Today, I had a wonderful conversation with two natives of Moline Bay, Papua New Guinea. They educated me on the wonderful customs and traditions of the people here and we discussed the differences and similarities in our cultures. I am really enjoying this culture of people for there are in a beautiful place and have beautiful spirits.
As I think about preparing our future generation to become scientists, engineers and mathematicians, we always think about the technical skills that students need to learn; but we ignore teaching them basic communication skills. In a world where the internet and improvement in transportation and telecommunications have made the world more flat, we have to ability to connect with individuals all over the world. However, in our society we don’t embrace differences of have enough dialogue with people who have different opinions from us, let alone with people of different cultures. However, technology is connecting us all inspite of what part of the world we live in so we must have the ability to reach out and get to know someone of another culture. Although scientists and engineers aren’t known for their communication skills, in order to advance science the future scientist and engineers are going to need good communications skills. As I think about the major challenges that face our society today, climate change, the environment, pollution, HIV/AIDS, cancer, all of them are global issues. There are major breakthroughs in biomedical research and climate change in other parts of the world and with limited research dollars, it is no need for scientist in the United States to reinvent the wheel. Collaborations between scientific disciplines and nations is necessary for our survival and continued progress as a world.
So while we are teaching our kids to excel and achieve academically. Let's teach them how to excel in their communication and collaboration skills, so they can not only achieve in doing science, but communicating science to there colleagues around the world.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About SEM Link
- SEM Link
- Science, Engineering and Mathematics Link, Inc. (SEM Link), a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, was founded in 2004 on the premise that exposure to members of the science, engineering and mathematics (SEM) communities is critical to student development in math and science. Our mission is to promote student achievement and career exploration in math and science while increasing student exposure to the science, engineering and mathematics communities and enhancing resources that are available at local schools and community organizations. Our two core programs, Math and Science Career Academy and Experimental Design Program, provide students with an opportunity to develop their math and science skills by enhancing the classroom learning experience and teaching them skills that are transferable to other areas of life. We recruit students and professionals for our programs that have backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.