What do you think?
Rate this book
One Nation Under Taught: Solving America's Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Crisis
America has been steadily sliding in global education rankings for decades. In particular, our students are increasingly unable to compete globally in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), in 2010 only 26 percent of high school seniors in the U.S. scored at or above proficient level in math. Another 36 percent were failing. Only 3 percent scored at an advanced level in math, and only 1 percent scored at an advanced level in science.
Students in K-12 across the U.S. struggle with STEM subjects, often because the subjects are poorly presented or badly taught. When students reach college, they choose to pursue non-STEM degrees, and too many struggle to find jobs upon graduation. Meanwhile, U.S. employers are having an increasingly hard time filling STEM jobs. Economic projections for the next decade show we will need approximately 1 million more professionals in STEM fields than our education system will produce. If we want to maintain our historical pre-eminence in science and technology, we must increase the number of students graduating with STEM degrees by 34 percent each year.
"""One Nation Under Taught"offers a clear solution, providing a blueprint for helping students fall in love with STEM subjects, and giving them the tools they need to succeed and go on for further study in these fields. The book challenges our whole way of thinking about education, and encourages educators and policy-makers at all levels to work together to make our schools places that promote curiosity and inspire a love of learning. If we do not change course, we will set our students and our country on the path to a lifetime of poverty. But if we can implement the reforms Dr. Bertram suggests, we can achieve long-lasting prosperity for our children and our nation as a whole."
Students in K-12 across the U.S. struggle with STEM subjects, often because the subjects are poorly presented or badly taught. When students reach college, they choose to pursue non-STEM degrees, and too many struggle to find jobs upon graduation. Meanwhile, U.S. employers are having an increasingly hard time filling STEM jobs. Economic projections for the next decade show we will need approximately 1 million more professionals in STEM fields than our education system will produce. If we want to maintain our historical pre-eminence in science and technology, we must increase the number of students graduating with STEM degrees by 34 percent each year.
"""One Nation Under Taught"offers a clear solution, providing a blueprint for helping students fall in love with STEM subjects, and giving them the tools they need to succeed and go on for further study in these fields. The book challenges our whole way of thinking about education, and encourages educators and policy-makers at all levels to work together to make our schools places that promote curiosity and inspire a love of learning. If we do not change course, we will set our students and our country on the path to a lifetime of poverty. But if we can implement the reforms Dr. Bertram suggests, we can achieve long-lasting prosperity for our children and our nation as a whole."
95 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2014
20 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 28, 2015
As a STEM educator, I had high hopes for this when I picked it up. Upon reading it, however, I am very disappointed.
~ He rambles on for pages giving one statistic after another.
~ He fails to address one of the root problems in education [standarized testing pushed by bureaucracy].
~ He fails to give useful [hands-on] strategies to implement in the classroom.
~ His success stories are too concise. I wanted to know more about the programs that are working - anecdotes, tips, and strategies.
This book is more of an advertisement for his PLTW.
~ He rambles on for pages giving one statistic after another.
~ He fails to address one of the root problems in education [standarized testing pushed by bureaucracy].
~ He fails to give useful [hands-on] strategies to implement in the classroom.
~ His success stories are too concise. I wanted to know more about the programs that are working - anecdotes, tips, and strategies.
This book is more of an advertisement for his PLTW.
September 22, 2015
Wow! It really took me 4 months to read a 74 page book? It was filled with commonsense ideas about education, wonderful examples of who's doing what and how they're getting it right. I enjoyed the real-world applications discussed in the book and the frequent mentions of leading organizations such as STEMconnector.org, Project Lead The Way, and the Perry Initiative. However, if you read this book, be ready to either take frequent notes or frequent breaks to check out all of the great websites and organizations that Dr. Bertram mentions throughout the book.
February 13, 2015
I can only give this book a rating of two stars. Mr Bertram only gets about 1/2 of the issue right. It is my understanding that Mr Bertram was a Superintendent in the Indiana school system in an urban setting, and with that being said, I would like to think that he would understand the education system in its current configuration with a broader perpspective. The book is disingenuous at best in it's premise and has a misleading conclusion. I will agree with Bertram in concept that the skill set needed by our graduates needs to be broader and better defined when it comes to math and science. Where this book misses the mark is in the lack of discussion about the state of the standardized testing monster that we are are dealing with. Bertram touches lightly on the idea that the industry must support schools with resources that support STEM, but he does not go far enough in demanding their support. My feelings is that if industry needs a trained and skilled labor force, they need to take on a much more active role in the process and spend some of their record breaking profits in doing so. I do not believe that Bertram truly understands the true crisis in education as much as he would lead you to believe. The reality of what is wrong with our education system has more to do with corporate takeover of education ans less to do with the organic structure of our schools. Overall, I see this book as an ad for Project Lead the Way.
