Charles Bolden, the head of the US space agency, NASA,and Lisa Jackson from the Environmental Protection Agency,or EPA, came to this Washington,DC middle school to encourage these youngsters to focus on math and science careers.
VOA: standard.2010.05.10
But critics say it labels too many schools failures, prompts teachers to focus on mathand reading at the expense of other subjects, and sets too-stringent mandates to fix low-performing schools.
That's the most important thing we can do. (Applause.) That means helping our schools hire and reward the best teachers -- and you've got some great teachers here. (Applause.) That means stepping up our focus on mathand science -- something I tell Malia and Sasha every day. (Applause.) You're solid on math?
At Parkville Middle School outside of Baltimore, engineering is the most popular subject, thanks to outstanding teachers who are inspiring students to focus on their mathand science skills.