Top Down or Bottom Up

I have recently read a New York Times article called, "What's Our Sputnik?" by Thomas L. Friedman (2010. It was not exactly what I was expecting by the title, but it was very thought provoking none the less. I will forgo commentary on the purely political side of things and focus on how we get the scientific side of things ignited. What needs to be done to create excitement and financial backing for science education in the United States, like that after the launch of Sputnik? Is there a change that needs to take place from the top down? Is it the responsibility of the President and those in Washington DC to inspire, motivate and finance us to move forward in science education? Or is it us, the science teachers of America, who hold the key to inspiring, motivating and finding financial support for the backing of science education? I think it is both. In order for science education to be a prevailing thought in the minds of our society, we need more than passionate teachers who reach their few. We need to hear from those we look up to and admire that science education is important to the nation. We need national unity and cohesiveness that can feed our competition to be ahead of other nations in STEM learning.
Personally, I get a bit concerned over the unity of our nation. Very few of my students watched World Cup Soccer last year. Very few were interested in the most recent Winter Olympics. It seems that we are raising a generation that are not nationally minded. How do we change that?
I do think that, as teachers, we do have the capability to inspire students to love and pursue science. I think we can mold minds to problem solve, be inquisitive and value scientific thought. I think we can expose students to what others are inventing and working toward, but I do not think teachers alone can recreate the "Sputnik" moment.
I think our students think that technology is cool, but I do not think that they are as "wowed" by it as we are because it is all they have known. Perhaps it will take a "Sputnik" to bring us back to focusing on building our national resources, including the minds of our youth.

Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.