We hear repeatedly about the shortage of qualified
engineers and the need for more science, technology, and
mathematics majors. I am all for that. I would also like to see
more majors in the arts, philosophy, history, government,
literature, and world languages. This reader–who signs as
“Democracy”–offers thoughts about “the STEM crisis”–and examines
the role of Lockheed Martin’s Norman Augustine, who has been
outspoken on this and other educational subjects. (See his defense
of standardized
testing here.). And more on “the STEM crisis” here.
But Augustine and the president of Cornell wrote an article
stressing the importance of the humanities and foreign languages
here,
while making a case for the Common Core. All seem to be about jobs
and national competitiveness, the aims of the day. . “Democracy”
writes: It seems that former Lockeed CEO Norm Augustine was invited
to tour Charlottesville-area public schools, where
he touted his brand of corporate “reform” and lauded
schools for their STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)
focus, which goes under the rubric of “21st-century education.” As
CEO at Martin Marietta, Augustine brokered the merger of that
company with Lockheed to produce Lockheed Martin and got taxpayers
to subsidize nearly a billion dollars of the merger cost, including
tens of millions in bonuses for executives (Augustine netted over
$8 million). And then the merged company laid off thousands of
workers. The promised efficiencies and cost savings to the
government (and taxpayers) have yet to materialize. Lockheed Martin
is is now the largest of the big defense contractors, yet its
government contracts are hardly limited to weapons systems. While
Lockheed has broadened its services, it is dependent on the
government and the taxpayers for its profits. It’s also #1 on the ”
‘contractor misconduct’ database” which tracks contract abuse and
misconduct. Meanwhile, while Norm Augustine touts the need for more
STEM graduates (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and STEM
teachers for public schools, Lockheed is laying off thousands of
engineers. Research studies show there is no STEM shortage, but
Augustine says (absurdly) that it’s critical to American economic
“competitiveness.” A 2004 RAND study “found no consistent and
convincing evidence that the federal government faces current or
impending shortages of STEM workers…there is little evidence of
such shortages in the past decade or on the horizon.” The RAND
study concluded “if the number of STEM positions or their
attractiveness is not also increasing” –– and both are not –– then
“measures to increase the number of STEM workers may create
surpluses, manifested in unemployment and underemployment.” A 2007
study by Lowell and Salzman found no STEM shortage (see:
http://www.urban.org/publications/411562.html ). Indeed, Lowell and
Salzman found that “the supply of S&E-qualified graduates
is large and ranks among the best internationally. Further, the
number of undergraduates completing S&E studies has grown,
and the number of S&E graduates remains high by historical
standards.” The “education system produces qualified graduates far
in excess of demand.” Lowell and Salzman concluded that “purported
labor market shortages for scientists and engineers are anecdotal
and also not supported by the available evidence…The assumption
that difficulties in hiring is just due to supply can have
counterproductive consequences: an increase in supply that leads to
high unemployment, lowered wages, and decline in working conditions
will have the long-term effect of weakening future supply.” Lowell
and Salzman noted that “available evidence indicates an ample
supply of students whose preparation and performance has been
increasing over the past decades.”