How Joe Biden As President Can Fundamentally Change STEM Education in the US

Education Reform with Focus on the S&M In STEM Education.

Donald Trump recently signed an executive order suspending the granting of H-1B visas to foreigners recruited by US companies. There were immediate opposition responses from tech companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Twitter. These tech giants and many more  American companies must hire people from foreign countries because they cannot find sufficient qualified American educated candidates to fill job vacancies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The President's order has the potential to endanger and isolate the  US and making our country technologically vulnerable to hostile foreign powers.

         Joe Biden can implement the mother of all education reforms by addressing the cause of the shortage of US born and educated STEM candidates. But for that he'll need to select an enlightened and competent Secretary of Education that will hit the ground running from day one. I'm thinking of someone like former Mayor of New York City Michel Bloomberg, if he can be persuaded to take the job. In addition to implementing fundamental educational reforms, he was successful in influencing the New York Legislator to approve mayoral control over the New York City School System. We'll need that kind of dynamism because the US needs to act with urgency and immediacy to reform K-12 STEM education in ways that ensure specific and unequivocal improvements over the status quo. The alternative is to continue ad-infinitum to seek needed STEM talent from foreign countries to fill such job vacancies and increase the nations technological vulnerabilities.

          To accomplish the ideal result, Joe Biden must avoid the failed efforts by previous recent Presidents. Beginning with George H.W. Bush, every President except Donald Trump had an education agenda or motto. George H.W. Bush proclaimed he would be the "Education President." George W. Bush's  motto was "No child left behind." To his credit, he went further by creating the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMAP) to study how to improve the teaching of algebra. Unfortunately none of these Presidents had any significant positive impact on STEM education. Barack Obama's education motto was "Race to the Top." I voted twice for Obama but his administration left us with Common Core.  While Obama correctly identified and embraced STEM education as the way to the future, he delegated the reform task, as he should, to his Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Armed with $5 billion in "Race to the Top" funding, Duncan set to work on the initiative resulting in the creation of Common Core. Without ever being field tested, it was implemented in over 45 states. To get funding, states had to agree to create more charter schools. Charter schools are run for profit with dubious quality education where teachers and staff are usually underpaid. Common Core turned out to be a disaster for parents, students, teachers and school administrators.  Obama's error was the wrong choice for Secretary of Education.

          I'm writing to Joe Biden as a mathematics educator (teacher and curriculum supervisor) at the K-12 level and as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the college level, and now retired after over thirty years in the profession. I may not have the stature of Albert Einstein who advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the imminent threat of Germany's acquisition of the atomic bomb in World War II, but my purpose and proposal for Presidential candidate Joe Biden and for America is no less critical. From a professional  perspective, I have studied, through meticulous research, how we can leap forward in mathematics and science education and ultimately to address the endemic shortage of American born candidates to fill more STEM job vacancies. The results of my inquiry are written in my book,

Metric System Yes, Common Core No...,  published in 2016. (I'm willing to donate copies to Joe Biden's Education committee or a subcommittee on STEM education.)

          The questions to be answered were these. Why do American companies have to recruit skilled personnel to fill STEM job vacancies from other countries? Why can't our education system produce such candidates in sufficient numbers to fill American job vacancies? Why did past education reform initiatives fail to address the problem? Inquiry led me to discover one key anomaly in the way we educate children for STEM and it has profound implications. I found that the measure of the deficiencies of American K-12 students stand out in stark relief in the low rankings of fifteen-year-old American students on the triennial Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in science and mathematics (See Google search of US PISA rankings for 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018). Science and Mathematics (the S and M in STEM) are the keys to STEM education. Since 2003, American students have never placed in the top twenty in world rankings in either subject in the PISA test. In 2015, five years after implementation of Common Core, US students ranked 40th and 30th in Mathematics and Science respectively out of 72 countries. The 2018 results were not significantly different. This is stunningly incongruous with the fact that the United States spends more money-per-student than any other country in the world. Canada, for example - which spends much less money per student - have consistently ranked in the top ten in both Mathematics and Science on the PISA test.

          So what is it that facilitate Canada and other countries to continually outrank the United States on the PISA test and to be prolific in the production of STEM candidates? Joe Biden as President will find the implementable answer by going all the way back to our first President, George Washington. Here's what I found and wrote in my book.

