I hear if you throw a frog into hot water, it will jump out. But, place it in cold water and heat the water, and it will just boil to death...
Parents, Students Fine With Math, Science
By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON - Science and math have zoomed to the top of the nation's education agenda. Yet Amanda Cook, a parent of two school-age girls, can't quite see the urgency.
"In Maine, there aren't many jobs that scream out 'math and science,'" said Cook, who lives in Etna, in the central part of the state. Yes, both topics are important, but "most parents are saying you're better off going to school for something there's a big need for."
Nationwide, a new poll shows, many parents are content with the science and math education their children get — a starkly different view than that held by national leaders.
Fifty-seven percent of parents say "things are fine" with the amount of math and science being taught in their child's public school. High school parents seem particularly content — 70 percent say their child gets the right amount of science and math.
Students aren't too worried, either, according to the poll released Tuesday by Public Agenda, a public opinion research group that tracks education trends.
Only half of children in grades six to 12 say that understanding sciences and having strong math skills are essential for them to succeed after high school.
This comes as congressional leaders, governors, corporate executives and top scientists have called for schools to raise the rigor and amount of math and science in school. In his State of the Union address, President Bush made the matter a national priority.
Yet where public officials and employers see slipping production in the sciences as a threat to the nation's economy, parents and students don't share that urgency.
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