The Hill – Michael Lombardo and Robert Slavin
“Much of our national conversation on education policy has focused on preparing kids in STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. President Obama is talking about it, as are many of his aspiring successors. STEM gets a lot of attention for a very good reason: the STEM world offers kids great careers and we need smart young minds to fill the occupations associated with these degrees. But while we are making great investments in STEM, an equally important learning skill isn’t being discussed—reading…Of course, we shouldn’t have to choose between STEM and reading—both are critical to our future economic prosperity and national security. But funding STEM while neglecting literacy puts the educational cart before the horse. Trying to teach engineering to kids who struggle with reading will impart much more frustration than knowledge. To get the most value from our overall investment in education, we need to ensure students have the foundational reading skills that STEM is built on.”(more)