January 19, 2015
1. Unions are proving to be an intractable force. Full of teachers who really don't get stem.
2. Not everyone has an inclination toward stem. All of the passion and integration will not change people's aversion.
3. How do you start a culture of passionate stem educators, when industry can't even fill their demand?
None of this is addressed. I don't understand how throwing out statistics/anecdotes for several pages passes for a book on solving problems in science education? Did I miss something?
2. Not everyone has an inclination toward stem. All of the passion and integration will not change people's aversion.
3. How do you start a culture of passionate stem educators, when industry can't even fill their demand?
None of this is addressed. I don't understand how throwing out statistics/anecdotes for several pages passes for a book on solving problems in science education? Did I miss something?
December 2, 2014
The value we place in STEM education now will determine our future, and Bertram wants to resuscitate America. This quick read had me on my feet cheering for the concise plan laid out in One Nation Under-Taught: a focus on problem-based learning and elevating the importance of teachers. With an engaging writing style, Bertram delivers hard facts for both sides of the political aisle. His vision, and the teachers who rally with him, will breathe new life into the nation’s classrooms.
January 23, 2015
This is a terrible book. It completely misrepresents important STEM issues and exaggerates the idea of a STEM crisis for self-serving reasons. Michael S. Teitelbaum’s recent book "Falling Behind?: Boom, Bust & the Global Race for Scientific Talent" (Princeton University Press) has refuted the premise of this book.
January 27, 2016
A very important topic but the coverage here is superficial. Many of the relatively few pages are wasted on a good stroke over patriotism, and GDP is treated more as a goalpost than a yardstick.
Again, I'd like to stress that the topic itself is important, and I more or less agree with the argument of this book, I just don't think it was terribly well made.
Again, I'd like to stress that the topic itself is important, and I more or less agree with the argument of this book, I just don't think it was terribly well made.
January 25, 2015
Short, shameless plug for his own program, Project Lead the Way (PLTW). In a nutshell, he says to make STEM classes more interesting by integrating them with real life applications and have kids work in groups. If you're not sure how to implement this, use his program. Not really worth reading.
March 5, 2016
Dr. Vince Bertram is the president of an organization called Project Lead the Way (PLTW), which provides STEM programs to K-12 schools. Dr. Bertram is formally a teacher, principal, and school superintendent. He currently serves on the Indiana State Board of Education. He was appointed by the U.S. Department of State as a speaker and specialist on STEM education. He holds degrees from Ball State University and Harvard University, including a doctorate and a Master’s Degree in Education Policy and Management. He has received numerous awards for his work in education, including the Intellectual Contributions/Faculty Tribute Award from Harvard Graduate School, and the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus Award from Ball State University. He has contributed to several national publications including the Huffington Post.
In his book he details the crisis that America faces due to a lack of graduates in STEM programs, and how American students are consistently falling short and unable to compete globally in STEM subjects. He opens his first chapter with the statistic that “twenty-six percent of our nation’s twelfth graders were scoring at or above proficient in math while thirty-five percent were failing. To put it another way, almost forty percent of Americans about the enter the workforce, military, college, and achieving voting age do so unable to perform basic mathematics” (p. 1). He discusses how American employers are struggling to fill STEM-related jobs and are forced to hire internationally from countries with a higher level of STEM instruction. Dr. Bertram projects that we must increase our number of students graduating with STEM degrees by 34% each year in order to compete globally.
Dr. Bertram describes five problems in the way schools are implementing the STEM subjects. They include, “engaging students in STEM subjects too late and then not enough; teaching poor and boring content; not integrating math and science with other subjects; ineffective teacher training; and a paucity of women and minorities in the fields” (p. 37). He also describes a lack of engaging instruction in the early grades, starting as young as preschool. He discusses the importance of nurturing children’s natural curiosities, and treating STEM subjects with as much importance and rigor as reading and writing.
