Anyone that follows the day-to-day news knows that this is "the year" for India and China. The colleges and universities of the USA know it also and are going to use this for their gain--nothing wrong with that.....Over the past week, there have been numerous stories about US higher education institutions, attempting to expand their reach into India. A study of demographics shows that 40% of India's population is under 18 and they know that their path to continued economic growth lies in more education. This appetite for higher education means that US institutions can enter into educational partnerships with India--which translates into more students and more tuition money for America's higher ed.
This partnership is a dual relationship: America needs more Science and Math majors--we aren't getting them from the US--there is a lot of emphasis on Science and Math in India's schools--therefore this move to tap into India's education market serves a dual purpose--more money, more Science and Math graduates who can be recruited by American companies to fill positions that cannot be filled by American S&M grads.
Why is it that American students are shunning Math and Science? One reason may be according to a survey done by eschools.com is that education is failing to make the connection between the teaching of technical education and the real world. This goes back to the philosophy that we need to integrate academics with APPLICATION of the subject to "real world" use. Think about your own school days--when did your real learning begin? It began when you had to USE the information that you learned in school.
For years, the attitude by academia has been that applied learning is "dumbed down" curricula. Now, that attitude is going through a transformation.
I have been arguing this point for years and was considered an academic heretic for doing so.
If we just wait....the pendulum swings the other way--that's a scientific law, isn't it????
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