cover image The Young Scientists: America's Future and the Winning of the Westinghouse

The Young Scientists: America's Future and the Winning of the Westinghouse

Joseph Berger. Addison Wesley Publishing Company, $21.9 (243pp) ISBN 978-0-201-63255-2

By examining the schooling and family background of a dozen winners of the annual Westinghouse Science Talent search, New York Times journalist Berger hopes to illuminate ``what works in science education.'' The Westinghouse, begun in 1941, selects 40 winners every year from among the projects submitted by as many as 1700 high school students. Among Berger's detailed profiles of recent winners are young people of various social status; indeed, one of the few factors that can be isolated in a Westinghouse winner is the work ethic as a necessary condition for early achievement in science. Berger also observes that immigrant families with a ``frontier spirit'' have produced a disproportionate number of winners. The teachers and students Berger interviewed are earnest and dedicated and their success stories are inspiring, but no deeper analysis is offered in this anecdotal overview. For a full pedagogy and programmatic approach to the subject, readers should see John Cronyn's recently published Uncommon Sense . (Jan.)