The United States’ policy on war on terrorism (Friedman, 2010) seems justified, but it does cost a lot of money and even lives. The army has a smart approach into attracting youth into enrollment. They offer good salaries and benefits which is something any person needs. In addition there is a high sense of achievement and satisfaction from serving the country. It is a shame that a similar approach is not pushed for in education.
As money is spent to attract and support the army, money should also be poured into education and jobs that support STEM. A national campaign for awareness and “attraction” should be launched much like is done to get military enrollments. But I do believe parents should be greatly involved.
I live in Egypt where we actually have a very high rate of STEM career graduates each year. The reason being that both parents and students are aware that it holds a higher social status, and will also provide for better money in the future. Those are the same two reasons students in the United States enroll in the army. But the culture here supports this idea and especially parents. They push their children to study hard and pay a lot of money to give them private tuition just to ensure they end up going into engineering, medicine, science, computer science, construction, you name it. There are now many qualified professionals. Our greatest problem here though is the lack of support of the country for these individuals and too many of them end up leaving the country to work at other places that will provide more money and an even better social status.
Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.
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It is a shame we do not have that sort of motivation here in the United States. I think it is more common in other countries for children to be pushed and encouraged to take up these sorts of STEM jobs either because it is common employment among the family or because previous generations in that family lacked the opportunity to have these careers and parents want better things for their children than for themselves. I think this idea is lacking in the US because there is a general notion of freedom of choice and so parents encourage their children that they can become whatever they want to when they grow up. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this idea, but I think the fault comes when children decide what they all want to become is famous actors or video game players. It is a swell notion to express to students that a STEM career could involve being a video game designer. This is a job in high demand, I am sure, as video games and live motion sensor console sales are on the rise. However, it is impractical to advise an entire class that they could all have this career. I am also not suggesting parents should demand that their children follow a specific career path. That will only result in defiance and insubordination. What I am suggesting is that maybe parents should take a note from other countries who encourage their children to strive for the best possible career choice available.
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