Education Reform and Rocket Science

What do we have against Rocket Scientists?

In actuality, we're big fans of rocket scientists. One of the reasons we push for effective education is to give our students the math and science (and english and history and geography as well) they need to become the next generation of rocket scientists.

We highly recommend you see (or read) October Sky, the true story of how a coal miner's son became a rocket scientist.

See, when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics successfully launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957, it was a wake-up call here in the United States. We'd knew we had to get on the ball with regard to our educational system, which meant our schools needed to stop messing around and return to real teaching.

Progressive experts can spout wonderful theories and all sorts of child-centered pablum, but if we really want our students to learn math and science and Engish, we teach math and science and English.

With no apologies, by the way.

It is unfortunate that today there is no similar, singular mobilizing event such as Sputnik to help us get our act together.

But it is mildly ironic that the best way to ensure the development of future rocket scientists?or any other profession?is to stop making Education into rocket science.

People who pride themselves on their "complexity" and deride others for being "simplistic" should realize that the truth is often not very complicated. What gets complex is evading the truth.
-Thomas Sowell

(For more information on the event that started the Space Race, see NASA's Sputnik page.)