A critical component to this inadequate STEM instruction lies within the teachers. Bertram discusses the issue that teachers have not been adequately prepared to provide interactive, engaging, innovative, and challenging STEM instruction. He goes on to describe the teacher training model in his PLTW program, which consists of three different levels of training: Readiness, Core, and Ongoing. Readiness training, the first phase, is online and focuses on basic technical and content knowledge. Core training is the second phase, and is described as follows: “teachers are immersed in course-specific curriculum; assume the role of the student to directly inform their expertise in content instruction; complete hands-on activities, projects, and problems with a strong focus on pedagogy; and become active members within a professional learning community” (p. 59). The third phase is the Ongoing training and is administered through the PLTW’s Learning Management System. It provides teachers with further opportunities for enhanced understanding of the previous two phases.
Dr. Bertram is the founder of a program called Project Lead The Way (PTLW) which he describes as a curriculum where “students create, design, build, discover, collaborate, and solve problems while applying core concepts from math, science, and other academic areas” (p. 53). While he provides a multitude of statistics as to the success of this program, he does not go into great detail about the program itself and how it has, according to him, revolutionized STEM instruction in schools.
Upon reading the first few pages, I found it difficult to get past the myriad of statistics on education issues such as STEM failure rates, government spending, workforce projections, and the like. While these statistics are important to understanding the depth of the crisis we have in STEM education, they seemed to dominate a large portion of the book, and took away from some of the important content that should have been included.
The title itself suggests that this book offers a solution for more rigorous STEM education in schools, but unfortunately there is no concrete plan for how to solve the problems that Dr. Bertram describes. He goes into some detail about the specifics of his PLTW curriculum, although I am still walking away with only a brief understanding of the program. While it seems interesting and he provides statistics on the success of the program, I am still unclear on what exactly the program entails. Unfortunately this book seems to be more of an advertisement for PLTW as opposed to a plan for how to be more effective STEM educators. While it is an interesting read, perhaps the title should be changed to something a little less misleading.
In his book he details the crisis that America faces due to a lack of graduates in STEM programs, and how American students are consistently falling short and unable to compete globally in STEM subjects. He opens his first chapter with the statistic that “twenty-six percent of our nation’s twelfth graders were scoring at or above proficient in math while thirty-five percent were failing. To put it another way, almost forty percent of Americans about the enter the workforce, military, college, and achieving voting age do so unable to perform basic mathematics” (p. 1). He discusses how American employers are struggling to fill STEM-related jobs and are forced to hire internationally from countries with a higher level of STEM instruction. Dr. Bertram projects that we must increase our number of students graduating with STEM degrees by 34% each year in order to compete globally.
Dr. Bertram describes five problems in the way schools are implementing the STEM subjects. They include, “engaging students in STEM subjects too late and then not enough; teaching poor and boring content; not integrating math and science with other subjects; ineffective teacher training; and a paucity of women and minorities in the fields” (p. 37). He also describes a lack of engaging instruction in the early grades, starting as young as preschool. He discusses the importance of nurturing children’s natural curiosities, and treating STEM subjects with as much importance and rigor as reading and writing.
A critical component to this inadequate STEM instruction lies within the teachers. Bertram discusses the issue that teachers have not been adequately prepared to provide interactive, engaging, innovative, and challenging STEM instruction. He goes on to describe the teacher training model in his PLTW program, which consists of three different levels of training: Readiness, Core, and Ongoing. Readiness training, the first phase, is online and focuses on basic technical and content knowledge. Core training is the second phase, and is described as follows: “teachers are immersed in course-specific curriculum; assume the role of the student to directly inform their expertise in content instruction; complete hands-on activities, projects, and problems with a strong focus on pedagogy; and become active members within a professional learning community” (p. 59). The third phase is the Ongoing training and is administered through the PLTW’s Learning Management System. It provides teachers with further opportunities for enhanced understanding of the previous two phases.
Dr. Bertram is the founder of a program called Project Lead The Way (PTLW) which he describes as a curriculum where “students create, design, build, discover, collaborate, and solve problems while applying core concepts from math, science, and other academic areas” (p. 53). While he provides a multitude of statistics as to the success of this program, he does not go into great detail about the program itself and how it has, according to him, revolutionized STEM instruction in schools.
Upon reading the first few pages, I found it difficult to get past the myriad of statistics on education issues such as STEM failure rates, government spending, workforce projections, and the like. While these statistics are important to understanding the depth of the crisis we have in STEM education, they seemed to dominate a large portion of the book, and took away from some of the important content that should have been included.
