"My alternate, more cynical, theory: Top Intel guy: “What do we get out of it?” Program manager: “Uh, good will?” Top guy: “Not six million bucks’ worth. Drop it.”
That sounds like the most likely explanation in corporate America. Because really, who knows about the talent search anyway in the general population? Precious few people. It doesn’t sell “Intel inside” to Joe Schmoe buying a PC. It’s a lot of dough for something that is so inside-baseball anyway.
What evidence is there that JJ is upset that Intel sponsors a talent search (that happens to “overskew” to certain ethnic groups), and what evidence is there that anyone at Intel gives a rat’s behind about what JJ has to say?
Re post #32 - good for all these kids and I’m sure they’re talented, but there’s a part of me that thinks – really? They can’t just be teenagers and go do teenager-y things? Why the rush to have this groundbreaking research so young? Don’t they have the rest of their lives? I can’t help feeling that there are lots of tiger parents (of every ethnic persuasion) behind this.
In my part of the country there is a school district (Ossining, in Westchester County NY) that does well in this program. They have a very good program, with lots of support. Our nearby school district started up a program the year my DD was eligible for it. But one teacher, with her own particular skill-set which did not align with DD interests, did not work. They have had some success with kids whose interests aligned with the teacher’s. My DD dropped out after one year.
IMHO there is no question that there are school districts that excel at this because they have experience, contacts, money, staff who are invested in this. Anecdotes aside, your basic kid out there has very little chance doing well at this contest without this support. I agree with the (less cynical) Hunt who said that there are better ways to invest in kids in STEM.
Then the Mother Jones article shows two bar charts.
What’s not stated in words in the article, but screams from the 2 bar charts is that it’s not whites who are overrepresented. Whites comprise 64% of the US population, but only 50-60% at the leading tech companies. The “blue band” of the bar charts shows what is starkly out of proportion: more than 30% asian at the leading tech companies vs only 5% proportion of the US population.
Just like college admissions, company hiring is a zero sum game. Change is coming to Silicon Valley, and one qualified demographic will be a big loser.
I remember feeling very lame-o because I could never figure out who to contact to get science fair information for my So Cal homeschooled son. (And our local high school is 90% non-white, and I don’t think anyone there has ever heard of Intel)
We happen to stumble upon research, though. I did have the skills to email a physics professor at the local state univ. and ask if my son could audit an upper division physics class as my son had run out of physics classes at the local CC by mid-sophomore year. The prof allowed my son to come audit, and then asked him to do research in his lab, and even got him entered in the u/g science research competition at the same uni. (My son didn’t win, but it was good experience)
That was none of my doing, that’s for sure! LOL
I don’t know anything about Intel, but I do know a lot of low income families who could use some help in getting more information about STEM opportunities.
I know exactly one homeschooler in my circle (my admittedly small local circle, mostly of Christian homeschoolers) that entered a science competition and won. Father is an engineer; family is well off and connected in some ways. But son is a very sharp kid who will go far, no doubt about it.
“Mozart, stop playing piano and writing, go outside and play in the dirt with Johan”
“Jodie, stop doing this acting stuff with that de Niro guy and go to school like everyone else…maybe join the drama club.”
“Taylor, do you have to sing so much and get a song writing contract at 14, can’t you just go to the mall and hang out with your friends?”
I don’t understand why people just can’t grasp that some people, even teenagers, like to challenge themselves and do things that interest them instead of the “teenager-y things” society expects of people.
It’s possible that when Intel was reviewing the talent search program and realized that the publicity they got from it was not satisfactory as expected and they could even get some bad publicity, so they decided to call it quit. But I happen to think this is the type of sponsorship Intel should take on. While the “general population” may not be familiar with the program, those who will likely work for high tech companies like Intel and those who may use their products in the future are and that’s what matters. Unless they have seen paramount negatives in continuing the sponsorship, I don’t think that was a wise move.
This is very sad news, and I hope a new sponsor is found quickly.
To those who dismiss the competition and competitors: open your eyes – there are lots of smart students who are passionate about STEM, who love doing their own work, and who excel at it. It is wonderful that there is at least one prestigious competition that recognizes and rewards this.
I was a Westinghouse STS finalist back in the day and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.
