STEM job growth

http://www.dnj.com/article/20110921/NEWS01/110921017/Tennessee-lead-effort-writing-new-science-standards

I guess this article appeals to me because I am a math & physics major. I have a greater interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) than people who major in other things. However, this article epitomizes why, we as students should take advantage of any STEM education that is offered. No, that doesn't mean you have to take the highest level math course offered to benefit from this. Obviously hardly any of us want to do that. But after reading this article, we might want to take a few more STEM classes than we previously had. The article talks about how Tennessee wants to set the new standard for Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Why? Well the article goes on to explain that jobs in Tennessee are beginning to require more and more STEM background. This is happening in most states around the country as well, so don't think avoiding Tennessee means avoiding more math courses in your upcoming semesters. The article argues that offering a high standard of STEM education to students will better prepare them for jobs as they graduate, which is what most of us are looking for right?

"American students continue to lag internationally in science education, making them less competitive for the jobs of the present and the future. A recent U.S. Department of Commerce study shows that over the past 10 years, growth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs was three times greater than that of non-STEM jobs. The report also shows that STEM jobs are expected to continue to grow at a faster rate than other jobs in the coming decade."

This is to me, the most impressive paragraph of the article. Americans "lag" in STEM education. We are "less competitive" for jobs. That doesn't sound like something we as Americans strive for which is most likely the cause of the amazing job growth in the STEM field in the U.S. What we should take from this is that in order for Americans to be competitive around the world in everything we do we must begin to add more STEM education to our curriculum.