The title itself suggests that this book offers a solution for more rigorous STEM education in schools, but unfortunately there is no concrete plan for how to solve the problems that Dr. Bertram describes. He goes into some detail about the specifics of his PLTW curriculum, although I am still walking away with only a brief understanding of the program. While it seems interesting and he provides statistics on the success of the program, I am still unclear on what exactly the program entails. Unfortunately this book seems to be more of an advertisement for PLTW as opposed to a plan for how to be more effective STEM educators. While it is an interesting read, perhaps the title should be changed to something a little less misleading.
November 13, 2016
Up to the point where I turned this book off (audio version), it was basically a rambling session where the author got to talk about unemployment and bask in the idea of glory days. It didn't seem particularly concerned with actual research and statistics.
What's really sad is that I wanted to like the book. I want more technical, scientific, engineering type people around... I think that would be great. Imagine all the new things we could make! But that isn't what this is about.
This is about telling kids to stuff their dreams and ambitions (if you don't believe me, listen to/read the intro chapter), and get educated for a job that's in demand now. What a sad thought. Of course in the author's opinion every kid's dream job is apparently "professional athlete or broadway performer"... argue with a straw-man anyone?
So, here's the gist: tell kids not to do things they are interested in, so they can make, if they're very lucky, $15 an hour in a job that has massive competition because all the kids their age were pushed into the same career path... because it was the job that was "in demand" at the time they were in high school or middle school. Do you see where this is going?
What's really sad is that I wanted to like the book. I want more technical, scientific, engineering type people around... I think that would be great. Imagine all the new things we could make! But that isn't what this is about.
This is about telling kids to stuff their dreams and ambitions (if you don't believe me, listen to/read the intro chapter), and get educated for a job that's in demand now. What a sad thought. Of course in the author's opinion every kid's dream job is apparently "professional athlete or broadway performer"... argue with a straw-man anyone?
So, here's the gist: tell kids not to do things they are interested in, so they can make, if they're very lucky, $15 an hour in a job that has massive competition because all the kids their age were pushed into the same career path... because it was the job that was "in demand" at the time they were in high school or middle school. Do you see where this is going?
August 17, 2018
The first half of the book is fairly thought provoking. However, it unfortunately turns into nothing more than an advertisement for project lead the way afterwards.
April 25, 2020
Restates the problem (again)
Solution still elusive or impracticable.
Solution still elusive or impracticable.
July 10, 2019
This book is by no means worthless, or even bad, but it does read like a sales pitch for the author's bipartisan organization slightly too infected with contemporary identity politics to actually solve what the author views as a crisis within STEM education within the United States. To be sure, the author does bring up some valid points throughout the course of the book, but the author's evident desire to stay in the good graces of political figures leads him to pull his punches and not write the sort of expose that would threaten his abilities to work within the contemporary education system and cheer on fads like Common Core, which the author appears to confuse with a mere attempt at common educational standards across the United States as a whole, done on a state-by-state basis, rather than one of the ideologically driven fads that has led to a wide disparity between high education expenditures and low education achievements in the United States as a whole over the last several decades or so. In short, this book does not quite hit the target it is aiming at because the author is too interested in selling his ideas to school districts rather than alienating educational elites with the bitter truth about our educational failures and the drastic steps that would be necessary to address them.
This book is a small one at less than 100 pages, and it begins with a foreword by Steve Forbes and an author's note before its main material. After that this book, more like a booklet at some parts, discusses how America's education is failing us in terms of lower salaries and economic achievement resulting from poor teaching (1), how the failures of America to train enough future scientists and engineers and related professions endangers our ability to stay on the cutting edge of research and development around the world (2), why we fail and some obviously biased ideas on how to fix it (3), some ways that the author expresses his conviction that such changes can be made through world class curricula, high-quality teacher training, engaged partnerships with industry, and some results (4), and then a conclusion that adds to the author's concern for science, technology, engineering and mathematics the same sort of cultural political concerns that have helped to ruin the American education system in the first place. Either the author appears unaware that he too is infected with the same sort of cultural politics that has helped endanger American education or he is unwilling to be too honest about the problems of such politics for fear of alienating support for funding for his initiatives.
