America's advantage has historically been its people's creativity, flexibility and entrepreneurship. But just as painters need to be proficient in technique and theory to produce great masterpieces, the next generation of Americans will likely require a solid grounding in mathematics and science for their creativity to be maximized in a world…

The author provides a few personal impressions from his visit to the People's Republic of China concerning middle school science education, particularly the physics curriculum; the typical, working-week schedule of a physics teacher; the status and morale of teachers, in general; and the Chinese viewpoint of the examination process and gender…