Today at the White House President Obama is launching Change the Equation (CTEq), a unique and promising partnership coalition of over 100 companies ranging from Facebook and Google to Dow Chemical and Merck, all dedicated to improving science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) education performance in order to solve America's innovation problem.
The announcement comes not a moment too soon. American students rank 21st in science and 25th in math compared with students around the world.
Fittingly, yesterday in D.C. was the red carpet Hollywood-style premiere of "Waiting for 'Superman,'" a powerful new documentary about the public education system directed by Davis Guggenheim, Academy Award winning Director of "An Inconvenient Truth."
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote an Op-Ed a few weeks ago applauding "'Waiting for 'Superman'" for demonstrating that Harlem Children's Zone founder Geoffrey Canada's "point is that the only way to fix our schools is not with a Superman or a super-theory. No, it's with supermen and superwomen pushing super-hard to assemble what we know works: better-trained teachers working with the best methods under the best principals supported by more involved parents."
As the film clearly points out, this is an issue that is far from foreign to residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In fact, one of the most powerful moments for me was watching the montage of Presidents who have tried in vain to tackle the challenges of education reform in this country. While Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr. all tried to address education shortcomings, here we are years and decades later still talking about it while our country continues to fall farther behind other nations in science and math performance metrics.
Without looking at any data at all, you probably intuitively know this. While almost no American would casually say, "I can't read," many folks (even myself on more than one occasion) have comfortably admitted, "I'm terrible at math" or "I don't do science."
That's the equation we need to change, and there is no time like the present.
I admit that I am no expert in education, but if it weren't for my second grade teacher Mrs. Dollase -- whose cursive 'D's I still try to emulate but haven't quite mastered -- who helped me to believe I could do whatever I put my mind to, I wouldn't be where I am today. Almost everything I have achieved is because of a teacher's extra nudge and tireless dedication. I am continually amazed at the parents, students, administrators, policymakers and community leaders working ridiculously hard every day trying to help children succeed.
Yet many of us have followed this conversation long enough to recognize there is something systemically wrong with the current education system. Real change cannot take hold in this battle without a fresh perspective and new incentives for everyone to get involved in finding solutions.
There's a poignant moment in "Waiting For 'Superman'" -- when President George W. Bush and the late Senator Ted Kennedy came together on the No Child Left Behind Act -- demonstrating that real change seemed within grasp just a few years ago. But for a variety of reasons the promise many once felt has been lost.
Now Bush's successor, President Obama, has shrewdly approached education reform in a unique manner, reaching beyond the U.S. Treasury for help, going straight to the companies that need America's education system to produce qualified candidates for the technologically advanced jobs of the future.
Unlike efforts of past Oval Office residents that have fallen short, President Obama secured the funding first -- $4.3 billion in fact -- and his tireless team at the White House is constantly looking for partners in the private sector, fully aware that the solution doesn't solely rest in government's hands.
Another promising sign that suggests things might turn out differently this time around is that the President has been successful in inspiring the corporate community to step up in a highly coordinated and strategic fashion.
You can tell something big is happening when top companies -- including Facebook, DreamWorks, Viacom, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, E-Line, Ogilvy, Tesla, Activision and Epic Games to name just a few -- are all united around the single objective of improving the STEM performance and overall innovation prowess of our country's children.
The business community is coming together in an unprecedented manner to form partnerships for purpose, not simply because it feels good or is the right thing to do, but because they know it is the only way to ensure the future workforce is prepared for the types of STEM jobs increasingly in demand in the private sector. They also want to inspire America's next generation of innovators.
"Our mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected - and we need to find the best talent to get there," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "I had great classes and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Everyone should."
Although no one is pleased with how everything is going in Washington at the moment, there is a need to step back and recognize when good things do happen, and the launch of Change the Equation is such an occasion.
Change The Equation is a true public-private partnership inspired by President Obama's vision and his ability to convene foundations passionate about STEM, such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and key business leaders like Craig Barrett (former CEO of Intel), Glenn Britt (Time Warner Cable), Ursula Burns (Xerox), Antonio Perez (Kodak), Sally Ride (Sally Ride Science), and Rex Tillerson (ExxonMobil), who all united together after being inspired by the President's "Educate to Innovate" initiative last Fall.
Change the Equation is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose primary purpose is to make sure the corporate sector's role in improving STEM achievement is as coordinated as it possibly can be. The leadership of Change the Equation knows there are many premiere efforts in the STEM space but that more could be done to maximize the dot-connecting and leveraging of corporate resources.
CTEq is positioned to serve at the apex of a bi-partisan CEO-to-CEO peer network engaged in public-private partnerships with the White House, US Department of Education, National Governors Association, Business Roundtable, US Chamber of Commerce, and the philanthropic community with the ultimate goal of improving the STEM achievement of our country.
Of course the proof will be in the pudding. Nobody knows whether this coalition of Fortune 500-type organizations can truly move the dial on STEM and restore America's reputation as a leader in innovation. But it sure feels like they're poised to do just that, especially given the motivation and track records of many of the leaders in the coalition.
With the President's bold announcement today echoed by the enthusiasm from the business community coming together like never before to form partnerships for purpose, none of these leaders are waiting for 'Superman' to do their part in tackling the education crisis.
Are you?
