People have forgotten that math and science, and not only topics such as literature, art and philosophy, for a long time have been counted among the liberal arts. After all, humanities include the knowledge and skills that each person must participate actively in civic life. Without however many still draw a line of deep, dark separation science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), well, everything else. No one serves very well.
A recent report by the Academy American arts and Sciences could help bridge the gap. The heart of the matter makes a passionate case for supporting the arts and the humanities in addition to mother. The report reveals that everyone, including engineers, or computer, needs a good dose of the arts and the humanities to understand the human meaning of the work they do. Point well taken.
But that argument cuts both ways: as people in stem occupations would do well to have a firm grounding in the arts and Humanities, everyone needs a solid base in the stem. In 2011, a Georgetown study revealed that the majority of jobs require stem skills. If you want to enter in marketing for 20 years, it may have been just enough to be very good at writing copy. It is now more likely to get hired if you understand the statistics that underlie the modern market research. If you want to become a designer for decades, it focuses on the Visual Arts. Now, needs not only to design master software, you must also have a firm grasp on the visualization of data and the technology behind interactive web sites and applications. Even marketers need to have a much more strong knowledge of technology as the products that sell become more sophisticated.
It doesn't help that some defenders of the mother have ridiculed "softer" subjects such as English or history as a waste of time and effort. It only prolongs the absurd battle between disciplines. Do after all, who really believe that everyone should have a mother working? If each were an engineer, for example, we have a lot of unemployed engineers - and the rest would work for coins and dimes.
But all people should have the tools to understand the rapidly changing world to her around, and that world and civic decisions associated only get more baffling to those who lack a sophisticated understanding of the fields of the mother. However, for all issues of the mother of attention they have received recently, we still have many miles to go before we are really all that rhetoric of the mother. Almost every State requires high school graduates had four years of English, but only 18 States require four years of mathematics. They even require four years of science. Texas, which once led the way in establishing rigorous high school graduation requirements, recently reduced its requirements in math and science to just three years. But this is not a zero-sum game: we are not looking to focus on the stem at the expense of other disciplines. We seek to ensure that all students have the opportunity to master the knowledge and skills they need for adult life.
We must not forget what the stem subjects have in common with sister disciplines such as literature and history. Yes, they help us get good jobs, but they also help us to understand what it means to be human and live a good life. For this reason the mother is really among the liberal arts.
Linda Rosen of follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/changeequation
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