What really scares me now is the number of teachers who are getting ready to retire and the shrinking number of new teachers entering the profession. More than 40,000 teachers in California alone are over the age of 55. The issue is not merely one of numbers, but of knowledge, skill, and motivation, according to the Critical Path Analysis published in 2007 by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. I’m also concerned that fewer American students these days seem to be excited about the sciences and, in particular, the biosciences, despite all the promise in the field. Whatever you think about standardized testing, the trends are not encouraging. A national study in 2005 found that smaller percentages of 12th graders performed at or above “basic” and at or above “proficient” in science achievement, compared with 1996, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. This is worrisome for many reasons, but here’s just one: The United States now trains only 70 percent of the physicians it needs to take care of its aging population, according to the World Health Organization.

Such issues have kept me energized over the years, but it does take work to make science as interesting to students as it is to me—and it also takes help. One big plus is that researchers from industry have made it possible for my students to enter into partnerships with people across the country. Recently, I had three students complete research projects that I believe are cutting-edge for the high school level. One student did a study to quantify the amount of genetically modified DNA found in corn products. She used q-PCR and wrote a paper summarizing her findings. Another student partnered with a researcher and connected a sample of students at Tracy High to each of the seven mitochondrial mothers they may have descended from. Another worked with canine DNA to explore a single nucleotide polymorphism and to connect the potential for heart disease to that single base pair difference in a particular gene.

Imagine if every high school had a connection with a company or university, and every student had access to researchers and the industry in general. Bio-link, ISME, LBNL, U.C. Davis/LLNL Edward Teller Education Center, the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute, Amgen, Genentech, and Bio-Rad are just a few of the groups and businesses that are making significant impacts on the quality of materials available for students and on training opportunities for educators. The old adage—that it takes a village—certainly applies. Together, I believe business, industry, and the higher education communities can make a difference in helping teachers continue to make an impact. Not only will we help teachers, we also will help those teachers grow the next generation of scientists.