It was apparent that a solid background in geometry and basic science would be needed. As I write this I'm reminded that all the places we visited would require a solid background in these disciplines. That is primarily due to the fact that all were using a high level of technology.

During the question and answer cession the panel of was asked what we as teachers could do to better prepare our students for the future. The answer was disturbing because the panel said the students couldn't do basic math, and this was used as a filter to employment at Cat. The conversation deteriorated to, get rid of calculators, and I won't touch that one.

We didn't have the opportunity to visit the office area where the engineering was done. It would have been very beneficial to talk too some of the engineers to hear their opinions and suggestions.

We as teachers need to tie in our disciplines to the working word. To relate to the students why math and science will benefit them in the future. We can do this better by using a hands on approach (i.e.) graphing calculators , various temp probes and the like. School is to theory like and we have to make it more real.

More than ever I am convinced that a technology lab is the connection to the math and science disciplines. If we could have visited a school technology lab we might not feel so anxious to have each teacher develop their own programs. The labs I have seen were primarily geared toward the middle school. Most middle school professionals embrace the idea once they see a lab in action. High school teachers don't seem interested in labs for several reasons. First most labs tend to be too elementary in design for a high school program and I would agree with this. This is not to say a better program couldn't be developed. Second, high school teachers seem to be under a time constraint as to the amount of material that needs to be presented during a semester. High school requirements tell a student what they need in order to get to college. Students don't usually take much more than is required. The high schools and colleges need to make a requirement of so many hours of technology. This is easier said than done within the educational system.