LABRats--Shawn Carlson's Dream

Forrest M. Mims III

Shawn Carlson has a dream that the LABRats program he conceived can eventually help reverse the decline of science and math achievement by students in the United States. A recently announced study by the National Academy of Sciences is proof that those in authority should listen to him.

The National Academy of Sciences study is entitled "Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future." The study was conducted by the Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: An Agenda for American Science and Technology.

The study provides a dismal look at the status of science and math education in the United States, an embarrassing legacy of the country that invented the digital computer, transistor, integrated circuit, maser, laser and Mars robots that really work.

You can read the details about "the gathering storm" predicted by the National Academy in their report. The report also includes many recommendations for rebuilding the US education system.

While the National Academy recommendations for reforming education and improving the teaching profession are good, they completely fail to address students in the way that Shawn Carlson has through LABRats. The National Academy solutions are exclusively top down and assume that better students will result only from better teachers and teaching. Shawn knows that fixing schools and improving teachers addresses only part of the problem. His approach puts the students first.

Here is how he introduces the concept on the LABRats web page: "Now, I am a strong supporter of our nation's hard-working teachers, but the truth is the public schools can't fix this catastrophe, and it's easy to see why. Just ask yourself this question. If your teenager told you that they wanted to be a musician would you say "Great! You can learn everything you need to know in high school band"?

"Of course you wouldn't! You'd want to find an adult who shares your kid's passion--someone who knows where your kid is coming from, who's already gotten where your kid wants to go and who wants to teach your son or daughter how to get there. Right? In short, you'd find them a music teacher, or rather, a music mentor, to guide your child towards his or her goal."

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune ("Experiment in error! Waiting until the last minute to come up with your science project doesn't have to be an...," 11 October 2005) provided a sample of Shawn's approach to doing science with kids. Writer Emilie Le Beau Right confronted a problem faced by students and their parents about this time each year: How to do a last minute science project. Le Beau went to Shawn Carlson for ten fresh tips for doing simple science projects in only a few hours.

Based on their report, the National Academy solution to doing last minute science projects would be to first provide substantial grants to education students, who may never have even done a science project, pay them an even bigger salary when they graduate and hope for the best.

If the National Academy of Sciences seriously wants to address the crisis in US science education, they should immediately contact Dr. Shawn Carlson. If Shawn had been a contributor to the National Academy Report, it would have included topics like science fairs, student robotic competitions, LABRats and, yes, last minute science projects, words that cannot be found in a search of their thick report.

The National Academy panel needs to reconvene and invite Shawn to share his passion for students as only he can. They need to hear Shawn describe how students respond to personal mentoring and hands-on science. The panel members need to visit a regional science fair and a robotics competition. The panel members need to ask why so few of the current generation of science teachers did a science fair project in high school. In my years of working with science teachers, I've met only a few who said they did a high school science fair project.

A top down approach to science education will not solve America's science education crisis. An innovative program like LABRats just might.