Draw a Flower on Your STEM

My school has an annual meet and greet at the beginning of the year.  I stand outside my door and enthusiastically answer the same 5 questions about my physical science class.  Physical science is an introduction to chemistry in first semester and an introduction to physics in second semester.  Yes, it is fun.  Yes, it is hard.  No, you will not have to memorize the periodic table, but yes, you will learn to use it for the tool that it is.  Yes, I like to blow things up, but don't expect it every day or anything.

A few years ago, a mom cornered me, literally close-talking me to the corner between the lockers and my room.  She said, "I don't think we are placing enough emphasis on STEM."  She was expecting me, as a science teacher, to jump right in with agreement; so she was pretty surprised by my response.  "Actually, as a society," I said, "I think we are placing to much emphasis on it.  We shouldn't only educate kids from the neck up and slightly to the left." (That last part comes from Sir Ken Robinson, not me.)  Kids need to learn a little of everything, including science and math but not limited to it.  No one cares about a well rounded education more than I do.

It's time for a science teacher to say it - Enough with the crazy emphasis on STEM.  Yes, we do need classes in science, but scientists also need to be creative.  Yes, we do need our kids to be proficient in math, but those same students should be taking music as well.  I absolutely want to produce engineers and computer scientists, but I am just as proud of my student who is a professional dancer and another who composes music for Disney.  There are all kinds of kids, which means we need all kinds of education.

We have many discussions in our school about the fact that some of the best jobs there are now didn't even exist when we were in school and that many of the ones our kids will have don't exist now.  We know, of course, that kids will need courses that are classified as STEM, but we have to also expect that there will be a need for well-educated writers, farmers, carpenters, photographers, news anchors, real estate agents, insurance adjusters, salesmen, lawyers, coaches, tour guides, and social workers. Does anyone see these careers going anywhere?  Also, do we think an engineer doesn't need a knowledge of history?  Do we think a physicist shouldn't have learned to be creative?  By the way, there will never be advancement in physics without creativity, so that's a bad plan.  I want computer scientists to work in collaboration with poets and musicians so that their work can be brought everyone.

When we place value on only one kind of learning, we cause students to de-value learning.  Let's stop pushing our kids into one thing as though the future is monolithic.  The future needs educated people of all varieties, which is why God wisely gave different gifts to different people.  We don't have to abandon one type of learning for another.  You can have all.  You draw a flower on your STEM, giving the world more depth and beauty than tunnel vision will ever accomplish.

Someone in you-tube land compiled seven minutes of scenes from Mr. Holland's Opus, which work well here to make my point, so I leave you with them.