Math...

[FRC4ME]

Originally Posted by iCurtis

On the other hand, access to hands-on classes has definitely declined in my area. All of the schools in Midcoast Maine got rid of their wood/metal/auto shops in the '90s. There is still a vocational school, but its schedule is designed to fit with the lower level classes, not the college prep ones.

Interesting. My high school devoted almost 50% of its space to Career and Technical Education. We had an auto shop, a machine shop, a video production studio, a CISCO networking class, classes for all types of computer software...etc. These classes were often the saving grace of those students who hated math and science; they still found a passion and training in a useful technical skill in the CTE department.

Not everyone has a passion for math and science. But everyone has a passion for something, and everyone can become good at anything with enough motivation. The poster in the OP is comparing the brightest engineers in the world of forty years ago to the average schoolchild of today. That's an unfairly biased comparison. We still have NASA today, and the people who work there are still just as bright and passionate.

Also, the students of today have FIRST...