Mobilizing Scientific Societies

Abstract

In last week's Editorial, I lamented the superficial, skin-deep approach to science learning that is common in America's schools. * The situation has proven highly resistant to change, and it continues to have a disastrous, long-lasting effect on the attitudes of students toward science (millions of whom are now adults). The main culprit is the strong demand for a broad “coverage” of each subject, which kills student interest and makes genuine comprehension almost impossible. At the precollege level, this push is driven by state-based textbook adoption policies, by high-stakes examinations, and—inadvertently—by a scientific community that largely fails to understand teachers' needs. How might scientists be mobilized to support a much more inspiring, in-depth form of science education?