[Evenstar_342]

I think FIRST is an excellent step towards helping America continue its economic and innovative leadership, but I think the real change will have to happen in middle and high schools across America. As a homeschooled dual credit student at a local technical college, everyday I see hoards of students who have recently graduated from the "best" high schools in our area struggle through basic math and science courses. Some of the courses are so dumbed down its a joke. Astronomy is basically a history course, and even though the Mech Engineering Technology curriculum has been drastically changed, the program is still dying. In Chemistry, where I work-study, I constantly hear people complain about how they have to take two science courses and two maths to get an Associates in Science and I would estimate that at 50% of students in CHM 110 fail. It really frustrates me since I will be entering the work force in a little less than a decade as, hopefully, a materials engineer and some times I look at stories like this: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13123358/site/newsweek/, and wonder if I will be able to find a job in the US.

Maybe its just the community I come from, the high school here keeps getting caught red shirting football players so they can have a better team while insisting they cannot fund things like FIRST or VEX teams and my state is the worst in the country for its public school system, but I do find that many people my age just don't seem to care about science and technology and assume that "somebody else" will keep America's economy going. FIRST is a wonderful, wonderful idea, but its voluntary. School is really the place whether students have to be exposed to science and engineering. Public schools are the perfect place to start changing young people's perceptions and emphasize how cool and rewarding science and technology can be!

Sorry if this is a little long, I guess as a FIRSTer, I feel rather passionately about this. Check out this article too, I think it could have almost be written by Woodie: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13117432...wsweek/page/4/