Vantage Point: A matter of international concern 

Dr. Kerry Clegg

In between our travels around the state to speak out against the governor’s budget and defeat Propositions 74 and 76, I have been working with the other CSBA officers to improve California’s educational system by serving the needs of various committees and task groups.

Our work this year on the science and high school reform task forces is nearly complete, and I have been sharing some of the findings and proposed recommendations at various county offices and trustee meetings. While these task forces targeted different aspects of the curriculum, there were some areas of commonality. For example, when representatives of technology businesses explain the need for high school graduates to possess higher order thinking skills, a basic science and technological background, and math and English skills, they emphasize the ability to compete in a global economy. That is, they say students also need to be familiar with their major competitors in today’s global society.

Many educators, politicians and business leaders have opined about the poor performance of American students on international math and science exams, using this as damning evidence that the educational system is broken and in need of reform. While I could debate the types of reforms that education may need, I am more concerned about the implications of a study recently published by The National Academies. That report, highlighted in an L.A. Times article on Oct. 14 (“Science Called to Head of Class”), indicated that U.S. universities graduated only 70,000 scientists/engineers in 2004, while India produced 350,000 and China graduated 600,000. These nations are out to compete with the United States; they understand that science and technology are key elements to success and they are investing heavily. The National Academies report warns that if immediate action is not taken, the U.S. could lose many highly skilled jobs to other countries. They recommend recruiting 10,000 new teachers in science and math by offering scholarships, making the U.S. a more attractive place for research by funding scholarships and fellowships in science for U.S. citizens, and by making it easier for talented foreign scholars to get visas to work here.

How can we synthesize these two issues: on the one hand, the need to globalize our students and increase their understanding of other societies and cultures, and, on the other, the need to promote more foreign students and workers in the U.S.?

One way – the goal of the Asia Society for several years – is to increase the teaching of Asian studies, languages and multiculturalism in the California curriculum and to increase the exchange of students and teachers with Asian countries, particularly China.

CSBA has recently taken up this cause, with its long-range goals of improving students’ competitive edge and keeping California in the forefront of economic development in the Pacific Rim. This April, Dr. Bruce Carter, CSBA Director for Region 23, individuals from Pasadena City College and I met with the Minister of Education of Shanghai province to discuss the possibility of cooperating in the promotion of cultural and educational exchanges with California. (Many state boards of education have entered into similar agreements with representatives from China in recent years, but so far California’s board has declined to participate.) After a long discussion and interesting exchange of ideas, a mutually agreeable memorandum of understanding was developed to promote educational exchange of students and teachers and to promote further cooperation. This MOU was approved by the CSBA Board of Directors at its September meeting.

At the invitation of the Shanghai Ministry of Education, incoming CSBA President Luan Rivera, Bruce Carter and I will travel to Shanghai in November to deliver the signed MOU and to tour the Shanghai education system. This will begin a concerted effort to increase mutual understanding of our cultures, to promote inclusion of more Asian-Pacific studies in our classrooms and to stimulate the production of more technology-oriented students and teachers in California.

Indeed, this is only a small start toward revitalizing the state’s interests in technology and science, and increasing our worldwide competitiveness – with perhaps our most important competitor. But it’s a beginning.