Either way, though, this strange inability to recognize the implications of one's own understanding threatens the author's credibility in curing what ails America's education system. The author is right that politics is a big problem, but the fact that he touts support from such figures as Bill Clinton and Obama suggests that he is unaware that they (and he) are also part of the political problem themselves. Likewise, the author shows an awareness that education majors are typically drawn from the lowest achieving students in college campuses, but claims that dealing with only the lowest 5-7% of teachers will be sufficient to increase the benefits of science and mathematics education when far more teachers than that lack certification and knowledge and interest in those areas. The author's attempts to make science and math more relevant to students is worthwhile, but his cultural politics are less so, showing the author's approach to be more of the same calls for more money and more flash and not really addressing the sort of substantive changes that need to be made to improve America's education by ridding it of leftist political agendas.
This book is a small one at less than 100 pages, and it begins with a foreword by Steve Forbes and an author's note before its main material. After that this book, more like a booklet at some parts, discusses how America's education is failing us in terms of lower salaries and economic achievement resulting from poor teaching (1), how the failures of America to train enough future scientists and engineers and related professions endangers our ability to stay on the cutting edge of research and development around the world (2), why we fail and some obviously biased ideas on how to fix it (3), some ways that the author expresses his conviction that such changes can be made through world class curricula, high-quality teacher training, engaged partnerships with industry, and some results (4), and then a conclusion that adds to the author's concern for science, technology, engineering and mathematics the same sort of cultural political concerns that have helped to ruin the American education system in the first place. Either the author appears unaware that he too is infected with the same sort of cultural politics that has helped endanger American education or he is unwilling to be too honest about the problems of such politics for fear of alienating support for funding for his initiatives.
Either way, though, this strange inability to recognize the implications of one's own understanding threatens the author's credibility in curing what ails America's education system. The author is right that politics is a big problem, but the fact that he touts support from such figures as Bill Clinton and Obama suggests that he is unaware that they (and he) are also part of the political problem themselves. Likewise, the author shows an awareness that education majors are typically drawn from the lowest achieving students in college campuses, but claims that dealing with only the lowest 5-7% of teachers will be sufficient to increase the benefits of science and mathematics education when far more teachers than that lack certification and knowledge and interest in those areas. The author's attempts to make science and math more relevant to students is worthwhile, but his cultural politics are less so, showing the author's approach to be more of the same calls for more money and more flash and not really addressing the sort of substantive changes that need to be made to improve America's education by ridding it of leftist political agendas.
November 22, 2025
As a first year college student I have fallen victim to being in the "comfortable" phase of education. When applying to my University, I applied to a major I simply have no interest in and thus, have increasingly been bored at my top university since I was in 5th grade. This book highlighted the importance and excitement in the STEM career field. Also drawing attention to the Americans education system and how we need to implement more stem focused curriculum in our schools. Especially implementation from PLTW courses. I have definitely left the book asking myself my own persona and future- what do I really want to do with my life?
- 1 ⭐️ precisely because it does get dragged on but the facts along the way make up for it, did have an impact on my life and perspective moving forward.
- 1 ⭐️ precisely because it does get dragged on but the facts along the way make up for it, did have an impact on my life and perspective moving forward.
September 6, 2019
Good general view of the importance of STEM and real world applications. Nonpartisan in voice. Full of examples and resources for educators and parents to access in order to develop their own skills and pedagogy -- which is at the heart of the author's message. If teachers don't know how to do STEM or apply it to real life, how can we expect that from our students? Also discusses how creative, willing instructors are not in the grip of Common Core. Did not address No Child Left Behind as it relates to STEM education. Last two chapters seemed to advertise Project Lead The Way, but why not?
March 22, 2022
I was a STEM major during my undergraduate career, more specifically a major adjacent with Computer Science. Not everyone wants or needs to be a STEM major and innovation can come from all disciplines not limited to STEM. Having more people interested and majoring in STEM fields is an admirable goal but that is not the only path to success. People who didn’t major in STEM can transition into it and vice versa. I also didn’t like how preachy he got in this book and that turned me off. Overall, skip this book and read something else. This book is not worth your time.
Read
June 25, 2019While it is a few years out of date, the arguments for STEM field support within the schools to promote the internal (within the United States) training of engineers, programmers, scientists, and other STEM professionals in our country in order to fix the economic crisis that we have been facing for decades. Its a heavy subject to explain, but the author does a good job of breaking down the information without wasting time in expansive descriptions.
