STEM Is the Future
We’re familiar with STEM now: science, technology, engineering, and math. We know STEM is the future of the marketplace. In addition, and there’s a growing movement, complete with a whole coalition to raise awareness for STEM. This coalition is prepared to take action for education in these subjects. It is vital that we keep the STEM movement at the forefront. This is imperative if we want to continue to be leaders in the economic, business, and technological world.
But what about STEAM? That “A” stands for art. And we’re finding out that it’s just as important to continue education in arts. A new topic of discussion is how universities can prepare our scientists, technologists, and engineers with the art to better serve society and help solve their social problems. We know STEM is the future, but applying it to societal issues is game-changing. This added dimension will move us forward as a society as a whole. Integrating arts and humanities into STEM education opens up the opportunity to use responsibility, ethics, morals, and values. Even when faced with tough decisions on how to use new STEM innovations.
You’ve seen it before with cloning, vaccines, and self-driving cars to name a few. Scientists and engineers invent new technologies or find answers to solve problems. However, there will always be a debate on whether to use an innovation because it always comes down to us. Putting the new invention into action takes it from just technology to a technology involving lives. A new topic of discussion is by practicing the application of humanities subjects like ethics, morals, and values in an educational context, scientists and engineers can better prepare for real-world situations.
Liberal arts has been labeled as a “wasted” education in our business-forward society, but many people are speaking up to remind everyone of it’s importance to incite ethical and moral thinking into STEM subjects. Others see value in art’s role in STEM as a creative boost, inspiring out-of-the-box thinking. Whatever the belief in importance of arts to STEM, it seems that gaining a full, well-rounded education may be the right answer to our woes of what subjects are the most important.
