Science education stressed

ST. GEORGE — The world has changed and so has the way to make a living.

That was the message given to Utah's higher education officials during a keynote address by Shirley Malcom, head of education and human resources for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"It's a big problem that kids get turned off to something they come into life loving," she said, referring to the innate curious nature of a child, who tends to seek out an understanding of how the world works.

"We really need to focus on providing math and science as a basis of general education," Malcom said. She expressed concern that such courses often "weed out" rather than cultivate college students who are unsure of where to direct their own education.

Malcom, who was in St. George on Thursday to participate in the State Board of Regents' annual planning meeting, said the responsibility for preparing tomorrow's future lies in the hands of college and university administrators, specifically those involved with teacher education.

Much of her speech dealt with putting more emphasis on recruiting women and minorities into science and engineering disciplines, as well as fostering a greater respect in youths for the scientific fields. The common excuses, such as "it's hard" or "it's boring" can be combated with creative and integrated teaching methods.

Students are often unprepared to take the college courses necessary to be successful in math and science, but Malcom said that can be solved in the public education levels by providing teachers who are qualified and who enjoy teaching math and science.

David Pershing, senior vice president of academic affairs at the University of Utah and member of a discussion panel following Malcom's address, said that after the state lost 50 percent of its graduating chemistry teachers last year, the university began to rethink the its educational programming.

A new initiative, he said, promises to turn out more teachers in fields the university is famous for. Over the next decade, more emphasis will be placed on educating teachers in the math, science and fine arts disciplines.

"It's become more apparent that we've got to grow our own," Pershing said.

Malcom commended the action and said "it's a start."

"You've got to take a total systems approach ... building partnerships with anything that moves," she said. "The legacy we leave to our children, is one they'll need to survive and thrive in a world very different than the one we had to live in."

Utah's Commissioner of Higher Education Rich Kendell said he hopes more of the same discourse will continue among not only the regents but the public as well.

"If we own teacher education," he said, "we ought to do something about it."

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com