What Are Our Schools Teaching?
I heard "the call" again this week. We hear over and over again that our schools need to teach more STEM studies--science, technology, engineering, and math. These disciplines are important in the workplace, but they are not what students need most.
Think about it. The greatest problems in our world, from our personal lives to international relationships, are caused by poor communication and regrettable human interaction. Children learn these subject skills in English and foreign language classes and the humanities. History alone shows us where people have been and how our communities came to be what they are. Where would the United States be today, were it not for our forebears' fight for freedom in the Revolutionary War and President Lincoln's foresight in holding the Union together, even at a heavy cost in human lives? Were we two nations instead of one, would we have been as effective in the two World Wars in fending off forces that threatened our freedom and that of free Europe, our friends and allies?
So, when you hear the call for "more math and science," tell your school board we need balanced learning if we are to have a well-educated well-functioning society.
In support of good well-rounded schooling,
Margaret
Think about it. The greatest problems in our world, from our personal lives to international relationships, are caused by poor communication and regrettable human interaction. Children learn these subject skills in English and foreign language classes and the humanities. History alone shows us where people have been and how our communities came to be what they are. Where would the United States be today, were it not for our forebears' fight for freedom in the Revolutionary War and President Lincoln's foresight in holding the Union together, even at a heavy cost in human lives? Were we two nations instead of one, would we have been as effective in the two World Wars in fending off forces that threatened our freedom and that of free Europe, our friends and allies?
So, when you hear the call for "more math and science," tell your school board we need balanced learning if we are to have a well-educated well-functioning society.
In support of good well-rounded schooling,
Margaret
It is interesting that I just happened to stumble upon your post from over a year ago about the issues with education or miseducation. This is a very important topic to which I happen to agree with your and ASU President Michael Crow, who recently replied to Florida Gov. Rick Scott's dismissal of the need for liberal arts. Crow put it quite nicely:
ReplyDelete"'[R]esolving the complex challenges that confront our nation and the world requires more than expertise in science and technology. We must also educate individuals capable of meaningful civic participation, creative expression, and communicating insights across borders. The potential for graduates in any field to achieve professional success and to contribute significantly to our economy depends on an education that entails more than calculus.'
"'Curricula expressly tailored in response to the demands of the workforce must be balanced with opportunities for students to develop their capacity for critical thinking, analytical reasoning, creativity, and leadership—all of which we learn from the full spectrum of disciplines associated with a liberal arts education. Taken together with the rigorous training provided in the STEM fields, the opportunities for exploration and learning that Gov. Scott is intent on marginalizing are those that have defined our national approach to higher education.'"