Support for Gifted Math & Science Students
In the late 1950\\\’s, the US Government began to invest a small amount of funds toward educating gifted youth through programs such as NSF Young Scholars.
Funding for programs like Young Scholars was cut off in the mid 1990\\\’s, as US educational policies and society\\\’s attitudes shifted — support for gifted young students in science and math was diverted to educating students at the bottom of the class.
Please restore the funds at NSF and NASA for programs aimed at the gifted such as Young Scholars. I was lucky enough to attend a Young Scholars program in the early 1990\\\’s. It changed my life. I am now a full-time scientific researcher. Many of the scientists I work with benefitted from Young Scholars programs, as well.
For decades, we have been reaping the economic and societal benefits of the government\\\’s investment in gifted youth. Now that this support has been removed, the US has fallen behind other countries in math & science education. Gifted math and science students thirsty for exposure to real science know only about video games and television.
If we bring back the support we gave to gifted youth, it would be a small but very powerful step toward regaining our national status as a leader in science, technology, and innovation.
Thanks for reading.
This post was submitted by Amy.
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[...] Support for Gifted Math & Science Students In the late 1950’s, the US Government began to invest a small amount of funds toward educating gifted youth through programs such as NSF Young Scholars. Funding for programs like Young Scholars was cut off in the mid 1990’s, … [...]