When our country was founded, George Washington, our first president, submitted two transformative legislative proposals to the congress in the 1790s . One was to get rid of the complicated British currency and replace it with the simpler American dollar . The other was to get rid of the convoluted British system of measurements, “which itself evolved from a tangled mess of medieval weights and measures“1 and replace it with the simpler metric system .2 He succeeded with the first, but not the second . Later, another insightful president, James Madison, also suggested a complete change to the metric system, but he too was unsuccessful .3 Today the magnitude of George Washington’s foresight is manifested in the fact that the American dollar is the king of world currencies, but we continue to be intractably saddled with the archaic, medieval English system of measurements . (p. 7)

Here's a relatively recent report by the CIA:

According to the US Central Intelligence Agency's online The World Factbook (2016), the only countries that have not adopted the metric system are Myanmar (also known as Burma), Liberia and the US.

Isn't it ironic that in our time, every industrialized country in the world except United States utilizes the metric system that George Washington proposed for his new country in the 1790s? More ironic is the fact that in 1965 the British themselves changed to the metric system thus abandoning the imperial system which they imposed on the US from colonial times. Did the British reflect on George Washington? This archaic imperial system is now formalized in K-12 textbooks as the United States Customary System of measurements. This is the environment in which current K-12 curricula in mathematics and science are constructed. It is a specific encumbrance to the learning process, thus killing our chances for excellence in American STEM education.

          So, what is it about the metric system environment that is so enriching and facilitating for mathematics and science education? The defining words are simplicity and ease of use. The metric system is based on one scientifically derived measure - the meter. (It is kept as a platinum bar in France). There are only three base measures in the system namely the meter itself for length, the liter for capacity and the gram for weight. The liter and the gram are defined in terms of the meter. The simplicity of the metric system comes from the fact that all three measures are based on multiples or submultiples of the number ten. A detailed explanation of the derivation of all three units can be seen at my website, https://dillonlobban.com/, then click on the Video page, then on "The Metric System." For temperature measurements, the metric system employs the Celsius scale rather than Fahrenheit. That is because the former is much simpler than the latter. In Celsius the freezing point and boiling points of water are zero degrees and 100 degrees respectively. This compares with Fahrenheit where the freezing and boiling points of water are 32 degrees and 212 degrees respectively. Celsius is much more conducive for early K-12 progress in algebra than does Fahrenheit.

          Chapters 5 and 6 of my book sets out the specifics of the efficacy of the metric system for early start in mathematics and science education. There is explanation as to why in Russia mathematics education starts algebra in the first grade, (see page 63) compared to the United States where beginning algebra starts in the ninth grade for the average student. These were salient facts that escaped President George W. Bush's National Mathematics Advisory Panel.

2. The Metric System in the United States and a Date-Certain Conversion:

A commerce status check will show that the United States currently has a partial metric system infrastructure in place. Most packaged and canned goods along with bottled products sold in the US show both metric and imperial measures. Metric tools, nuts and bolts and measurement instruments are sold at US hardware outlets like Home Depot and Lowes. This is because of a Commerce Department initiative by Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans in 1968. He submitted a report to the Congress entitled "A Metric America: A Decision Whose Time Has Come." (see his submission letter on page 114 of my book). Subsequently, President Ford signed the "Metric Conversion Act of 1975," (see his speech on page 110) and there was optimism for a permanent change to the metric system at last. Unfortunately, instead of a mandatory conversion with a date-certain phase-in timeline, President Ford made conversion voluntary. This voluntary attempt at conversion proved to be its undoing as will be shown later.

          What is now needed is an Education Secretary to take up the cause for education, in like manner as Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans took up the cause for commerce. This should complete the job to establish a metric system/Celsius environment to finally actualize George Washington's proposal. But it can only be effectively done through a date-certain conversion process accompanied by public education. My book published in 2016 suggests a ten years date-certain conversion, but with today's exponential rise in technology and a ubiquitous internet, a three years date-certain timeline is very practicable. In fact, Joe Biden could begin to see success results before the end of his first term by having the Secretary of Education set up a monitoring mechanism for progress through first, second and third grade testing protocols. Simultaneously, with establishing a date-certain conversion, the Secretary of Education must offer Federal funding for national curricula reconstruction in K-12 mathematics and science that is infused with metric system concepts, applications and problem solving activities.

