Murfreesboro Math Teacher Touted As One Of Nation's Best
April 14, 2005,
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon applauded Murfreesboro school teacher Cynthia Cliche for winning the prestigious 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching during today's (Thursday, April 14) hearing before the House Science Committee.
Gordon told Cliche, a first-grade teacher at Homer Pittard Campus School in the congressman's hometown, that she was an inspiration for not only her students, but also the entire nation, which depends on a highly educated workforce to compete in a global economy.
"Too often our teachers are taken for granted," said Gordon, ranking member of the committee and dean of the Tennessee congressional delegation. "We expect them to teach our children the vital skills they need to compete in a high-tech world, but we don't necessarily think about how they are paid or where they work.
"A recent study ranked math proficiency of U.S. students at 24th out of 29 industrialized countries. It, together with other assessment data, concludes that the gap between American students and their counterparts in Europe and Asia widens at the high school level.
"We cannot allow the math and science skills of our children to suffer any longer. Too many corporations here in America have to recruit highly skilled employees from outside our borders. Not only do we have to worry about outsourcing less-skilled jobs, but we also have to worry about outsourcing the high-tech jobs we depend on to keep America's economy strong and vibrant," he said.
Gordon urged his Science Committee colleagues and the rest of Congress to do a better job helping communities attract and retain highly skilled math and science teachers, who are often forced to leave teaching for better-paying jobs.
Cliche, also an instructor at Middle Tennessee State University where the congressman is an alumnus, agreed with Gordon's assessment and relayed her thoughts to the panel.
"As a university math methods instructor for the past fifteen years, I have seen the quality of teacher candidates decline," she said. "Teachers are being hired that would not have been given an interview ten years ago, and our brightest young adults are choosing careers with higher salaries and more benefits.
"My own niece wanted to be a teacher until she became a senior in high school. Now she intends to go into business so she can make a bigger salary. Young people want to be able to justify the cost of an education with the potential salary."
Gordon and other committee members pointed out that the federal government has been slashing funding to programs and agencies charged with bolstering the nation's prowess in math, science and basic research. The National Science Foundation, for example, has been hard hit by budget cuts, they noted.
Just two years after it promised to double funding for scientific research, Congress last year decreased the budget for the National Science Foundation by $105 million, the largest cut in the history of the NSF.
"Congress' lack of commitment to the very agency charged with strengthening the nation's overall potential in science, mathematics and engineering through basic research and education is discouraging," Gordon said. "It seems this country has lost its focus on technological innovation. In the 1960s, the U.S. responded with break-neck speed to the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik I.
"Because we didn't want to lose our technological superiority to the Soviet Union, we created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and boosted government research and development spending to nearly 2 percent of gross domestic product.
"Now, federal research and development spending is about 0.75 percent of GDP, a whopping 63 percent decrease. That speaks volumes of where are priorities now lie," he said.
Cliche reiterated that it was important for Congress to elevate its commitment to not only education, but also math and science disciplines. And she thanked panel members for allowing her and four other award winners an opportunity to give their insights on what more can be done to boost math and science skills in the U.S.
"Technology is an essential tool in teaching and learning mathematics," she said. "Our children need to leave our classrooms technology literate. So many schools lack the funds to give their students this opportunity.
"As lawmakers, the decisions you make will impact the future of our children. Thanks so much for your continued dedication in this area. With the challenges our nation faces today, we need talented, well-educated children with the ability to solve the problems of tomorrow," Cliche added.
