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Mineral News |
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May 2006 |
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Opinion American
Education System Flunks Geology Usefulness Exam By Tony Nikischer tony@excaliburmineral.com |
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You should know that I'm wearing my dealer hat and my Hudson Institute
hat as I write this short opinion piece. As such, know that I have a strong bias and a couple of axes to grind, so if you
disagree with what I have to say, speak up! We welcome ink wars and will
happily print opposing views. That said, let me repeat and refine my topic:
The American educational system has generally done a poor job of maintaining
viable geology and mineralogy programs at many colleges and universities, and
it is largely their (the institutions') own fault! Nasty and accusatory,
isn't it? During this year's Tucson show, I had occasion to talk to a number of
both practicing and retired geologists and mineralogists about the condition
of the profession in the U.S. today. The general ,
consensus was a pretty dismal view of what lies ahead. Many said that the
companies they work(ed) for are experiencing great
difficulty in locating, hiring and maintaining professionals on staff who can
actually "pick up a rock and tell you what it is". Some opined that recent student crops have yielded good technicians
with black box wizardry skills in the laboratory environment, but those
graduates were woefully deficient in field work capability. Others suggested
that in another fifteen years or so, a decent American field geologist or
practicing mineralogist will be just a memory. Companies looking for those
skills will have to go elsewhere, beyond the U.S. borders. So much for our
educational superiority! Quizzing professional educators in the field resulted in a
disappointing summary of opinions of what has happened: 1) Geology and
mineralogy are no longer considered useful or glitzy sciences; 2) There is
little administrative support for teaching these disciplines at many
institutions; 3) There is little or no work for graduates, so there is no interest among students, either. In summary,
why teach this stuff anymore if one cannot hope to make a good living at it? Well, I don't know many philosophy majors who work as philosophers,
nor do I know of many institutions that have stopped teaching philosophy
because there are no jobs in the field! Since when did making money drive our
educational focus? When it comes to science, has "the American
Dream" really become "make lots of money", and if we can't
make money at it, why maintain proficiency in it? I recently spent a week
with noted Russian mineralogist Igor Pekov and his
wife, Anya, a prolific scientist in her own right.
Both teach at Moscow State University, one of the leading educational
institutions in Russia. Wearing my Hudson Institute hat, I quizzed them about
the number of geology graduates, their career opportunities after graduation
and the educational focus of the sciences in Russia. How is it that Russia,
and still much of Europe, manages to turn out productive mineralogists and
geologists? News flash: only about 20% of the 200 annual geology graduates at
Moscow State University actually get a job in the field, not a very different
situation from here, apparently. But, the science education process continues
nonetheless! Why? The reasons are both complex and revealing: despite the relatively low
career opportunity rate, the Russians still value the science and the cultural
traditions it carries. (As a rule, I have always been more impressed with the
average Europeans' broad-based cultural development as seen when traveling in
such countries as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia and
elsewhere.) Developing well-rounded individuals with a broad base education
is still considered important, and geology serves as a gateway to many other
disciplines. One must learn some chemistry, physics and math, develop some
problem solving and observational skills, become adept at sophisticated
instrumentation and more, all contributing to that broad base of
"getting an education". Those skills provide opportunities, in many other
fields, stretching from materials
science to environmental engineering and education. The Russians get it, why can't
our own educational institutions? If we still can teach philosophy with its
dismal career prospects, why not geology, too? Addressing student lack of
interest, we as mineral collectors have a certain obligation to the future of
both our hobby and the science. How do we get away from the "rocks for
jocks" stigma ~- that is prevalent in high school earth science
programs? What can we do to encourage more young collectors to join our
admittedly aging ranks? Wouldn't it be great to discover that colleges have
to reinstate a geology curriculum because of expanding student interest,
instead of the other way around? Patriotism aside, what are we doing to help
restore U.S. mastery and prominence in this important science and its future?
