-
"Over
the past few years, the world of science has been engaged in a dialogue
about how we can boost scientific education and public literacy. I
would venture that what began as a murmur about this multi-faceted
challenge has now reached the level of a dull roar."
-
"As
a society, we cannot separate our goal to be a leading economic competitor
from our duty and responsibility to educate all youngsters..."
-
"Every
schoolchild must be educated for a productive and contributory place
in an advanced information age...In some places, the educational approach
is to sift and sort students early-on. This tells some students right
at the starting gate that they can't master science and math -- that
we do not expect them to succeed. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,
damning to the student and destructive for the country. We must believe
in all children so that they learn to believe in themselves..."
-
"All
of these emerging economies (of southeast Asia) are placing their
primary educational emphasis on training engineers... In order for
the United States to compete in the wake of such focused competition,
we must forge a 'critical mass' of knowledge, skill, and infrastructure.
It should include public and private schools, colleges and universities,
industry and small business, government at all levels, and the talented
personnel from each sector. It must be guided by a collective vision
of where we need to go and a collaborative spirit of how we can get
there."
-
"I
believe, however, that engineers must not only be the people who know
how to do things right, but also those who know the right things to
do. The latter is a much broader task requiring very different preparation
and skills. Engineering is an integrative process but, for the most
part, engineering education has not been conceived or taught as an
integrative preparation."
-
"We
have been good at teaching the technical components of engineering
education, but we have not necessarily taught them as connected or
related to each other. And we have been clearly deficient in teaching
the, what I would call, the 'sociology of engineering.' What do I
mean by the term 'sociology of engineering'? To begin, engineers must
be able to work in teams; they must be able to communicate effectively;
they must be adaptable. They must also better understand their pivotal
role in society in order to accept the responsibility of that role."
-
"We
[engineers] also do not readily focus on the big picture. This is
perhaps why we haven't always seen ourselves as agents of change...We
need to help them contemplate their work in the larger context because
what they do often changes the 'big picture' dramatically over time.
That 'big picture' encompasses economic, political, social, and ethical
components."
-
"It
is important, but not enough, that engineers are taught excellence
in design to achieve safety, reliability, cost and maintenance objectives.
It is important, but not enough, to teach them to create, operate
and sustain complex systems. It is important, but not enough, for
them to understand and participate in the process of research. It
is important, but not enough, for them to develop the intellectual
skills for life-long learning... Engineering is not just about doing
things right, but also about doing the right things."
-
The
most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and
to watch somebody else doing it wrong, without comment.
T. H. White
-
The
most important service rendered by the press and the magazines is
that of educating people to approach printed matter with distrust.
Samuel Butler (1612-1680)
-
The
nice thing about standards is, there are so many to choose from.
-
Work
expands to fill the time available for its completion.
-
Half
the work that is done in this world is to make things appear what
they are not.
-
The
illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
-
Don't
say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of
hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo,
Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
-
Its
kind of fun to do the impossible.
-
Our
employees are more productive because they feel that they're in an
organization that values the complexity of their entire life and tries
to do something about making it a little easier for them to balance
all the conflicting demands.
-
Youngsters
have rules and elders have experience. But experience is strange,
it takes test first and teaches lesson afterwards.
