights and weekends for free.
If your mommy or daddy is an engineer, you know one thing: You’re going to go to law school or get an MBA. You’re not going to go through engineering school hell only to wind up on the street, with your job in India.
Re: Encouraging science and engineering careers.
Or become a health professional, so that you can do ethical work, get respect, and make money too. There are people majoring in stuff like gerontology, a pretty lightweight topic from what I can tell, and they can expect to make truckloads of money after graduation. Jobs like that won’t get outsourced easily, and there will be demand for American expertise in topics like that too — Asian countries tend to be very backward on the social aspects of medicine.
No Subject Given
Hmmm, I’d say it feels like the products of last generation’s bullies and drop-outs responding to “oh no we’re thick”.
sure we can legislate
we need a license to drive, fish and hunt.
Lets get a license to reproduce. The test would be general parenting knowledge and an IQ test…if we could figure out a common sense test, add that in too.
in a few generations we would see:
– less stupid lawsuits
– less darwin awards
– a reduction in occurence of 6 kids/welfare mom, deadbeat dad phenom
– marketters would cease to exist as we know it.
Re: sure we can legislate
Learn how to spell, type, or use spell check. You are the people we’d have to pass legislation against.
Re: sure we can legislate
– less stupid lawsuits
– less darwin awards
– a reduction in occurence of 6 kids/welfare mom, deadbeat dad phenom
– marketters would cease to exist as we know it.
Not to mention graduates who can speak and write proper English:
– fewer stupid lawsuits
– fewer Darwin Awards
– a reduction the the occurrence of the six kid / welfare mom / deadbeat dad phenomenon.
– marketeers, as we know them, would cease to exist.
Re: sure we can legislate
– less stupid lawsuits
– less darwin awards
– a reduction in occurence of 6 kids/welfare mom, deadbeat dad phenom
– marketters would cease to exist as we know it.
Not to mention graduates who can speak and write proper English:
– fewer stupid lawsuits
– fewer Darwin Awards
– a reduction in the occurrence of the six kid / welfare mom / deadbeat dad phenomenon.
– marketeers, as we know them, would cease to exist.
Can We Legislate More Smart People
I think some of these new TV shows might encourage more science and engineering grads. Shows like Myth Busters show how cool and fun science can be.
Dave
I'd like to point out a typo in the header
It should read “Can We Legislate More Smarter People?”
Nothing to be ashamed of, this site gets gooder all the time.