President Donald Trump's budget proposal for 2018 was released last Thursday, and it seeks cuts in science and health focused programs. On the other hand, the proposed budget will be increasing the country's largest expenditure, which is the military.
According to Fast Company, one of the programs most affected by the budget cut is NASA, while the other Earth-science-focused programs will be experiencing a 5 percent budget cut. And because of the administration's disbelief in climate change, the programs intended for its research and exploration suffers almost all the cuts.
It is the congress that will be giving the final approval on this memo by the president, PBS reported. While many science and health programs are affected, NASA's is a different story. But no matter how much Trump can leverage on NASA, he eliminates the NASA Education Office entirely out of his budget.
Gene Gordon, a New York high school physics teacher who has worked closely with NASA's Education Office for years, said that STEM education is very important, however, it does not just not just revolve around math or science.
He explained that it is about using one passion to ignite the overall passion about good work ethics and everything that is needed in order to survive in this world, and NASA has always been about combining things. He also said that these science and health programs are what's giving the students not only the technical skills, but also the life skills they need to be able to succeed in their careers and future, regardless if they join STEM fields or not.
Emily Calandrelli, host of the TV show Xploration Outer Space and a field correspondent for the upcoming Bill Nye Saves the World, is also a firm believer of the importance of NASA education as she attributes her successes to it. She also said it would have not existed if not for NASA education funds.
