Synapse: Current Issue

SCHIEFFER: Let’s stop there, because I want to get in a question on education, and I’m afraid this is going to have to be our last question, gentlemen. The question is this: the U.S. spends more per capita than any other country on education. Yet, by every international measurement, in math and science competence, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, we trail most of the countries of the world. The implications of this are clearly obvious. Some even say it poses a threat to our national security. Do you feel that way and what do you intend to do about it?

While both candidates offered intriguing responses to the question, neither specifically addressed the troubling deficiencies in math and science performance.

While I cannot hope to offer the perspective of someone more intimately acquainted with the inner workings of our education system, I believe that I noticed a big contributor to the problem early on in my education. (For the record, I attended public school from K-12 and was proud to have many outstanding teachers in the humanities, math and sciences from Amelia Earhart Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School and Alameda High School in Alameda).

I noticed a troubling sentiment among some students, parents and members of the education community – the sentiment that kids weren’t succeeding in math and science primarily because schools weren’t making it “fun” enough. Those who espoused this view would point out that if kids are getting bored of problem sets, perhaps the main issue is that we must change problem sets. But what about changing our kids’ expectations? I’m all for making math and science as fun as possible, but I think that it is fundamentally problematic if we set expectations such that kids place an inordinate emphasis on equating learning with fun. For all of us, even those who absolutely love our jobs, there are aspects of work that are stressful, challenging and anything but fun. Among other things, school is preparation for work, so why should it be any different?

I remember the first time that I learned algebra – it was confusing, and I had to struggle many weeks through reading and re-reading the book, doing problems over and over and consulting my teachers and classmates. Was this process fun? It was certainly rewarding and challenging, but it certainly wasn’t as fun as other things that I could have been doing – playing video games, spending hours on the then-revolutionary instant messaging applications, watching the Warriors or Giants on TV or indulging my hopeless sweet tooth at the local drug store. But algebra served as an irreplaceable stepping stone for future math and science classes.

Ultimately, our children will not maximize their chances of success in math and science until we change expectations. Indeed, I think it is absolutely commendable that we introduce children to the real-world applications of math and science from an early age and give them dreams to aspire to; making math and science relevant and as engaging as possible is of paramount importance.

But our efforts must extend beyond a mere introduction to all the cool and inspiring things that you can do with math and science. After all, if you want to aspire to build a rocket ship, invent a better MP3 player, design Pixar films or find a cure for cancer or AIDS, you need to build a strong groundwork with math and science from a relatively early age, and this inevitably requires hours of hard work and sacrifice.

This requires a long-term perspective and a disciplined sense of deferred enjoyment; those in the health field are intimately familiar with it given the long years of training required. Some may argue that this mindset is very difficult to instill en masse in our children, but I’m not so sure, and I would like to offer an example to support my position.

When I was younger and practicing for tennis tournaments, there was a trick that we were told to do to practice accuracy on the all-important toss for our serve (I never even came close to mastering it). You put a quarter on the tennis court where the ball should land if you toss it and simply let it fall back down without hitting it. Then, before you can even practice hitting the ball, you have to be able to hit the quarter ten times in a row to demonstrate how accurate your toss is. If you do it nine times and then have an errant toss, you start over. I saw many of my counterparts assiduously practicing this for hours with the enthusiastic support of their parents.

As this example illustrates, I have seen countless parents exhort their kids to practice hours a day from a young age so that they can become proficient at tennis, football, track, golf or another sport; moreover, I have seen countless kids eagerly engaged in these pursuits. Unfortunately, some of these same parents do not show the same enthusiasm or competitive nature when it comes to their children’s math and science education, condoning or even endorsing oft-spouted youthful attitudes that math and science are “boring”, “too hard” or “uncool.” I find this difference in attitudes among parents and children problematic and dangerous to our continued success as the world’s greatest engine of innovation and economic growth.

(Please note that I am not in any way criticizing youth participation in sports, which has myriad benefits in terms of promoting health and coordination, learning to function in a group setting and learning to be a humble winner and graceful loser. Some of my happiest memories as a child were of playing sports.)

So what’s the action plan? Everyone has a role to play in fostering the right attitude toward math and science. While there’s certainly no need to force junior to recite the periodic table before giving him his dessert, taking math and science too lightly is a sure recipe for disaster.

Jason Hom is a medical student taking time off to do a research fellowship. At its illustrious peak, his high school math club had three active members, including himself.

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