[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLIGHT EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 11, 1999

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to 
develop an educational curriculum for our nation's schools in 
recognition of the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight. The 
100th anniversary of powered flight, which will take place on December 
17, 2003, provides an excellent opportunity for our nation's schools to 
promote the importance of math and science education to our students.
  As the former Superintendent of Schools in North Carolina, and as a 
member of the House Science Committee since coming to Congress in 1997, 
I have worked for years to improve math and science education in our 
schools. America's future will in many ways be determined by the 
ability of our citizens to understand and adapt to the changes in 
technology that will so dominate life in the twenty-first century. As 
we watch the sun rise on the dawn of a new millennium, it has never 
been more important to encourage our children to excel in the areas of 
science and math. In the twenty-first century, it will no longer be 
good enough for our children simply to be able to read and write and 
add and subtract. If today's students are going to succeed in 
tomorrow's jobs, a firm foundation in math and science is required.
  One of the most difficult challenges we face in math and science 
education in generating interest among our children in these fields. 
With all of the distractions of modern life, it has been increasingly 
difficult to interest students in participating in the most challenging 
math and science curriculums. Such a lack of interest could spell doom 
down the road as fewer and fewer students enter the teaching profession 
in these fields. The 100th Anniversary of Flight Educational Initiative 
I am introducing today is intended to use the history of flight, the 
practical benefits of flight on society and the mathematics and 
scientific principles used in flight to generate interest among 
students in math and science education.
  As a young boy growing up on a farm in North Carolina, air travel and 
the space program captured my imagination as it did most Americans. 
Unfortunately, today, video games and other distractions are more 
likely to capture the imaginations of our young people than the space 
program. However, the 100th Anniversary of Flight, and NASA's plans to 
land a plane on Mars to coincide with that date, provides an excellent 
springboard to recapture our young people's interest in the space 
program and in math and science. Mr. Speaker, I am committed to seeing 
our students soar in the areas of math and science in our schools, and 
this initiative will help them take flight.

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