Academic deficits pose a threat to democracy

●Discussion Nedim Olsson Kasomachic

Many of them speak of a national scientific crisis. If we listen to the admissions committee, the crisis will worsen.

The increasing role of technology It has transformed our lives from being a tool to something we rely on completely in order to participate in society at all. Last year, we also began to see how artificial intelligence is creeping into our lives.

The irony is that Even though we live in a high-tech society, most people, including our politicians, know little about how technology works. The power of technology, combined with ignorance of science, constitutes a social time bomb.

We can read everywhere STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are the surefire winners of the future. As a society, we must work to create incentives to get more children and young people to choose to immerse themselves in mathematics and science. The NHO's latest skills barometer shows, among other things, the high need for engineering, technical and ICT subjects. So, here we are not only negative, we have become counterproductive.

If we choose to listen to the admissions committee's recommendation, we are moving in the wrong direction. There is more at stake here than just the already critical skills gap.

This makes me think
About Thomas Jefferson, one of America's founding fathers and pioneer of modern democracy. Jefferson understood that the basic premise of a well-functioning democracy is an enlightened citizenry. He stressed that education is not only a personal benefit, but a social necessity to further develop a strong democracy.

It's been almost 200 years
Jefferson is dead, so how are things today? The results of the 2022 PISA survey have just come out, which give us some answers. Never before since the introduction of PISA have Norwegian 15-year-old students' mathematics skills been weaker. Results in science are also at a very low level.

So, how did we end up here? Or perhaps more importantly, how can we reverse this trend?

I mean myself The path to greater knowledge in mathematics and science revolves around three things: inspiration, incentives and good teaching methods. The Admissions Committee supports eliminating high school science credits. The primary purpose of this scheme was to motivate more young people to invest in science. This is happening at the same time that many people are calling for a national science crisis in high schools. Faculty members across Norway fear that more students will drop out if they enter the course with insufficient mathematics skills.

If we want to build In a knowledge society where citizens understand technology, we should instead strengthen incentives to choose science. Here I want to challenge our politicians to facilitate and encourage those who choose this field of study. If we did what the admissions committee suggests, we would certainly see a huge decline in recruitment into science and technology studies.

Maybe another The most important point is that science brings with it not only valuable knowledge, but also a way of thinking. They teach us about logical and critical thinking. We must work to create a knowledge society with technology-informed citizens who can contribute to democratic decisions about the implementation and use of technology.

In the opposite society Everyone has their own podcast, preaching their own “truth” to their followers, and critical sense has never been as important as it is today. If we don't put math and science education on the agenda, I fear we will end up with an ignorant society ruled by tech oligarchs. Or maybe we are already there?