UPDATE: President Obama issued the following statement about Change The Equation today:
"Our success as a nation depends on strengthening America's role as the world's engine of discovery and innovation," said President Obama. "I applaud Change the Equation for lending their resources, expertise, and their enthusiasm to the task of strengthening America's leadership in the 21st century by improving education in science, technology, engineering and math."
And here is a video featuring Energy Secretary Steven Chu and business leaders explaining the importance of efforts to improve STEM education:
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http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/PDF/consulting%20role.pdf
See more ideas like this along with maps and a Chicago tutor/mentor program locator at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of places where corporate volunteers already connect with kids living in high poverty neighborhoods. However, most of these places are not supported with anywhere near the level of support that companies use to put branch banks, food stores, and retail outlets near potential customers.
I hope that Changing the Equation means more support for the organizations already in the field, rather than more support for a few, and more completion for the rest.
An here in a nutshell:
http://4lakidsnews.blogspot.com/2010/09/dianedeb-why-civil-rights-groups-oppose.html
WFS is an over-simplistic film that sensationalizes the current Ed reform - based on half truths and hearsay. The propaganda ignores the facts, and panders to the oligarchs who are funding the reforms - along with the hedge hogs of Wall Street who brought down our economy - also financed this film, have a stake in charter schools and want our tax dollars.
The repetitive rhetoric is straight out of the Rove playbook. Don't be a fool.
Simply, corporations are advocating for privatizing public education, charters are good, unions are bad, and it's the bad teacher's fault. I am posting a few good reads by experts in education, not politicians, foundations, or the hedge fund managers that are driving these reforms. I hope you become enlightened:
The experts on school reform: http://zhaolearning.com/2010/09/03/master-of-myth-what-arne-duncan-says-and-does/
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/diane-ravitch/ravitch-welcome-back-to-school.html
The reviews by experts: http://teacherrevised.org/2010/06/30/movie-review-waiting-for-superman-or-just-another-clark-kent-playing-dress-up/
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/01/philanthroÂcapitalistÂs-go-hollywood-with.html (follow the money)
The truth: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/09/obamas-charters-profit-centers-for.html and http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/09/is-there-crisis-in-mathscience.html
Truth about agenda: http://billtotten.blogspot.com/2007/08/big-enchilada.html
and http://zhaolearning.com/2010/09/03/master-of-myth-what-arne-duncan-says-and-does/
Second, it is so strange to me that people who tell us out of one side of their mouth that $250,000 is a "middle class" income tell us out of the other side of their mouth that $50,000 for a teacher is an exorbitant salary.
Third, look at the rankings of public spending on primary and secondary education for the countries which outscore the US on TIMSS testing of science and math (looking at total GDP percentage for education spending gives a distorted picture because US private schools and college costs are so expensive).
There is clearly a correlation between making public education a fiscal priority and high test results.
How convenient to blame TEACHERS for the lack of learning- what about the STUDENTS?
When I was a student, we didn't blame the TEACHERS for our lack of learning- it was OUR fault, accepting personal responsibility for our success or failure. time to put the onus for learning BACK where it belongs, on the students, and stop making excuses for them.
Anyway, how do I log out?
If you think the reforms are about "saving" poor kids, think again. 'Waiting for Superman' is part of the corporate media's propaganda to mask hedge fund managers/investors influence over public schools. It's shameful they are using poor, inner city students to feed their naked greed.
http://blackagendareport.com/?q=print/content/freedom-rider-charter-school-lobby-buys-elections
2) Teachers and students both need TIME to work through math and science concepts together and revisit them over and over until the concepts are understood. This is important because many concepts are sequential (a new idea cannot be understood until the old one is fully grasped). Teachers these days have to "stay on schedule" to cover the curriculum which forces teachers and students to hurry through material.
The bottom line is we need to teach more by "covering" less. Learning demands context. If the context (connecting ideas to other ideas) is not there, the student feels lost and cannot progress.
A child has to learn mathematics the right way - teach the basics and reinforce through repetition. Worked for me in that place called Canada. Some of the classes I substitute teach in are Math classes. I can tell you that I am appalled at what I've seen at the high school level. In my four years of teaching so far, I've seen high school students unable to add a column of numbers, do long division, multiply single digit numbers, etc. Something is seriously messed up here in America...
How about we do something real simple that doesn't require a bunch of CEOs determining how they can mold America's youth into being the perfect employees for their giant corporations?
How about we introduce true competition into the school system with vouchers instead of public school zoning? Let parents pick and choose the best schools and what they want from a school. We'll still have "free" public education but competition will create lower costs and better education programs. Tenure has got to go. Why should teachers not be held to the same market forces as the rest of us that keep them working hard and doing their job?
How about we go back to classical education with a strong focus on english, math, science and history?
We are holding our children back. Children are capable of learning at an incredibly rapid rate and we are holding them up in these prisons we call schools until they're 18 years of age.
This is just another big government, big business circle jerk that will condemn our children to another decade of inaction on the crisis in American education.
Ben Chavis, John Taylor Gato have some different ideas on how to fix these problems.
You can do that in the current public system if you stay connected with the teachers, which is a lot easier in the days of email and texting. Then stay connected to the child's homework to know what they're learning. If you think there are gaps, you have plenty of hours outside school to work on those yourself with your kids. It's like a second job, but it works for us.
Unfortunately, reality does not make that possible for many families where both parents are working full-time jobs. It's not too much to ask for a public school system that actually works and gives American children a solid formal education. America used to do that y'know.
Go and look at the kind of material children learned in America 100 years ago.