Washington Extra – Cool science
In the cool equation, can science equal sports in school?
President Barack Obama today tried to promote math and science as exciting pursuits for America’s youth.
At the Intel Corporation in Oregon, Obama showcased the possibilities by describing his encounters during the visit.
“It gave them a chance to talk about things like quantum ternary algorithms, and it gave me a chance to nod my head and pretend that I understood what they were talking about,” he said.
Then there was the group of seventh-grade girls working on a science project using Legos. “I used to build some pretty mean Lego towers when I was a kid,” Obama said. “I thought I could participate — only these students used their Legos … to build robots that were programmable to model brains that could repair broken bones.”
Maybe the time for scientist star power has come. After all, “The Big Bang Theory” television show about the antics of super smart, geeky, young physicists is wildly popular.
Here’s an unscientific question for the long weekend. How does a president celebrate Presidents Day? Apparently with nothing public on his schedule.
Obama has his “Sputnik moment,” will it succeed like JFK’s?
Trying to get the U.S. economy back on track may sometimes seem a bit like reaching for the stars. Well, President Barack Obama today declared that America is facing a “Sputnik moment.”
Speaking at a community college in North Carolina, Obama said innovation, training and education were vital to economic recovery, giving clean energy technology as an example of a promising area for job creation. “If this is truly going to be our Sputnik moment we need a commitment to innovation that we haven’t seen since President Kennedy challenged us to go to the Moon.”
Obama, who was not born at the time of Sputnik, was trying to make the point that the country needs the same drive to tackle its economy that was used when it responded to the Soviet Union winning early challenges in the space age.
A “Sputnik moment” is generally used to describe a point when it’s time to wake up, catch up, and excel. It is derived from one of the milestones of flight when on Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik 1, beating the United States into space.
Sputnik prompted the United States to redouble its efforts in science, and as one colleague recalls it seemed like almost the next day every elementary school in the country was pushing science education.
President John F. Kennedy had his “Sputnik moment” on May 25, 1961, when he declared before a special joint session of Congress that an American would go to the Moon. That was again in response to the Soviet Union which had again trumped the United States by sending a human into space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961.
Kennedy’s “Sputnik moment” led to a successful mission to the Moon. Will Obama’s also lead to success?
Obama: Still the big man on (high school) campus
If President Barack Obama ever needs a pick-me-up, he can visit the campus of an American public high school, as he did on Tuesday at La Follette High School in Madison, Wisconsin, where he remains, indisputably, a rock star.
Shouts of joy and screams of “Obama! Obama!” greeted his motorcade as Obama pulled up and strode across the school’s sports practice fields to meet with members of its teams — the Lancers. (Team motto: “Attitude, Character, Effort.”)
He first met with members of the girl’s volleyball team, who ran out in their uniforms and knee pads, and squealed with delight as he spoke with them and then posed for pictures.
Then it was the turn of the school’s three football teams — varsity, sophomore and freshman — who crowded in the middle of the field, in full uniforms and pads, holding their helmets and down on one knee with their coaches standing among them. The players greeted Obama with a “1-2-3 Clap.” Obama exchanged hugs with the head coach and then chatted with the players for a good 10 minutes.
He urged the boys to work hard on the field and in the classroom, and told them about his own experiences playing football, basketball and tennis. The players asked questions about Obama’s life, and also about last night’s NFL game between Obama’s hometown Chicago Bears and Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers. Obama dodged that bullet by underscoring his point that players should use their heads, telling the teen-aged players that the Packers had lost to the Bears largely because of mental errors, such as penalties.
After the talk, he posed for a picture with all of the teams, after which the players cheered and shook their silver helmets. The younger team ran off to another field and did a series of jumping jacks, chanting the letters L-A-N-C-E-R-S and they jumped, and then shouted, “Obama, Obama, Obama.”
The older players, finally free of their coaches’ close supervision as they ran to their field, finally broke free and started shouting themselves. “I touched Obama!” they screamed.
Expecting lots of entries from Red States?
It’s not quite the glee club or football championship.
U.S. high schools will flex their competitive muscles this spring for a different sort of prize — President Barack Obama as speaker at this spring’s graduation ceremony. But to catch that particular brass ring, they will have to show not how well their students can sing or tackle, but make the case for how dedicated they are to providing an excellent education.
The White House announced its ”Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge” on Friday, which it says “encourages schools to show how they are making great strides on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness.”
To compete, applications — consisting of four essay questions with a video and other data optional — should be completed by students and submitted by a high school’s principal to www.WhiteHouse.gov/Commencement no later than Monday, March 15 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The White House and Department of Education will select six finalists from among schools that make the deadline. Those six will then be featured on the White House website, where the public will be able to vote for three schools that make the best case. Obama himself will select a national winner, and visit the school to deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2010.
