In October of last year I posted an entry on STEM education, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. And, I still feel exactly the same with regard to our educational system which is abysmal in its ability to meet the needs of an increasingly technology based world. But, I have had to rethink the emphasis on the “hard sciences” and consider the fact that there has to be a fifth element. (No pun intended regarding the movie of the same name).
The missing piece of the STEM education is that of an “A” for the arts. And by the arts, I am including the humanities as well as the fine arts. This, by definition includes the soft sciences, philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, literature, and associated liberal studies. While I did not have a miraculous epiphany, I was thinking about how I used educational tools, and came to the conclusion that there is a lot more than STEM needed to successfully navigate the maze of life.
In the mid-90’s I made a major career change from chemistry and engineering to the area of mental health. This necessitated going back to college for a degree in what we euphemistically call the humanities. It was perhaps the best choice that I have made in changing my own knowledge paradigm. So, where is the value added by adding the humanities? Adding the word human to a structured set of rules and the “ordered universe”! In addition to better understanding human nature, learning better communication and listening skills, and feeling comfortable with discussions of history and politics, I learned how to learn again. In the world of chance, luck, and statistics, the liberal arts can be truly liberating. I guess that the obvious tagline here would be full STEAM ahead…
The missing piece of the STEM education is that of an “A” for the arts. And by the arts, I am including the humanities as well as the fine arts. This, by definition includes the soft sciences, philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, literature, and associated liberal studies. While I did not have a miraculous epiphany, I was thinking about how I used educational tools, and came to the conclusion that there is a lot more than STEM needed to successfully navigate the maze of life.
In the mid-90’s I made a major career change from chemistry and engineering to the area of mental health. This necessitated going back to college for a degree in what we euphemistically call the humanities. It was perhaps the best choice that I have made in changing my own knowledge paradigm. So, where is the value added by adding the humanities? Adding the word human to a structured set of rules and the “ordered universe”! In addition to better understanding human nature, learning better communication and listening skills, and feeling comfortable with discussions of history and politics, I learned how to learn again. In the world of chance, luck, and statistics, the liberal arts can be truly liberating. I guess that the obvious tagline here would be full STEAM ahead…
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