Rep Reynolds Introduces Bill to Eliminate OSSM – February 14th, 2010
Educate to Innovate – November 23rd, 2009
From the Whitehouse.gov Web site:
President Obama has launched an “Educate to Innovate” campaign to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This campaign will include efforts not only from the Federal Government but also from leading companies, foundations, non-profits, and science and engineering societies to work with young people across America to excel in science and math.
Something to be proud of in Oklahoma – October 17th, 2009
by Retired Air Force Brigadier General Ben Robinson
About a mile south of the State Capitol building, just off Lincoln Boulevard, is a magnificent, small institution of learning. A special place because of the young men and women who attend and because of what they are preparing themselves to do someday. These young men and women could find cures for disease, solve the math problems to put America back in the lead in space travel, find new renewable energy sources, negotiate international peace agreements, and teach in our best universities…the kind of young Americans who will make this a safer nation and a better world.
The school is the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM – pronounced “awesome”). This residential high school for juniors and seniors from across the state is a one of a kind in Oklahoma and one of very few like it in the nation. Students from all 77 Oklahoma counties have attended OSSM. Its mission is to prepare young Oklahomans to think critically by excelling in studies of science and mathematics. The curriculum is designed to not only immerse students into a rigorous two-year program of advanced physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and humanities, but also to instill in them a sense of community service and living a healthy lifestyle.
But the story of this OSSM institution is more than just the residential campus in Oklahoma City – the center of excellence for Oklahoma science and mathematics. The OSSM curriculum in calculus and physics cascades out to 19 regional centers across the state. The regional centers use the same textbooks and follow a strong preparatory program to prepare an additional 200 plus students for success at our comprehensive universities. These students study only physics and calculus with OSSM while continuing to attend their hometown high schools for the remainder of their high school courses.
There is a final aspect to the OSSM institution which has an even greater reach than the residential and regional centers and that is the outreach program for science and mathematics teachers from across the state. By doing so, Oklahoma science and mathematics teachers have a connection to some of the best educational mentors and developers in the nation.
The holistic nature of OSSM can change the educational landscape for science and mathematics in Oklahoma, and place Oklahoma in a leadership position for the rest of the nation. We can all be proud that Oklahoma has such an institution. It certainly speaks well for our interest in serving our nation’s need for intellectual capital. We all should be advocates for such an educational institution. If you believe that, let your elected officials know.
(Ben Robinson of Oklahoma City is a retired Air Force Brigadier General and a former Commander of the 552 AWACS Wing at Tinker Air Force Base and the former Director of Operations in Oklahoma for the Boeing Company.)
Why the Reverse Brain Drain to India and China Matters – October 17th, 2009
Large numbers of highly-educated foreign born U.S. workers plan to return home. This has major implications for our economic future.
“… a growing body of evidence indicates that skilled foreign immigrants create jobs for Americans and boost our national competitiveness. More than 52% of Silicon Valley’s startups during the recent tech boom were started by foreign-born entrepreneurs. Foreign-national researchers have contributed to more than 25% of our global patents, developed some of our break-through technologies, and they helped make Silicon Valley the world’s leading tech center. Foreign-born workers comprise almost a quarter of all the U.S. science and engineering workforce and 47% of science and engineering workers who have PhDs. It is very possible that some of the smart Indians who sat in the room with me holding their hand up on Columbus Day will start the next Google or Apple. Many of them will build companies which employ thousands. But the jobs will be in Hyderbad or Pune, not Silicon Valley.”
Full Article: TechChrunch
We have to find a way to get more students interested in pursuing careers in math and science. If we can do that and expand the size of top-notch schools like OSSM we stand a chance of remaining a leader in innovation and job creation. Its clear that we can no longer depend on a steady stream of foreign born worker to fill our need for scientist and engineers.
Seventeen OSSM Students Named as National Merit Semifinalists – October 17th, 2009
The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics was notified recently that 17 of its seniors have been named as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.
These students have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships awarded in the spring. OSSM is Oklahoma’s two-year residential high school for academically advanced juniors and seniors from across the state.