The United States has one of the worst high school dropout rates in the industrialized world and its students often rank below those in other Western nations in reading and math. Obama has pledged billions of dollars for education in his “Race to the Top” initiative, included in his $787 billion economic stimulus plan last year. States are competing for that funding, but, given that it does involve politics in which education is a favorite, er, football, some state officials have expressed wariness about the increasing involvement of the federal government in the past decade into curriculum and school reforms. Local officials contend that they know better what is good for their students than officials far away in Washington.
Photo credit: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the commencement ceremony at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona May 13, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Dad, did you have to?
There are certain upsides to life as a first daughter — travel on Air Force One, White House sleepovers, your new dog Bo — but there are definitely downsides, like when you are 11 years old and your dad tells the world about how you got a C on your science test.
Parents could imagine the groans when President Barack Obama veered away from his prepared remarks during a speech at a Wisconsin middle school on Wednesday to talk about his own sixth-grade daughter and her 73.
“So Malia came home the other day. She had gotten a 73 on her science test,” Obama said. “Now, she’s a 6th grader. There was a time a couple years ago when she came home with like an 80-something and she said, ‘I did pretty well.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no. That’s’ — I said, ‘Our goal is — Our goal is 90 percent and up.’”
For our international readers, in most U.S. school systems, 90 percent and above is an A, the highest mark; 80 to 89 percent is a B, considered “good;” 70 to 79 percent is a C, for work deemed merely average; 60 to 69 is a D, for “just passing,” and below 60 is an F, for failure.
Malia, the elder of Obama’s two daughters and a student at an elite Washington private school, came home with the 73 more recently, Obama recalled.
“So she came and she was depressed,” he said, and then recounted a conversation in which he asked his daughter what happened and she explained that the study guide the teacher had handed out had not conformed to the material on the test.
“So what’s your idea here?” the president asked.
I have a feeling the unnamed teacher is more unhappy about it than Obama’s daughter. You and I may not know her name, but I’m sure her school is not pleased that the president just insulted her teaching ability.
Astronomy Night at the White House
A cloudless sky made a perfect backdrop for a stargazing party at the White House on Wednesday night. But instead of parading on a red carpet, VIP guests made their way around the South Lawn where earlier in the day astronomers set up telescopes in preparation for the party.
President Barack Obama hosted 150 local middle school students, teachers and astronomers to scan the sky. But first, Obama said there were a “few other stars out tonight,” introducing former astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride, and Mae Jemison.
For the president, the event might have been a break from the pressing issues of the day, but he was still working on his political agenda. Obama introduced two students — one who discovered a supernova and another who found a pulsar — and he made a pitch for his education plan.
“If they can discover something great, so can any of you other students here tonight. All you need is a passion for science,” Obama said to the youngsters. “That is why we are working to reinvigorate math and science in schools,” he added.
For more Reuters political news click here. Photo Credit: Reuters/Jim Young
Aww…no more David Letterman appearances, instead a photo op with children..
Awww.. Barak.must think he needs to look friendly and cuddly perhaps do a pupet show…so people will stop harassing him about how fake he is?
Where is Oprah?
Obama says without a father, he grew up faster
President Barack Obama opened up to 9th graders at Wakefield High School about what it was like growing up without a father — it forced him to grow up faster, but made him stronger over time.
You’ll recall that his Kenyan father separated from his mother when Obama was 2 years old and living in Hawaii. Obama said in his book, “Dreams for My Father,” he tried to figure out what his father was like.
Obama met with a group of 9th graders before giving a speech at the Virginia high school and a student asked him about how his education might have been different if his father had been around.
In the president’s words:
“He was a very, very smart man, but he was sort of arrogant and kind of overbearing, and he had his own problems and his own issues. So my mother always used to say that if he had been around, I probably would have been having a lot of arguments with him all the time.”
“I think that I was lucky, though, that my mother always — she never spoke badly about him, which I think since I was a boy, knowing that even if your dad wasn’t around, that you still were hearing good things about him I think probably improved my own self-confidence.”
“When I look back on my life, I think that — Michelle’s dad was around, and Arne I think knew him. Just a great guy. Wonderful, wonderful man. And he actually had multiple sclerosis, so he had to walk with canes, but went to every basketball game that my brother-in-law played in, was there for every dance recital Michelle was in, was just a great family man. And when I look at her dad, I say to myself, boy, that would be nice to have somebody like that that you could count on who was always there for you.”