December 22, 2024
It was a short informative book about a directed approach to improve STEM education. I ran across this via the public library e-book site. The book is 10 years old now but the program described (PLTW) still seems to be in existence. I'm interested to see how things have progressed in the intervening time. I hope it is doing well. The mission is as important today as it ever was.
July 20, 2025
I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it did have a good bit of genuinely important information, and was pretty digestible. On the other hand, it was basically an ad for the PLTW, and it was long on issues but short on solutions.
September 8, 2018
Lots of stats, so not the most engaging read but good info. Now I want all my kids to be engineers :)
April 22, 2019
This wasn't too shabby but I felt as if a lot of it was repretative. The author made some really great points that I agree with whole heartily.
Want to read
October 23, 2024Fascinating insights from the book preview, can't wait to read more!
August 10, 2015
I am glad I read this book - it was a worthwhile read and had some great statistics and quotes that I made note of. His main points are that despite the billions of dollars that have gone into education in the past 30 years, since the NAtion at Risk report came out in 1983, our national scores on math and science have risen not a bit. We are as behid other nations as we ever have been, and are producing fewer engineering graduates than we did in the 1980's! However, in less than a decade, the job market will need approximately 1.2 million STEM professionals that we just do not produce. Solution: importing talent from other countries because our own graduates won't fill the demand. Very sad. Also, the STEM careers are the best hope for increasing our GDP because STEM fields not only produce ideas but the manufacturing wherewithal to produce the goods that result from those innovative ideas.
I waffled between giving it 3 or 4 stars, and settled with 3 only because this book reads more like a prolonged advertisement for Project Lead the Way. I'm sure it's a great program and, as the author points out, it has shown to produce gains in both achievement and motivation for STEM careers and study. Great. But, as a teacher who cannot make curriculum decisions in my district, I was hoping for some more practical ways and readily usable tactics that I can use in my own classroom to boost STEM achievement. That IS what the book jacket promises. However, the only real solution offered is to implement PTLW K-12 in your district.
Also, he completely misses the boat in addressing the role of PARENTS and family in encouraging or discouraging their children's achievement. He mentions it, yes, but almost as an aside. His major beef is with education, and as a public school educator, that really galls me. In fact, here is how he mentions the role of parents in academic achievement: "And we know that teacher quality is, after parent involvement, the single greatest factor in a child's education. As Microsoft Founder Bill Gates has said, 'the single most decisive factor in student achievement is excellent teaching. It is astonishing what great teachers can do for their students.'" WAIT A MINUTE!!! You just said that teacher quality is LESS important than parent involvement, but you go on to say in the very next sentence that teacher quality is the 'single greatest factor' in a child's education???? You are at odds with yourself there, Dr. Bertram, and you are sweeping a HUGE problem under the rug. ok - I'm off my soapbox on that one.
So, all in all, his message is valid and imperative that educators and SOCIETY take to heart if we want our nation to remain a great one. Administrators and curriculum decision-makers would do well to read this book and take action in response.
I waffled between giving it 3 or 4 stars, and settled with 3 only because this book reads more like a prolonged advertisement for Project Lead the Way. I'm sure it's a great program and, as the author points out, it has shown to produce gains in both achievement and motivation for STEM careers and study. Great. But, as a teacher who cannot make curriculum decisions in my district, I was hoping for some more practical ways and readily usable tactics that I can use in my own classroom to boost STEM achievement. That IS what the book jacket promises. However, the only real solution offered is to implement PTLW K-12 in your district.
Also, he completely misses the boat in addressing the role of PARENTS and family in encouraging or discouraging their children's achievement. He mentions it, yes, but almost as an aside. His major beef is with education, and as a public school educator, that really galls me. In fact, here is how he mentions the role of parents in academic achievement: "And we know that teacher quality is, after parent involvement, the single greatest factor in a child's education. As Microsoft Founder Bill Gates has said, 'the single most decisive factor in student achievement is excellent teaching. It is astonishing what great teachers can do for their students.'" WAIT A MINUTE!!! You just said that teacher quality is LESS important than parent involvement, but you go on to say in the very next sentence that teacher quality is the 'single greatest factor' in a child's education???? You are at odds with yourself there, Dr. Bertram, and you are sweeping a HUGE problem under the rug. ok - I'm off my soapbox on that one.
So, all in all, his message is valid and imperative that educators and SOCIETY take to heart if we want our nation to remain a great one. Administrators and curriculum decision-makers would do well to read this book and take action in response.
