Little girls could have a more profitable future in a science career

We already know that women earn about 70 percent of what men earn. And it's probably already well known too that more men hold jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math arenas. But a new report from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economics and Statistics Administration has found that the pay gap is smaller for women in STEM careers, and that they earned about 33 percent more than women in non-STEM jobs in 2009.

Unfortunately, budget cuts and the educational system's modern obsession with test-taking have relegated science curriculum to the trash bin, particularly among so called "low-performing" schools, of which we have many in Monterey County. The one path out of poverty that could be offered to those students is turned down in exchange of mindless practice of filling in the bubbles.

But not all is bleak. There are the Mark O'Sheas, who are trying to improve science education in elementary schools. There are the Hongde Hus, who are inspiring young students to take up math as their mission in life.

Three teachers and two administrators at MPUSD attended the Sally Ride Science Academy last month, which is designed to spark students' interest in careers in math and science. It'll be interesting to see what they learned -- and how students respond.

UPDATE: Going through old emails I ran into a good post about this very topic by esteemed colleague John Fensterwald. There's a new report by the National Research Council that offers an alternative approach toward science education. The council, affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences, recently released “A Framework for K-12 Science Education.”

To explain the report, John interviewed Helen Quinn, who chaired the Council’s Board on Science Education. Quinn is a physics professor emeritus at Stanford University.