Shawn Carlson on an Uncertain Future

Forrest M. Mims III

Regular readers of The Citizen Scientist know that Dr. Shawn Carlson is Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists (SAS), the founder of the LabRats program and a MacArthur Fellow. Shawn is also a member of the Popular Mechanics Editorial Board of Advisors.

In Test Scores Could Spell Long-Term Shortages for National Security, a recent Popular Mechanics news report, Erin McCarthy interviewed Shawn about the troubled status of science education in U.S. schools. "It's a reflection of the difficulties schools face in educating such a diverse population,” Shawn told McCarthy. “The one-size-fits-all approach that works in other countries doesn't apply here.”

Those who are unaware of the seriousness of the problem should review this study released by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). As reported by McCarthy, "The Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) tested public school districts in 10 American cities, then compared those scores to the nation as a whole. Fourth graders in nine of the ten districts had lower average scores than public school students nationally; eighth grade students in all ten districts tested below the national average."

Shawn's vision is to transform science education in the U.S. through the LabRats program. The public schools are not doing the job, so Shawn has a better idea. The LabRats approach is based in part on the Boy Scouts, a model that has worked for many decades.

As Shawn states in this report, “The future depends on what we do starting now.”

What can you and I do to help? For starters. we can join the dialogue on the science education crisis in the U.S. We can visit the Popular Mechanics news story and add our comments.We can join the discussion on the SAS Community.

If you are not a member of the Society for Amateur Scientists, join today and help Shawn Carlson transform science education in the U.S.