Kids will want to keep learning science when they see how fun it is.

These programs tend to be more expensive than other programs and so are natural targets for the axe.  For example, at my kids' school, they are cutting 5^th grade science camp.

Kids go off for a 5 day trip to a place out in the woods to study nature.  The kids have a blast and can see that science is more than memorizing phyla or sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks.  Instead they get to explore nature and use books to figure out what they're seeing.

And if history is any guide, there will be a big fall off in field trips to zoos and museums too.  These are more places where kids can see that science is actually a lot of fun.

Some might argue that if money is limited these programs should be cut.  This is true only if we want a workforce that can't do the jobs that are becoming available in our information based economy.

To do well in the future job market, people are going to need a good basic understanding of science and/or engineering.  Think about what an auto mechanic does these days.  Or a nurse or a radiologist.

We need to keep people studying science for their own good.  And frankly, for the good of the U.S. as well.

One of the keys to getting more people to take the science they need is to show them how fun and exciting it is.  We need to let them see that science is actually about studying the mysteries of the natural world and applying them to make that world a better place.

This is what the programs that are going to be cut do.  Without them, schools will continue to turn kids away from science.  And the U.S. will fall behind other countries.

I have no idea what programs should be cut instead and I am sure that other people see higher priorities than science camp.  But I think it is time that public schools recognized that science is as important to a student's future as are the three R's.  Someone needs to come up with a way to make science into an R so we can have the four R's.  Any ideas?

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Hi everybody. I want to let the QUEST community know that over at KQED’s Health Dialogues, we just launched a new project, called Healthy Ideas: Californians Weigh In on Health Care Reform.

In his 100th day press briefing a few days ago, President Obama reiterated his desire to enact health care reform by the end of 2009. The President has also put out a call to all Americans to submit our ideas on just how to do that. So, Health Dialogues decided that we’d let Washington know what Californians think.

Is the cost of new medical technologies worth the potential health benefits? What can we do to eliminate health disparities across socioeconomic backgrounds? Should everyone be required to purchase health insurance?

Healthy Ideas is a conversation among academics, health care professionals, policy think tanks and the general public about what kind of health care reform California wants and needs. During the next two months, you can join the dialogue by reading our authors’ weekly posts, rating them and contributing your own thoughts and questions. At the end of the project, on July 1, we’ll summarize your ideas and deliver them to California’s representatives in Washington, as well as the Obama Administration, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy.

To contribute your thoughts and let Washington know what kind of health care reform you want, join the dialogue at Healthy Ideas: Californians Weigh In on Health Care Reform.

Thanks!
Nick Vidinsky
Producer, Health Dialogues

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