Obama to kids who want to be president: beware of Facebook
President Barack Obama advised children who want to be president to beware of Facebook.
“I want everybody here to be careful about what you post on Facebook,” Obama told a group of ninth graders before making a back-to-school speech at Wakefield High School in Virginia.
“Because in the YouTube age, whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life. And when you’re young, you make mistakes and you do some stupid stuff. ”
Sounds like some wise advice, but whether the kids will listen to it is another story… high school without letting loose on Facebook? NVRGH (Never Gonna Happen for those unfamiliar with the lingo).
Critics since last week have been screaming that Obama’s education speech was only a ploy to advance his political agenda. A handful of them greeted his motorcade with signs like”Mr. President, Stay Away From Our Kids,” and “Children Serve God, Not Obama.”
Obama did not raise healthcare arguments in his speech, but it came up during his conversation with the ninth graders. He said he can’t prevent someone from getting sick but maybe he can “make sure that they’ve got insurance so that when they do get sick, they’re going to get some help.”
One student asked why the United States lacked universal healthcare when 36 other countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, have it. Obama replied that he’s asking Congress that very question.
EVERYTIME OBAMA USES THE 47 MILLION UNINSURED AMERICANS NUMBER HE LIES. THE NUMBER INCLUDES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
45.7 Million Uninsured Breakdown
——————————————–
Illegal Immigrants = 9.3 million
Medicad Undercount = 6.4 million
Medicaid/SCHIP Eligible = 4.3 million
Childless Adults = 5.0 million
Over 300% of Poverty = 10.1 million
Remaining Uninsured = 10.6 million
Medicad Undercount – People who are on one of two government health insurance programs, Medicaid or S-CHIP, but mistakenly (intentionally or not) tell the Census taker that they are uninsured.
Medicaid/SCHIP Eligible – Eligible for free or heavily subsidized government health insurance (again, either Medcaid or SCHIP), but have not signed up.
Childless Adults – Adults between ages 18 and 34 and without kids.
Over 300% of Poverty – Do not fit into any of the above categories, and they have incomes more than 3X the poverty level.
Remaining Uninsured – U.S. citizens, with income below 300% of poverty, not on or eligible for a taxpayer-subsidized health insurance program, and not a childless adult between age 18 and 34.
*NOTE: THIS INFORMATION IS FREELY AVAILABLE ON THE CENSUS WEBSITE.
Bush daughter to be TV reporter
Teacher, author and now television correspondent.
Not a bad resume for a former first daughter .
Former President George W. Bush’s daughter Jenna Hager, a Baltimore teacher, is joining NBC’s “Today” crew as a correspondent, the show’s executive producer Jim Bell told AP on Sunday.
Hager, 27, will work out of NBC’s Washington bureau, but she won’t be covering politics. Nor does she intend to talk about her eight years under public scrutiny known mostly as one of the Bush Twins.
“I hope to focus on what I’m passionate about because I think I’d do the best job on them — education, urban education, women and children’s issues and literacy,” Hager said.
Being a television correspondent wasn’t something she’d always dreamed of doing, but Hager told AP she was intrigued by the idea when Bell came calling.
“I think one of the most important things in life is to be open-minded and to be open-minded for change.”
thanks Frank,i hope she reads your posting the malice out there cannot be disguised,
The First Draft: From education to Bernanke to borders
Topic of the day for the White House: education.
President Barack Obama is unveiling his plans to reform the U.S. education system, which has one of the worst high school dropout rates in the industrialized world.
But while Obama’s education reform plans drew applause on the campaign trail, he might face tough competition for airtime as he is talking at 0945 EDT — roughly the same time as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks about financial reform.
In his speech to the Council of Foreign Relations, Bernanke said governments needed to take forceful and sometimes coordinated action to heal markets and said sustainable economic recovery was out of reach until the financial system is stabilized.
In a visit to Brussels on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden warned NATO allies of a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and appealed for help in tackling the problem. Biden said his visit to Europe was aimed at listening to U.S. allies, who sometimes bristled at calls by the former Bush administration to deploy more troops to Afghanistan.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate is due to vote on the stalled $410 billion spending bill that will keep government operations funded through the end of this fiscal year.
Lawmakers will also hold hearings related to border issues: one on the Secure Border Initiative and another on how the government is responding to violence on the border with Mexico.
they choose a failing school in guess were?chicago the suggestion was the reason that the school was below standard was lack of funding. as an experiment apparently to prove this point, they gave the equivalent of 9000 dollars funding to each child,which was then considered adequate.the result of the experiment?no improvement in grades,or the schools performance.throwing money at a problem is not the answer obama.
