Jim, My belief is that enforcement of EO 12770 (or its resurrected form) by President Obama, and his persuasion of other high profile national leaders to follow by promoting SI in other sectors (including NCTM) is the best hope of seeing SI accepted by the public in our lifetimes.
I have received no responses from the White House on my queries about enforcing EO 12770, except bulk e-mails from Axelrod and Jarrett on other topics. Gene. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:34:59 -0600 >From: "James R. Frysinger" <[email protected]> >Subject: [USMA:46575] Re: NCTM Web Site Feedback >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > > >Pierre Abbat wrote: >> Referring page: http://www.nctm.org/about/content.aspx?id=6346 >> >> The explanation offers no reasons why the customary units should be taught. > >The circle: >1. Customary units are taught because state education standards say they >should be taught. Metric units are also taught, but as an academic >rather than as a practical topic. This, coupled with prevalence in daily >discourse (see item 2) causes public knowledge of metric units to wither >and die soon after school, except where they appear in everyday life >(e.g., 2 L pop bottles, street drugs, pharmaceuticals, etc.) > >2. State education standards say that customary units should be taught >because those are the ones prevalently used in everyday lives -- as >witnessed by news stories, TV shows, books, magazines, prominence on >packaging, ads, daily conversations, federal legislation and >regulations, state legislation and regulations, local legislation and >regulations, and the like. > >3a. Federal legislation and regulations favor use of customary units out >of disregard for the amendment to the Metric Act of 1975 by the Omnibus >Act of 1988 and disregard of Executive Order 12770. This is induced by >inertia in the thinking process of legislators and regulators. >3b. State legislation and regulations favor use of customary units out >of disregard for the amendment to the Metric Act of 1975 by the Omnibus >Act of 1988 and due to the example set by federal government. This is >induced by inertia in the thinking process of legislators and >regulators. It is encouraged by the need to write legislation and >regulations that work with federal legislation and regulation. >3c. Local legislation and regulations favor use of customary units out >of disregard for the amendment to the Metric Act of 1975 by the Omnibus >Act of 1988 and due to the example set by federal government. This is >induced by inertia in the thinking process of legislators and >regulators. It is encouraged by the need to write legislation and >regulations that work with federal legislation and regulation. >3d. Popular media prevalently use customary units because those are the >ones most often used in other public discourse. Public media feel little >obligation to help with public education in the use of metric units. >3e. The people who are responsible for the other items in this step (3) >say they do this because that is what the public knows best. > >4. The public preferentially uses customary units because those are the >units prevalent in public discourse, legislation, and regulations. Since >they received little practical use of metric units in school and since >their everyday lives provide little practical experience in using those >units, only customary units remain in their internal sense of sizes. If >forced to justify this, they blame the schools. > >5. Return to step 1. Repeat ad nauseam. > >Summary: >Schools blame governments. >Governments blame the people. >People blame the schools. > >Result: Excruciatingly slow progress. > >Proposed solution 1 (which politically will be impossible to obtain): As >of some date certain, within the term of the session of Congress >enacting it, make all non-SI units alegal, that is declare them to have >no legal meaning. Only SI units would have any validity under contract, >tort, estate, civil, or criminal law. Allow non-SI units to mean >whatever folks want them to mean, as in "two scoops of raisins". Milk >could be sold by the yard if folks want to take a chance and buy it that >way. Without a legal basis, unhappy "milk by the yard" buyers could not >bring suit. > >Proposed solution 2 (only slightly more likely to happen): Force all >federal legislation, regulations, agencies, departments, branches, or >other matters to use only SI units. Let the others wither away. States >will eventually follow suit. Then the folks will follow. Sure, one will >still be able to buy firewood by the "rick", whatever that is. > >Proposed solution 3 (most likely to happen): Allow grass-roots and >industry-led efforts to continue the metrication effort. Be very, very >patient. > >Jim > >-- >James R. Frysinger >632 Stony Point Mountain Road >Doyle, TN 38559-3030 > >(C) 931.212.0267 >(H) 931.657.3107 >(F) 931.657.3108 >
