We are entering the world of a global economy. Unfortunately this brave new world poses a serious and formidable challenge to the United States. The problem is that our children are just not showing much interest or skills in the areas of math, engineering, science, or technology. As the workers of the baby boomer generation start to retire, we not only need to fill these jobs, but prepare our young people to compete for the global jobs of the future. Could the media of the math comic book be part of the solution to the problem?

This global economy in which we find ourselves in is based on science and math and technology. Labor and business statistics tell us that growth in these areas will increase 70% faster than those of other areas. That’s a huge jump. It’s nothing short of tragic that our kids are not showing the interest required in these areas. How are we as a nation going to compete if they don’t?

Middle school in particular needs our urgent attention. As our kids turn to teenagers, it is just “not cool” to be good in math or science. Peer pressure is huge at this age, and we need to support and encourage our kids in the areas of the maths and sciences before it gets to them. Unless we take the necessary steps now, we as a nation will pay the price in the years to come.

For whatever reason, boys seem to show more of an interest in math than girls. Did you know that young women now outnumber men in our college campuses now? Despite this fact, in many engineering disciplines women make up less than 20% of students. Professions that utilize math and science need to promote themselves as more “women friendly”. This will encourage our young girls to see a future in the maths and sciences they are learning at a young age.

We need new media tools, and since the global economy is moving along at a rapid pace, we need them fast. While the internet has done wonders to promote many topics, we need to utilize it more to teach math and science to our children. Children need to be taught the wonders of math, and how it can enrich their lives, and prepare them for fabulous careers in the future. They need to see how math can be practical in things they enjoy on a daily basis. For example, how math can be used to generate statistics in their favorite sport. Math should be fun and practical…not a pain…

How about a math comic book? Could this be considered to be a “new media” tool? In some ways perhaps. While it’s true that comic books have been around for years and years, they have mostly been used to entertain, not educate. We’ve all read a comic about a super hero, or a talking mouse, or young romance. How many times have we read a comic that taught us math? I don’t remember ever doing this as a child. Since kids love to read comics, if we can use this format to teach them math and science, we will all win. They will be entertained and educated, and we will help set our children on a course that is good for the nation’s future.

Would you like to learn more about educating our children via the comic book format? We encourage you to visit our blog, as we have much more information than we can relate through this short article. We would love to get your feedback, and learn of ways to help out.

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