It would be doubly tragic if the ‘diversity issue’ was the reason for Intel’s dropping it. Science competitions are inherently meritocratic IMO – if the research is sound and innovative, it wins. If there is disproportionate representation, then the problem lies in the families and schools of the economically disadvantaged, and JJ should direct his efforts there.
“your basic kid out there has very little chance doing well at this contest without this support.” - You could probably say the same of many pursuits - gymnastics, debate team, music, yada yada
I would just like to remind people that there is absolutely no information other than GMTplus7’s speculation to indicate that the racial composition of finalists had anything to do with Intel’s decision. One poster claims to be close to the situation and says it had nothing to do with race, but won’t say what it did involve. You can believe that or not, but there’s no reason at all to think that GMTplus7 knows better. His connection between Jesse Jackson’s campaign to promote more employment opportunities in Silicon Valley for African Americans and high school science competitions is more than a little far-fetched. I find it almost impossible to believe that Intel, whose employees, key suppliers, and actual and potential customers include a huge proportion of Asians, is doing anything out of a deliberate strategy to dissociate itself from motivated, successful Asian kids.
My impression from other posts is that GMTplus7 is very, very quick to conclude that everyone in the Western Hemisphere is conspiring to limit the accomplishments of Asian children. Here, he’s just making it up.
It doesn’t matter what internal reasons Intel might have had for discontinuing sponsorship. Given the timing of Intel’s various announcements, appearance dominates the public’s perception of the move.
JHS, it’s not only GMTplus7. Posters on Slashdot are coming to the same conclusion.
It would have been better to have given the science search time to find new sponsors, so that the announcement could read, “Intel Science Search to become _____ Science Search.” That this was not done makes me wonder whether there are companies willing to sponsor the science search.
According to the NYT article, Intel informed the Society of the decision 18 months ago. The Society is now starting the search for a new sponsor, to take over after 2017. Puzzling.
In real life, public perception is more important than behind the scenes reasons, whatever they may be. This seems to have been a poorly implemented decision, as it harms the public’s perception of Intel.
It ain’t the $6M, that is nothing on Intel’s balance sheets. I agree, Intel should have a rationale, or better yet, a new program to unviel.
We aren’t an excellent country without some excellent, wildly outstanding future researchers or scientists. It always puzzles me how these things are elitist, but spending 20+ hours a week at Little League or shooting hoops is OK.
Making the brilliant less brilliant will not bring anyone up in the world.
Science fairs and other academic competitions really do encourage a lot of participation even at much lower levels of success than Intel’s 40 finalists. There even seems to be a formula, if anyone really cared to follow it, of having classes that support a high schools students long term projects and hooks them up with a mentor. Why can’t this be adopted in a more diverse group of schools? Community colleges have faculty that could certainly help support high school science. At the very least, it demystifies STEM and maybe helps to explain why you do have to memorize that times table or spend a few extra hours studying algebra or calculus. Not because it is some magic, but because science requires math and also critical thinking and organizational skills.
So why are we dumbing down instead of smartening up? We need lots of talent in the future. Diversity is good, social mobility is good, innovation is good (including non-scientific innovation).
“It ain’t the $6M, that is nothing on Intel’s balance sheets. I agree, Intel should have a rationale, or better yet, a new program to unviel.”
It doesn’t matter. Have you never been in a large corporate setting trying to cost-cut? I have, and $6MM in this warm and fuzzy program here, $6MM in that warm and fuzzy program there, and pretty soon you’ve got lots of found money. It’s lot to the guy (or gal) who’s tasked with Intel’s bottom line.
Anyway, I agree with JHS. There’s nothing other than speculation to suggest it’s driven by wanting to “hurt” Asian kids. For all we know, Intel is planning to sponsor smart high school STEM-oriented kids in some other fashion other than one which still does tend to reward those-already-in-the-know. Or maybe they’re plowing that into other parts of their organization. Intel doesn’t really “owe” anyone, or any of us, any explanation.
So Intel told the Society 18 months ago they would be dropping out as the sponsor and the Society is just starting the search for a new sponsor now that Intel has announced it? Looks like they did give the organization time to find a sponsor and they didn’t believe it or hoped it would go away.
