Why the “A” in STEAM Education is Just As Important As Every Other Letter
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) has been around a while now, long enough for educators to see its outcomes and practices unfold in schools across the nation. But not long ago, various educators proposed adding an “A” (for arts) to the STEM concept, sparking a national debate about whether the arts have a place in STEM education. Do you think the “A” is just as important as every other letter in STEAM? Check out this article here: https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/leaders-link/importance-of-arts-in-steam-education/
Great article. I think we're all gonna say that art is important, but I think it's probably the most important. The arts teach you how to truly problem solve. Whereas other subjects have a clear right or wrong answer, in the arts there are multiple solutions to the problems we encounter, each just as valid as the next. You are forced to think outside the box and analyze your reality. The arts teach you how to think much more than they're given credit, and I think that's actually why they're not given importance by administrators and parents who would rather children be indoctrinated than educated.
Hey B,
Great article!
I would argue that it doesn't matter how much STEM you give a student, if you don't give them the arts, they are much less likely to apply the STEM classes in a creative way. As we are reading in The One World School House, our current system of passive learning squashes creativity and curiosity instead of nurturing it. If the point of STEM is to create a new generation of leaders and innovators in those fields, then not giving them access to the arts is doing is hindering that goal.
Correct me if I'm wrong but if you include the A in steam that includes everything. Science, technology, engineering, visual art, language arts, performance arts,…
Hey B,
Of course the A is important! Especially in the world we live in today, where creativity is necessary in most aspects of job markets in the real world. We need creators and innovators, and it needs to start in the classroom. Art belongs right up there with math and science, and often can be integrated into the same lessons. With the amount of technology we have that directly relates to art, such as graphic design, animation and illustration, art is now a very significant subject that has a high demand in the job market.
(Donna P.)
I always thought that STEM was just a category for science and math, and don't consider Liberal, Visual, and Performing arts as part of it. Even though I still a little iffy about adding the "A" to STEAM because it's not really a number kind of subject and still see it as categories, I do believe that if the point of having STEM was to compete with other nations and to build skills for today's working force, you need to have that "A," art. It may seem as a hobby, but everything that is on the market whether is on TV, inside the fashion store, or on a website, is all art. I can even argue that the…
I may be a bit biased, but of course art is important to education!
It's all fine to have support for things like math, engineering and science (when it's proven to be effective, that is), but art teaches students to use other parts of their brains and expands upon creative reasoning and problem solving. I don't understand why that is never seen as being beneficial to our young potential rocket scientists and programmers. We may have design programs that help to render things out these days, but a strong foundation in drawing and draftsmanship was once an essential part of the engineering toolkit.
I agree with Caroline, saying that the ones with the power see art as a leisurely pursuit;…