[Source: The White House Blog]
Today, President Obama announced the launch of Change the Equation, a CEO-led effort to dramatically improve education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as part of his “Educate to Innovate” campaign. Change the Equation is a non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing the business community to improve the quality of STEM education in the United States.
The United States is falling behind our foreign competitors in STEM subjects. According to one study, American 15-year-olds ranked 21st in science and 25th in math compared to other countries. In his remarks today, the President emphasized the importance of providing American students with a solid foundation in these subjects in order to compete in the global economy:
We’re here for a simple reason: Everybody in this room understands that our nation’s success depends on strengthening America’s role as the world’s engine of discovery and innovation. And all the CEOs who are here today understand that their company’s future depends on their ability to harness the creativity and dynamism and insight of a new generation.
And that leadership tomorrow depends on how we educate our students today — especially in science, technology, engineering and math.
We know how important this is for our health. It’s important for our security. It’s important for our environment. And we know how important it is for our economy. As I discussed this morning with my Export Council, our prosperity in a 21st century global marketplace depends on our ability to compete with nations around the world. And we are never going to win that competition by paying the lowest wages or simply by trying to offer the cheapest products. We’re going to win by offering the most innovative products. We’re going to win by doing what we do best, which is harnessing the talents and ingenuity of our people to lead the world in new industries. That’s how we can create millions of new jobs exporting more of our goods around the world.
[More at the source: “Changing the Equation in STEM Education“]