2021-10-25
Male Speaker: Mr. President, like you, I'm
the father of two beautiful, intelligent girls.
The President: Can't beat daughters.
No offense, sons.
(laughter)
Female Speaker: And they're both in STEM careers.
I'm wondering what we can do to promote and encourage more
girls to go into STEM careers.
The President: Oh, this is a great question.
(applause)
First of all, STEM stands for science, technology,
engineering and math.
image.png
America became an economic superpower in large part
because we were the most innovative economy.
We are a nation of inventors and tinkerers,
and we expand the boundaries of what's possible through science.
And that continues to be the case.
We still have the most cutting-edge technology,
the most patents.
But if we're not careful, we'll lose our lead.
And if things aren't being invented here,
then they're not being produced here.
And if they're not being produced here,
that means the jobs aren't being created here.
And over time, other countries catch up.
So what do we have to do?
Number one, we've got to make sure that we're investing
in basic science.
Sometimes people say, I don't know what the federal government
spends the money on; they're all just wasting it.
You know, one of the things that the federal government does
is it invests in basic research that companies won't invest in.
And if it wasn't for the investment in basic research,
then things like the Internet, things like GPS that everybody
uses every day, things that result in cures for diseases
that have touched probably every family that's represented
here in some fashion -- that stuff never happens.
You do the basic research and then you move
on to commercialize it, and that's oftentimes
when the private sector gets involved.
But they're not willing or able a lot of times
to finance basic research.
So that's number one.
Number two, we've got to make sure that we're investing
in working with companies who are doing, let's say,
advanced manufacturing, the next phases of manufacturing,
linking them up with universities so that once
we have a good idea, a good invention -- whether it's clean
energy or a new way to build a car -- that the next phase
of production and innovation is done here in the United States.
And we've opened up four what we call advanced manufacturing hubs
around the country -- I actually want 15 -- where we link private
sector and universities so that they become centers of
innovation and jobs get created here in the United States.
But the third thing we need is we need more folks
in engineering, math, science, technology, computer science.
(applause)
And that means we've got to have a school system
generally that encourages those subjects.
And, by the way, I was a political science and English
major, and you need to know how to communicate,
and I loved the liberal arts, so this is no offense,
but we've got enough lawyers like me.
We need more engineers.
(applause)
We need more scientists.
Generally speaking, we're not doing good enough educating
kids and encouraging them into these kinds of careers.
We're particularly bad when it comes to girls.
And my whole thing is -- somebody said
I was a sports fan.
I am.
And one rule of sports is you don't play as well
if you've only got half the team.
We don't have everybody on the field right now if our young
women are not being encouraged the same way to get
into these fields.
So this starts at an early age.
What we've done is I've used my Office of Science and Technology
to partner with elementary schools to, first of all,
train teachers better in STEM,' then to really focus
on populations that are under-represented in STEM --
not only young women but also African Americans, Latinos,
others -- getting them interested early.
In some cases, for example, we know that young girls -- I know
as a father -- they oftentimes do better if they're in a team
and social environment, so making sure that the structure
of science classes, for example, have collaboration
involved and there's actual experience doing stuff,
as opposed to just it being a classroom exercise.
There are certain things that can end up making
it a better experience for them, boosting their confidence,
and encouraging them to get into the fields.
So we're going to continue to really spend a lot
of time on this.
I'll just close by saying every year now I have a science fair
at the White House, because my attitude is if I'm bringing
the top football and basketball teams to the White House,
I should also bring the top scientists.
I want them to feel --
(applause)
that they get the spotlight just like athletes do.
And these kids are amazing -- except they make
you feel really stupid.
(laughter)
The first student who I met -- she's now --
she just graduated.
When she was 12, she was diagnosed with
a rare liver cancer.
Fortunately, she had health insurance.
They caught it early enough, she responded to treatment.
Lovely young lady -- it didn't come back.
But by the time she got into high school and she was taking
biology and chemistry, she became interested in why was
it that I got this thing at 12 years old?
So she talks to her teachers, and she designs a study where
she goes to the surgeon who took out the cancer from her liver,
takes samples, identifies the genetic profile
and the chromosomes that might have led to this
particular kind of cancer, writes up the research
in Science Magazine, and now has a scholarship
to Harvard to pursue her interest in bio-medicine.
And as you might imagine, her parents are pretty proud of her.
(laughter)
I was really proud of her.
But it gives you a sense of the possibilities for young people
and young women if somebody is sparking that interest
in them, and telling them this is something that they
can do and they should pursue their interests.
(applause)
网友评论