Former tech entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa is an academic with posts at Harvard and Duke universities. Wadhwa does research and writing on STEM education and U.S. competitiveness. He doesn’t accept the common wisdom that U.S. science and math education is in trouble. It’s teacher salaries that need an overhaul, Wadhwa tells HotChalk.

Q: Are weaknesses in U.S. education contributing to a decline in national competitiveness?

A: U.S. education is not a problem for globalization as a lot of tech executives are claiming right now. U.S. companies are going abroad for economic reasons, not because of any deficiencies in American education.

Those that point the finger at American teachers and schools are misguided. We blame our schools and teachers, but we should be focused on improving education for the underprivileged --and for making the teaching profession more economically desirable.

Q: What about the research claiming U.S. k-12 students are behind in STEM areas?

A: All this nonsense about American kids not scoring as high as kids in other nations--it’s a dumb discussion because they’re not comparing apples to apples. They’re comparing our underprivileged children with the homogeneous and elite populations in small countries such as Latvia, Finland, and New Zealand. In other words, we take the average across the board to come up with U.S. statistics, and we’re comparing it to small homogeneous populations.

Q: Then you see money, not educational quality, as the underlying issue?

A: There’s lots of room for improvement, but the biggest problem stems from investment. We don’t pay our teachers enough. The number one solution would be to triple salaries. Make education as desirable as investment banking, as technology, as other fields where our best students go for financial reasons. To get advanced degrees in education costs as much as it does in other fields, so why shouldn’t they make as much money?

We have to improve the salaries of teachers so they feel motivated to go to underprivileged areas. I would provide hardship pay. I would pay the teachers underprivileged areas much more than those than those in middle America. And within five years, you would see dramatic changes if you did that.

Q: Aren’t there any specific steps the U.S. could take to improve k-12 education?

A: If we fixed the inequity in salaries, the system would fix itself. It’s a matter of investment. Education is the most important investment a country can make, so why don’t we double our investment? If we really want to be competitive long-term, why don’t we improve the education of all Americans?

Q: What’s the international business perspective?

A: American companies expect the public system to give them everything they want. In India, it’s the exact opposite. Business knows not to expect anything from the schools, so they provide their own surrogate education system. The Kauffman Foundation is releasing my next report, “How the Guru Became the Disciple: Is it Time for the U.S. to Learn Workforce Development from Former Disciple India?” later this month. It shows how Indian businesses aren’t blaming the public education system. They’re providing their own training.

Q: What can U.S. corporations do to better the situation?

A: Invest more in education. They can offer scholarships. For example, a lot of tech companies say there’s a shortage of scientists and engineers. If they really believe that, let them offer scholarships. Let them offer full rides to anyone who studies science and engineering.

Sheila Riley is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist. She is also an experienced online editor and ESL curriculum developer, and teaches ESL at City College of San Francisco.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed