This Op-Ed by Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History, was recently published in the Huffington Post.
The United States did not become a great and powerful nation by rejecting science. In fact, this is the country whose forefathers include citizen scientists such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Teddy Roosevelt. This is the country that put a man on the moon, cured polio, and developed the computer. The country of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Rachel Carson; of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
So in this election season, let’s not politicize issues that aren’t inherently partisan. Let’s not undermine our ability to address areas of broad consensus where the stakes are staggeringly high—most especially the central role of science in advancing our society, economy, and future.
The fact is Americans agree on many things. We know we need jobs. We know we need to train and develop our workforce. We know we need to be safe. We know we need cures to existing and emerging health threats. We know we need food, shelter, and natural resources for a growing world population. We know we need solutions to looming environmental threats. And we know we need our country to be competitive in a global economy.
Among the most powerful levers we have to deal with these vexing problems are science, innovation, and technology—and, especially for workforce development, science education. Indeed, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) asserts that since World War II, the United States’ world leadership in science and engineering has been the key driver of our nation’s dominant world position, economy, and quality of life. Read more »
The New York State Department of Education has selected the American Museum of Natural History to launch a pioneering Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program this fall.
“The Museum is proud to be the first museum in the United States to offer a master’s degree program to prepare science teachers,” said Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History. “The Museum’s new Master of Arts in Teaching program extends the Museum’s formal roles both in improving the teaching of science and addressing the national crisis in science education, and will be an important new component of the Museum’s longstanding graduate training, including, most notably, the Richard Gilder Graduate School, the only museum-based Ph.D.-granting program in the country.”
Drawing on the Museum’s unique resources and long history in teacher professional development, the 15-month MAT program is being launched as part of a specialized pilot program to help address a critical shortage of qualified science teachers in New York State, particularly in high-needs schools, by offering coursework with a specialization in Earth science for teachers of grades 7 through 12. The MAT program, which is supported by funding provided in part by the New York State Education Department and the National Science Foundation, will model and test new approaches that can be replicated across New York State and nationally.
The Museum will conduct the program in partnership with six schools—Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers in Manhattan; the Queens Vocational and Technical High School in Queens; the Thomas C. Giordano Middle School in the Bronx; Roosevelt High School and Gorton High School in Yonkers; and Freeport High School in Freeport, Long Island—with diverse student populations that include English Language Learners and students with special needs. Candidates in the MAT program will spend a full academic year in a partner school and will receive mentoring from experienced science teachers. In a feature unique to the Museum’s program, degree candidates will also spend two summers paired with Museum scientists and educators, one summer in programs for youth and one summer in a science practicum residency. Read more »
Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History, represented the “informal science education” sector during an important congressional hearing last week in Washington, DC on science education in our nation’s schools.
Speaking before the House Committee on Science and Technology on Thursday, March 4, she testified that it’s essential that the federal government continue to support and fund museums and other science-related cultural institutions as “powerful catalysts” and key players in reforming K-12 science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) education.
Futter specifically mentioned several Museum programs, including its successful leadership role in the Urban Advantage Middle School Science Initiative in New York City, as national models for public-private partnerships that boost science literacy. To download the full text of the press release, click here and you can also read Ellen Futter’s full written testimony here.
This Op-Ed by Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History, was recently published in the Huffington Post.
Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History, represented the “informal science education” sector during an important congressional hearing last week in Washington, DC on science education in our nation’s schools.