          A public education component must accompany the conversion throughout the date-certain phase-in period. There had been congressional talk about infrastructure improvements.  Part of the change to metric and the public education program could include constructing road signs in both MPH (miles per hour) and KPH (kilometers per hour) speed limits in place. Modern cars now have both KPH and MPH dashboard speed readings. Gas stations could participate by simultaneously posting gas prices per liter and per gallon at each gas pump. Americans will be supportive if they are aware that the cause is to enhance STEM education for their children. In fact many Americans don't know, don't use and don't experience many of the more than twenty disparate units of the imperial system. (See the whole mess on page 39 of my book). In a random survey I conducted, out of twenty five adult Americans, not a single one knew how many feet were in one mile. There was one close answer and it was an interrogative 5000 feet. One ironic aspect of the  survey was that eleven people gave an interrogative answer of 1000 feet. It indicates to me that had these Americans been educated in a metric system environment where there are only three measures namely the meter, the gram and the liter, all twenty-five would know that that one Kilometer is 1000 meters. That's simplicity par excellence when compared with one mile = 5280 feet.

          Speaking of gas stations, page 111 of my book points out conversion errors that were made in the 1970s which doomed the voluntary conversion process. Instead of a well thought out date-certain conversion with public education, there was literally an overnight switch from gallons to liters at the gas pump. The next day, there was public confusion. Having no idea what a liter is, combined with fraudulent acts by price gouging opportunists, the reaction was fierce; and that doomed future progress on conversion efforts country-wide. Continuing opposition to conversion by special interest groups grew and that affected the pace of voluntary conversion. In 1982 President Ronald Reagan regressively disbanded the Metric Board which was created to facilitate the conversion process.

          The sine-qua-non of conversion is the mandatory date-certain phase-in and a parallel public education program. For example, to change from Fahrenheit to Celsius would be fatal to conversion without a date-certain phase-in. Public education can take place through media outlets like radio and television, which now broadcasts only Fahrenheit temperatures. They could transition from Fahrenheit to Celsius, by broadcasting temperature readings in both measures over the date-certain timeline. The BBC world News (seen on American cable television) currently does exactly that right now. The ubiquitous cell phone now gives temperatures in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. See page 118 of my book for a powerful mnemonic to facilitate public education on Celsius temperatures.

          American children - from the inner city to the suburban schools -need to be given the same chance as their international counterparts to level the PISA playing field, by providing them with the same tools to solve problem in mathematics and science. The Celsius scale which perfectly matches the number line used in mathematics gives kindergarten children immediate familiarity with basic algebra concepts, simply because freezing in Celsius is zero degrees rather than the arbitrary if not ridiculous 32 degrees for Fahrenheit. Most American children, especially those in southern states do not encounter or experience negative numbers until the ninth grade. See page 76 of my book for a state-by-state breakdown of average temperature readings in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. In winter months, kindergarten children would experience the meaning of negative numbers whenever the temperature dips below freezing. Even if they do not experience the negative temperatures in warmer states, they'll be educated through national weather reports on television. As previously indicated, familiarity with negative numbers is a powerful pre-algebra conceptual tool.

          The date-certain phase-in will psychologically condition our children to start thinking in metric and to be algebra-ready for higher levels of mathematics and science in later grades. All science classes should begin to be taught in metric system environment simply because metric is the standard measure for understanding intricate science concepts. The United states have previously experienced a successful seamless conversion from analog to digital technologies through public education. The date-certain was June 12, 2009. There needs to be a sense of urgency with change to metric, because it will take ten years for the current kindergarten child to reach the age of fifteen and to be ready to sit for the PISA test.

 3.  Creating K-12 Metric Based Mathematics and Science Curricula.

          The errors made in creating Common Core must be avoided. Page 132 of my book will show that the creation task fell to three individuals. One was a philosophy graduate, one was a lawyer and the other a professor of mathematics and physics. The product was hurriedly finished and was never field tested. Yet Education Secretary Arne Duncan allowed it's distribution in the raw to more than 45 states. There was no monitoring mechanism to discover possible anomalies for the purpose of revisions.