July 13, 2015
I have not posted many of the books I have been reading this summer for a couple reasons. First, I have not read much as I have been immersed in action and application. Second, many of the ones I set out to read just were not worth my time.
Until I read this book. This little zinger packs a mandatory read in just 77 pages. This book explores the problem with education but instead of doing nothing but complaining and pointing fingers(which is the case on most books about education these days), Dr. Bertram showcases how things have not changed and how to make it happen.
The book is not a step by step plan, but more of a call to action. It is time that we admit that we need to move. We need to do things that all know must be done. The status quo is not working. Over the last thirty years we have not see the change we need to see. This does not mean starting from scratch. It does not mean that what we are doing is wrong. Rather, it is time to stop being okay with what are doing and pushing things to the next level.
The need for a STEM focus, a change of teaching and learning, and helping to make the irrelevant relevant goes beyond just student engagement. We are talking about our students being able to be qualified for the jobs that are open. We are talking about developing our own citizens to help the country, the budget, and production of life to allow us to continue to be at the top and creating ideas that need creating.
I talk all the time in my Young Engineers of Today class that we are so eager to spend countless hours and unlimited budget for sports, weekend tournaments, equipment, etc. for athletics, but we must be able to help our students see that STEM is what will allow them to find employment, function in life, and be successful. I am not suggesting no sports as I played sports through college, but we must find a balance. Many don’t want to spend time and money on STEM and we need to. It can be just as fun as sports if done right.
I won’t quote all my quotes I marked(I will in future blog posts), but this one stood out to me the most.
In China, Bill Gates is Britney Spears, in America Britney Spears is Britney SpearsThomas Friedman
Tweet Quote
The point of this quote is that we get what we praise. It is time we start to honor education like we do celebrities, sports, and entertainment.
Please read this book. It will open your eyes. It will make you think. It will challenge you to step up your game. I will admit I did skim through quickly the Project Lead the Way push in the end chapters as I don’t believe in pushing programs. However, the rest of the book will share simple ideas that we all know needs to be done in education. It is time to step up and quit accepting that we are a nation under taught.
Until I read this book. This little zinger packs a mandatory read in just 77 pages. This book explores the problem with education but instead of doing nothing but complaining and pointing fingers(which is the case on most books about education these days), Dr. Bertram showcases how things have not changed and how to make it happen.
The book is not a step by step plan, but more of a call to action. It is time that we admit that we need to move. We need to do things that all know must be done. The status quo is not working. Over the last thirty years we have not see the change we need to see. This does not mean starting from scratch. It does not mean that what we are doing is wrong. Rather, it is time to stop being okay with what are doing and pushing things to the next level.
The need for a STEM focus, a change of teaching and learning, and helping to make the irrelevant relevant goes beyond just student engagement. We are talking about our students being able to be qualified for the jobs that are open. We are talking about developing our own citizens to help the country, the budget, and production of life to allow us to continue to be at the top and creating ideas that need creating.
I talk all the time in my Young Engineers of Today class that we are so eager to spend countless hours and unlimited budget for sports, weekend tournaments, equipment, etc. for athletics, but we must be able to help our students see that STEM is what will allow them to find employment, function in life, and be successful. I am not suggesting no sports as I played sports through college, but we must find a balance. Many don’t want to spend time and money on STEM and we need to. It can be just as fun as sports if done right.
I won’t quote all my quotes I marked(I will in future blog posts), but this one stood out to me the most.
In China, Bill Gates is Britney Spears, in America Britney Spears is Britney SpearsThomas Friedman
Tweet Quote
The point of this quote is that we get what we praise. It is time we start to honor education like we do celebrities, sports, and entertainment.
Please read this book. It will open your eyes. It will make you think. It will challenge you to step up your game. I will admit I did skim through quickly the Project Lead the Way push in the end chapters as I don’t believe in pushing programs. However, the rest of the book will share simple ideas that we all know needs to be done in education. It is time to step up and quit accepting that we are a nation under taught.
May 23, 2015
This short booklet highlights the (obvious) deficiencies plaguing American schools when it comes to STEM subjects. It's a short read. And what I found most interesting was the simple statistics. The numbers speak fairly clearly: without consistent and rigorous standards in education, there will be more STEM jobs than there will be qualified candidates to fill those jobs. This is serious.
