WASHINGTON — One might expect a Washington think tank that studies the presidency and the Congress to prevail upon those federal government branches to arrest declining educational achievement by American schoolchildren. In an effort partly intended to draw attention to the failing effort of government to reverse national educational achievement decline, the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress has issued a public letter to American parents, urging their greater involvement in K-12 education and encouraging them to apply pressure on policymakers to improve science and math instruction in the U.S.
At a Thursday news discussion meeting, the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress (CPSC) presented “A Letter on STEM Education to America’s Parents” as an appeal to spur parents to help improve prospects for the global economic competitiveness of the current generation of American children.
Authored by the CPSC’s Committee on K-12 Education, the letter says the committee focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education “not because other fields are unimportant, but rather because excellence in STEM will to a large degree form the basis of our children’s ability to obtain jobs; to defend themselves in a dangerous world; and to live healthy, happy, rewarding lives.” Twenty-four national experts on education and workforce issues served on the CPSC committee.
The letter identifies 10 recommendations specifying actions that individual parents can take “to improve the education of your child and children across the country.”
In grappling with the economic competitiveness issue, one recommendation asks parents to speak to their children about “the important connection between education and training and their lifelong standard of living.”
“Help them to understand that hard work in the classroom and involvement in afterschool STEM programs will pay off in terms of greater career opportunities and higher pay,” the letter says.
Norman Augustine, co-chair of the CPSC committee, cited studies “that show between 50 and 85 percent of the growth in American GDP in recent decades is directly attributed to advancements in science and technology.”