OSSM's National Merit Semifinalists
Pictured recently during a dinner with Dr. Thomas Landers, Dean of the OU College of engineering, (far left) and Dr. David Ray, Dean of the OU Honors College (far right), the students are Shawn Swatek, home school Claremore; Sifan Zhang, home school Stillwater; Nirupama Sarathy, home school Stillwater; Teo Ene, home school Stillwater; Irving Dai, home school Stillwater; Andrew Vincent, home school Eufaula; Mubeen Shakir, home school Okla. City/Casady; Jing Shang, home school Edmond/Santa Fe; Paige Abernathy, home school Okla. City/Casady; Di Wu, home school Idabel; Deborah Olaleye, home school Tulsa/St. Stephen’s Episcopal; Onkur Sen, home school Broken Arrow/Booker T. Washington; George Malatinszky, home school Edmond/Classen School of Advanced Studies; Dipika Mohan, home school Broken Arrow/Tulsa Union; Peter Luo, home school Norman/North, Lisa Zhang, home school Tulsa/Jenks, and Ben Cassidy, home school Duncan.
Does the Decline in Foreign Math & Sci Grad Students Mean We’ll Fall Behind in Technology? – August 23rd, 2009
Foreign Grad Students enrollment in US colleges is way down. What will happen to our country’s economy if we don’t educate more math and science students here at home?
… a recent study by the Bay Area Council, the Campaign for College Opportunity and IHELP showed that we’d need a 90% upswing in people graduating with degrees in science, technology, math or engineering to keep up with all the new jobs being created in that discipline. What created Silicon Valley was a culture of openness and there is no future to Silicon Valley without it.
Source: TechCrunch
Governor, House and Senate Leadership Reach Budget Agreement – May 16th, 2009
Yesterday a budget agreement was struck between the legislative leadership and the governor. The budget includes the stimulus money. A search of the the websites of the Oklahoma Governor, House or Senate revealed no clue as to whether OSSM dorm funding is included in the state’s budget or the governor’s stimulus request.
One week left in legislative session. Let’s hope the money for the dorm is in the budget or $1.2 million will be lost.
This Newsok article has more on the budget agreement:
http://www.newsok.com/6.6b-budget-accord-struck/article/3370042?custom_click=lead_story_title
Governor’s budget news release:
http://www.gov.ok.gov/display_article.php?article_id=1254&article_type=1
House budget news release:
http://www.okhouse.gov/OkhouseMedia/news_story.aspx?NewsID=3164
Senate budget news release:
http://www.oksenate.gov/news/press_releases/press_releases_2009/pr20090515c.html
Education Secretary Says More Class Time Needed to Compete – April 13th, 2009
Mr Duncan was in Denver last week when he spoke to a group of 400 middle and high school students at a public school in northeast Denver.
I fundamentally think that our school day is too short, our school week is too short and our school year is too short
You’re competing for jobs with kids from India and China. I think schools should be open six, seven days a week; 11, 12 months a year.
Source: News9 Denver
A couple of news items from the last month may well demonstrate this:
China lands a deal to launch a satellite for Eutelsat a leading European satellite operator. Source: Wall Street Journal
Tata Motors of India has developed a $2000.00 car. Currently they are for sale only in India. Never heard of Tata? They purchased the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford last year for $2.3 billion. Source: MSN
President Stresses Importance of Education in Global Economy – February 24th, 2009
In his speech tonight, the President warned that more than a high school education is needed to compete in the global economy.
In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity – it is a pre-requisite.
Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish.
This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education – from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.
Role of Specialty Science and Math Schools Overlooked – February 21st, 2009
A report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-partisan research and educational institute think tank recommends investing more in specialty schools of science and math.
If America is to succeed in the innovation-powered global economy, boosting math and science skills will be critical. This is why a wide array of task forces and organizations has recently raised the clarion call for more and better scientists and engineers. While the policy proposals offered are wide ranging, one key policy innovation has surprisingly been largely ignored: the role of specialty math and science high schools. Today, there are well over 100 of these high schools throughout the nation. And evidence shows that these schools are a powerful tool for producing high school graduates with a deep knowledge and strong passion for science and math that translates into much higher rates of college attendance and graduation in scientific fields.
As a result, any solution to the scientist, technician, engineer, and mathematician (STEM) shortage must include a national commitment to expand the number of specialty math and science high schools. To do this, Congress should allocate $180 million a year for five years to the National Science Foundation to be matched by states and local school districts and industry with the goal of tripling enrollment in math and science high schools to around 140,000 by 2012.