Forty years ago on July 29, I sat before our little black
and white television watching an event that changed the world…the landing on
the moon. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface, I was thirteen years old. My eyes were glued to the television, as were
millions of others in this country and around the world. I was just like every kid that day…I wanted
to be an astronaut!
Since that time, I have been blessed to have fulfilled
that childhood dream. As of this
writing, I have flown two Space Shuttle missions and served as a mission
specialist, crew medical officer, payload commander and walked in space!
My mission during my tenure at National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) was to follow orders as a member of the United
States Astronaut Corp while, at the same time, accomplish my dream. My new mission now as a civilian is to ensure
that the youth of America have the same opportunity to follow theirs.
While in the Astronaut Corp one of our duties was to step
out of the agency and spread the word about the space program and its impact on
our nation. This job resulted in a great
deal of travel throughout this country, into the inner cities and rural areas,
into public and private institutions, into homes and conventions alike. From this vantage point, I had the chance to
see this country from the ground up.
In 1998, I founded The Harris Foundation to focus on
creating K-12 programs to support the development of young people and their
families. Our flagship program is the Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp, which
gives approximately 50 promising middle level students the opportunity to
enhance their proficiency in mathematics and science. Students live in dormitories on campus and
attend daily educational experiences in science, engineering, mathematics and
technology. Activities include classroom
study, experiments, individual and team projects, field excursions and guest
speakers who motivate the students into fulfilling their dreams. Students are
team-taught by educators from area school districts, as well as university
faculty. In addition, the students live
on campus, where college students are utilized as Junior Camp Counselors,
providing them with the ultimate college experience. Emphasis is placed on communication, critical
thinking skills and teamwork. The camps
are held during the months of June-August and students attend the camp free of
charge.
With the support from the ExxonMobil Foundation, we have
been able to expand the program from two camps at the University of Houston and
Southwest Oklahoma State University to 30 camps throughout the nation. Now
called the “ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp”, we are positively
impacting the lives of over 1500 middle school students each year. I try to make a personal appearance to each
camp. This summer I visited 25 out of the 30 camp. I would visit them all but I
cannot physically be in two places at the same time. It is from this experience
that I make the following observations about our youth and education in this
country.
First, America needs to wake up to the realization that
we are no longer the only leaders in the world.
We are out manned (out peopled) by a number of other countries such as
China and India in respect to the number of scientist and engineers that we
produce. In 2004, according the Nation Academies statistics; the U.S. produced
approximately 70,000 engineers a year vs. 350,000 from India and 600,000 from
China. Even given the Duke University
testimony to Congress' Committee on Education and the Workforce regarding the
exact numbers produced by each nation, we still have a problem. (1) That is, in order to keep the United States
competitive with the rest of the world we must do a better job with the
graduation rates from high school and college. And make sure that the skill
level of the United States youth can meet the needs of this country and the
world.
Second, a country’s innovation and invention are driven
by the knowledge and expertise of its people. In order to generate new ideas,
there must be the educational foundation to develop them. According to the
United States Patent Office, in 2008, 50% of the patents issued in the United
States where from foreign countries as compared to 37% in 1978. (2) We will lose our ability to create new and
novel technologies if our workforce is lacking basic mathematics and
science education.
Third, we have lost our creative edge…the motivation for
discovery. Many of our children have
become complacent, idle, unable and unwilling to do what it takes to achieve in
life. The question is…Why? I do not have all the answers but I am
convinced that our desire for immediate gratification is a significant part the
equation. We must instill in our young people the value of work in achieving
dreams…the rewards are great!
The question that should be asked now is; how do we
change things? How do we change the mindset of our youth from being fed to
becoming acquirers of knowledge: from being led by technologies (via video
games, internet) to becoming leaders of technological advances; from being
passive to becoming active participants in their personal growth.
Despite these facts, as I travel the country meeting this
new generation of kids, I am encouraged by what I see. That is, many highly motivated youngsters who
desire to learn. They simply need
guidance and nurturing. When I look into
the eyes of these young people, I see hope for this nation. They are like seeds waiting to germinate,
given the right amount of encouragement and time from those of us who are
willing to invest in them.
If we do not make this investment now, we will lose in
the future. Each time that a child’s
dream goes unfulfilled, it is not only a lost to them but to this nation. We lose the intellectual brainpower of that
individual and their collective contribution for us all. I am about encouraging
dreams and empowering individuals through education…particularly education in
math and science.
When we do this, we are in fact changing the direction of
this country. The result will transform this nation: from consumers to
innovators…from gamers to creators…from outsourcers to resourcers…giving us the
power to prosper!
Investing in America begins at home with our day to day
interactions with our children, creating an environment of learning, and ends
with the economic prosperity of this great nation. My extraterrestrial mission took me to edge
of our world… and my terrestrial mission is to ensure that America remains
strong.
References:
(1)
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175004479
(2) http://www.uspto.gov/go/stats/reports.htm