The author attempts to solve this problem by suggestion a number of STEM programs (including his own), and the importance of interdisciplinary studies. However, outside of the programs he recommends for the schooling system, there is no mention of how to encourage our children on an individual level. Too much of the emphasis is placed on the public school system. As a parent, of course I want our school systems to set more rigorous standards, but I also want to know how I can continue to encourage and promote STEM subjects in the home. And, especially as a homeschooling parent, I want to be even more diligent that I devote my time and resources to properly study the STEM subjects.
Of course, this is only a short book, and I believe the primary purpose was to raise some awareness. And, that it did very effectively. We have a lot of catching up to do.
The author attempts to solve this problem by suggestion a number of STEM programs (including his own), and the importance of interdisciplinary studies. However, outside of the programs he recommends for the schooling system, there is no mention of how to encourage our children on an individual level. Too much of the emphasis is placed on the public school system. As a parent, of course I want our school systems to set more rigorous standards, but I also want to know how I can continue to encourage and promote STEM subjects in the home. And, especially as a homeschooling parent, I want to be even more diligent that I devote my time and resources to properly study the STEM subjects.
Of course, this is only a short book, and I believe the primary purpose was to raise some awareness. And, that it did very effectively. We have a lot of catching up to do.
May 29, 2015
As a teacher who utilizes the PLTW curriculum, I was interested in reading this book, as it was written by the head of PLTW, the predominate leader of STEM-based education in Indiana's schools. I hoped that the book would provide methodology or frame the domain in more of a "what to do" mindset, which sadly, was not the case.
The author spends the first half of the book identifying the crisis in our current educational system, which is commonly known as failures from years of educational spending cuts and lack of rigor in the classroom. As the solution, the implementation of PLTW is introduced as the way to solve the problems, as they believe it to be the best answer to addressing the issue with carefully selected cases, but fails to address the issues of apathy of a rigidly structured curriculum that requires significant capital expenditure on the part of the teacher and school to implement.
It is an okay book, but doesn't really provide the solution to the question it promises to address.
The author spends the first half of the book identifying the crisis in our current educational system, which is commonly known as failures from years of educational spending cuts and lack of rigor in the classroom. As the solution, the implementation of PLTW is introduced as the way to solve the problems, as they believe it to be the best answer to addressing the issue with carefully selected cases, but fails to address the issues of apathy of a rigidly structured curriculum that requires significant capital expenditure on the part of the teacher and school to implement.
It is an okay book, but doesn't really provide the solution to the question it promises to address.
December 4, 2015
So, far this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in improving the future of education. The book is full of useful facts and statistics with informative narratives to bring the numbers to life.
"One Nation Under Taught"" aims itself at the deficiencies in STEM based education in the United States and does a masterful job of illustrating why there is a need for parents and educators to become more informed on the consequences of continuing to ignore and backburner math and science reform efforts. As the author states, " I believe if we do not change our present course, we are preparing too many of our children and too many in our country for a lifetime of poverty."
"One Nation Under Taught"" aims itself at the deficiencies in STEM based education in the United States and does a masterful job of illustrating why there is a need for parents and educators to become more informed on the consequences of continuing to ignore and backburner math and science reform efforts. As the author states, " I believe if we do not change our present course, we are preparing too many of our children and too many in our country for a lifetime of poverty."
December 1, 2014
This book is the game changer. Every teacher, parent, principal, elected official, corporate or community leader should read this book. Dr. Bertram shows how can solve the problem of under performance of american students and Project Lead the Way is a model of excellence in preparing our kids for the future. If you want to help change the future, you should read this book. I ordered mine before it was even released!
May 22, 2015
Short treatise making a strong case for more and better STEM education, especially in the early grades due particularly to American skills gap.
Be aware the author, Dr. Vince Bertram, is president and CEO of Project Lead The Way, a nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of K-12 STEM programs. He has also been appointed by the US Dept. of State as a speaker/specialist in STEM education.
Be aware the author, Dr. Vince Bertram, is president and CEO of Project Lead The Way, a nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of K-12 STEM programs. He has also been appointed by the US Dept. of State as a speaker/specialist in STEM education.
August 6, 2019
I love the premise of this book – as an engineer myself, I totally see the need for more STEM graduates and think that a book to educate on that topic is a great idea. However, this book turned into a 200-page advertisement for PLTW. It’s not that I don’t support the program, because I do, but this book just seemed to scream at me "here's all the terrible stuff America is doing to its students and here's how I'm going to single-handedly fix it." Not quite as inspiring as I hoped it would be.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews