There’s been a lot written about the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives going on in the United States, on this and many other blogs. If you’re an American geek, you’re probably just as concerned as we at GeekDad are about the current state of science and math education in this country, and if you’re not, you should be. The number of students choosing to study STEM-related fields has been steadily dropping over the past several decades, and we can’t let the trend continue if the U.S. is to remain prominent in the global intellectual community.
To that end, in addition to the efforts of the federal government, it’s great to see the private sector get involved. Time Warner Cable last year launched a $100 million, five-year program called Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) to address the deficiencies in STEM education in the United States. I spoke with Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt yesterday, and it was very reassuring to hear in his voice the commitment the company has to make sure the next generation of Americans is able to meet the challenges of the future.
To that end, CAMM is presenting an online Town Hall today called “Math, Science and the Future of Our Nation,” hosted by Al Gore and with panelists including inventor Dean Kamen, former astronaut Sally Ride and MythBusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, and with students all over the country participating! The Town Hall starts at noon EST, and you’ll be able to submit questions to the panelists via online comment or webcam on the CAMM website.
I highly encourage all of our readers to join in at noon EST today, and to follow CAMM on Twitter to stay abreast of future events. You can watch the Town Hall in the embedded video below [Embedded video has been removed as the event is over. – Editor].
UPDATE: I’ve just received word that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) and Kudo Tsunoda (the creative director behind Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox) have been added to the panel!
UPDATE, AGAIN: If you missed the event, video of it will be made available on the CAMM website.
