ODYSSEYWARE

If matchmaking can be done for singles seeking the perfect mate, why not for students seeking their perfect match in education, complete with the right STEM-proficient minds to lead them?

Today they can. Introduced last November by a coalition of educators and science and engineering associations, National Lab Day aims to inspire a new generation to innovate and collaborate, by teaming up veteran scientists and engineers with students in grades K-12. The result: lots of kids having fun with science all across America, and with a little luck, igniting a passion for STEM disciplines in these young scientists. It’s a nationwide initiative set to build local communities of support to foster ongoing collaborations among volunteers, students, and educators, with the focus on STEM.

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The initial reviews are in for Waiting for Superman, a new movie detailing the woes many face in today’s American education system. The movie is directed by David Guggenheim, who is most known for his documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, which catapulted not only him, but former Vice President Al Gore, to forefront of that debate. As The Huffington Post notes, Guggenheim’s latest installment is already a success:

But I did see Waiting for Superman. The Sundance buzz was heavy about David Guggenheim’s latest, who also made The Inconvenient Truth and It Might Get Loud. This is how Sundance operates. Buzz starts on a film, grows more intense, and then you just have to see it. On the other hand, buzz can be high and then the buzz plunges. That is what happened to the film with the greatest buzz — it was number one on Sundance’s website — before the festival opened. Howl was all the rage until it began screening and then it dropped into the abyss. The reputation of Waiting for Superman only grew stronger.

Although it will be some time before the documentary makes it to major theaters, it has already generated a great deal of excitement for what it might mean for education reform. Many credit An Inconvenient Truth with stirring national desire for change on the global warming debate, and some believe this film could do the same for education.