Without burying everyone in the statistics, it can be generally
concluded that earth science has become an orphan child of the science
education system. Certification rates among its teachers are generally lower
than say biology or chemistry, and the number of new graduates with
appropriate geology backgrounds to teach the subject is seriously declining. While there are no simple answers, I believe getting kids interested
in minerals and mineral collecting is a long-term objective we, as
collectors, should be striving for. Share your collection and your knowledge
with youngsters, interest them in field trips, promote
the hobby through presentations and displays at schools and other public
places. Be sure your local club has an active and interesting youth program,
and make yourself available to scouting groups in your area (yes, they still
have geology merit badges!). Plant a seed, and perhaps it will grow. Let's
hear what Mineral News readers are doing to help! ----------------------------------------------- Mineral News June 2006 Reader’s
Reaction: "American
Education System Flunks Geology Usefulness Exam" Your comments on the decline of the earth sciences in American higher
education are echoed in two articles by Lisa Rossbacher
and Dallas Rhodes that appeared in the April and May 2004 issues of Geotimes, published by the American
Geological Institute. The trend toward eliminating geoscience
programs at colleges and universities is both short-sighted and foolish,
especially now when we are facing major issues like global warming, coping
with natural disasters like Katrina or tsunamis, seeking critical raw materials
for a growing population, and providing clean and adequate water resources
for a growing population. Geology and the earth sciences should lie at the
core of a sound science curriculum, rather than at the periphery! The fault
lies not only with narrow-minded administrators who perceive too few job
opportunities or declining student enrollments, but also with the geology
profession that until quite recently has not spoken out forcefully enough to
point out the many useful contributions to society made by geologists. The
U.S. Geological Survey, for example, despite many cutbacks in recent years,
is actively engaged in public outreach, gearing many of its programs to
perceived public needs and producing many "user friendly" reports
and datasets. Lisa Rossbacher and Dallas Rhodes
urge college professors to "actively proselytize", making people
aware of the importance of geology to society and to publicize the
department's accomplishments at every opportunity, including participation in
public events. The decline in mineralogy is especially sad. Mineralogy has had a
long, distinguished history, closely entwined with the development of
inorganic chemistry and physics from the 18th to early 20th
centuries. While mineralogy has become a "mature" science in that
most fundamental or theoretical discoveries have already been made, it is
still a vital science with many interesting and important applications, a few
of which are outlined here. As recent articles in Mineral News point
out, remote sensing of mineral and chemical composition has become an
important tool in Solar System exploration, e.g., Mars, also the asteroids,
or moons of Jupiter, Saturn. Mineralogy also plays a useful role in many
industrial applications, such as materials science, ceramics, zeolites, crystal growing. For example, diamond synthesis
is of growing importance in coating materials, abrasives, and perhaps the
next generation of computer chips. Gemology, a subdiscipline
of mineralogy, increasingly relies on advanced analytical techniques in order
to detect synthetic or treated gemstones. Mineralogy forms an essential part
of deep-earth research, from sourcing inclusions in diamonds, to mineral
phase transformation under high pressure, even to seismology. The way in
which rocks deform and break can ultimately be traced to defects in the
crystal lattice or to slip or cleavage along crystal planes of rock-forming
minerals. Minerals also playa role in health, e.g., radon
exposure, dietary excess or deficiency of iodine, and even certain types of
cancer. For example, an unusually high incidence of cancer cases in several
remote Turkish villages has recently been traced to the presence of erionite in the soil. Mineral analysis is also used in forensic
science to solve criminal cases. These examples clearly demonstrate that not only is mineralogy
relevant to many aspects of modem society, but also that numerous job
opportunities for well-trained mineralogists do exist, beyond the traditional
roles in academia, government laboratories, or mineral exploration.
Therefore, concerned mineralogists should speak out more emphatically to
college and public education administrators. Rather than marginalizing the
geosciences, developing an improved knowledge base of our home planet,
including mineralogy, is essential if our civilization is to survive. Vivien Gornitz June 12, 2006 |