           Joe Biden's Secretary of Education can replace Common Core by appointing a consortium of mathematics and science educators. There should be coordination with textbook companies; with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NTCM) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to construct K-12 curricula and standards for teaching science and mathematics in a metric system environment. They can study international education norms and textbook models like the Canadian system  and countries with high PISA rankings to see why their average fifteen-years-old students are more advanced in mathematics and science than their American counterparts.

          If we take immediate action, the United States could lead the world in STEM education in the years to come. Then and only then can we talk about limiting the issuance of H-1B visas. We must remember that while we are teaching our children in an old fashion measurements system environment, countries like Russia China' Germany, Canada and India (which are ahead in STEM education) are still forging ahead with metric system based curricular for their children, leading to an abundance of STEM education candidates. These are the countries from which American companies recruit these candidates. We can avoid arbitrary and capricious executive orders by unenlightened Presidents regarding H-1B visas simply because if we do it right, we can have so many STEM educated candidates that we can export rather having to import them.

4. Why Current Suspending of  H-1B Visas is Counterproductive.

When it comes to the H-1B visas, pragmatism must be the operational paradigm.          Consider  Germany and STEM education: page 37 of my book will show that Germany became a metric system country in 1872. It is no accident that most of the great mathematicians and scientists in the world since 1872 are of German origin. Albert Einstein who changed physics forever, is one of them; but there were many more. In fact, it was the German engineer Wernher von Braun and the 500 German scientists he brought to this country after World War II that effectively laid the foundations for advance rocket science technology in the United States (see page 13 of my book). Because of this German infusion of STEM personnel from that metric system country, the United States is now ahead in space exploration and the ballistic missile technology. Other than Germans, there were many other non-American metric system educated scientists who contributed to scientific advances in the US. See page 13 of my book for names of the foreign born-metric-system-educated scientists, many of them Nobel laureates, who were instrumental in the scientific activities that led to the success of the  Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb  that allowed the US to defeat Japan in WWII. Edward Teller, the thermo-nuclear scientists, the so-called "Father of the Hydrogen Bomb," was Hungarian born and educated. Our two current military and economic adversaries, Russia and China, adopted the metric system in 1925. Our ally Canada followed as late as 1970. It was previously mentioned and is worth reiterating that since 2003 when the triennial PISA test was first given, metric system Canada has never ranked outside the top ten in mathematics or science.

          The United States will not be ready to suspend H-1B visas until we become a metric system and STEM competent country. Looking ahead, if we consider a current kindergarten child, it will take at least fifteen years before she can  be a university graduate as a metric system prepared STEM candidate. It is long past the time for the United States to abandon the archaic and STEM-useless imperial system and the Fahrenheit scale.

          One caveat is that a change to metric should have no effect on sports such as Football, Baseball and Golf, or even real estate to name a few areas, that use imperial system measures effectively.

          A Biden administration success in finally making the United States a metric system country, and to join the list on page 37 of my book, will immortalize Mr. Biden as the one President who completely implemented George Washington's 1791 proposal. Fifty years from now, we should be so advanced and dominant in STEM education that the United States will reign with unequivocal supremacy with readiness for any related contingency. The alternative is to continue with our archaic quagmire of medieval measurements (miles, feet, yards, inches, gallons, quarts, pints, pounds, ounces etc, and Fahrenheit), all of which - in their disparate constituent parts - lack any common base number the way all three metric measures are harmonically based on the number ten.  The imperial system imposes an unnecessary waste of mental energy on American children and set them up for poor performances on standard international tests while inhibiting them from excellence in STEM education. This makes the US destined to be at the mercy of hostile foreign governments which, armed with a metric system environment for their children, will be making quantum leaps in STEM education. We will need to keep issuing a lot of H-1B type visas just to keep up with  our allies and more importantly to be ready for hostile regimes.

          To paraphrase Winston Churchill - If Joe Biden can succeed in making the United States a metric system country, and if America should last a thousand years, history will record that this was one of our finest achievements and Joe Biden would be inextricably linked with George Washington as legendary Presidents.