Why it is, in the USA, we seem to have such a paucity of students *interested* in a science education ? I mean, forget about students that excel in science (we certainly do have some of those), but the majority of American students with opportunity for higher education seem to choose a course of study other than science. Why ?
One has to ask, if you perceive the number of American born students in science as "low", is this in absolute or relative terms ? Relative to 1950's America, say? Or relative to other countries ?
Here are a few reasons I can think of:
1) Other closely related fields (e.g engineering, computing, medicine) are perceived as more lucrative or interesting.
2) Academia is perceived as an unattractive career choice (low pay and benefits, revolving series of one year postdocs, excessive politics)
3) Students who might be interested in science are turned off at the secondary level due to the way science is taught. It seems to be perceived , especially in the physical sciences, as something only for the elite students.
On the Kansas topic, I have to wonder if the mainstream science community tactic of largely avoiding the hearings was the best choice. Surely it was largely a kangaroo court, but this tactic could still be perceived as a retreat by the general public. If the state attempts to force ID to be taught, would en masse resignations of Kansas bio teachers, or en masse refusal to comply, be the response ?
™ Version 4.2