since I took too long on the first half of the presentation.
From my notes:
Our greatest natural resource is not trees or hydrocarbons or fresh
water -- it’s the human mind and its seemingly boundless power to
improve our lives. Be it a new form of energy, or mode of
transportation, or cure for a deadly disease, the human mind has the
potential to radically improve our lives.
To realize this potential we need an education system that helps
children and young adults acquire the knowledge and thinking skills
needed to find creative solutions to existing and future problems.
The past several decades have witnessed the systematic "dumbing down"
of public education. The curriculum got diluted with non-academic
subjects and frivolous activities; proven methods for teaching
reading, writing, math, science and reasoning got replaced with
unproven, inferior methods; and objectivity got sacrificed to
"political correctness" propaganda, such as socialism,
environmentalism, multiculturalism and moral relativism. These
things are important, but not at the expense of reading, writing,
math, science and reasoning. I think computer skills beyond being
able to build a PC out of parts are important as well. Programming
teaches reasoning via the use of logical assertions.
Consequently, students are not acquiring the academic knowledge,
discipline and skills -- particularly logical thinking skills -- that
they desperately need in order to guide their lives toward success
and happiness.
<segue into the HOSEF mission>
