Darlene Hooley: “Thank you, Chairman Gordon, for giving me time to speak on this important and crucial piece of legislation. I also want…”

“Thank you, Chairman Gordon, for giving me time to speak on this important and crucial piece of legislation. I also want to applaud you for your leadership on this issue, and the expediency that you moved this through committee, along with Ranking Member Hall. This initiative was identified by the Academies as being the most important step to increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education. Among the findings of the National Academies' ``Gathering Storm'' report, was a statistic that in 2000 more than 85 percent of students in grades 5-9 were taught physical science by a teacher lacking a major or certification in the physical sciences. As a former teacher, I can appreciate how difficult it is to teach a subject when you are not comfortable with it, and this discomfort translates in discomfort for the subject to the students. The key to the United States maintaining its position at the forefront of global innovation and technology is to get more students interested in the science and math fields. Our Nation's economic vitality is derived in large part from the productivity of well-trained people and the steady stream of scientific and technical innovations they produce. After years of inattention and neglect, this legislation is an important first step towards a reinvestment in our Nation's science and math education. It will, in turn, positively benefit the American Competitive Initiative.”