In my essay “A Rising Call to Promote STEM Education and Cut Liberal Arts Funding” the author Patricia Cohen discusses how students are being pushed towards and rewarded for choosing degrees within the STEM field. I choose this essay because it is something I personally relate too. Ever since elementary school I was pushed towards STEM and becoming an engineer or going into the medical field, something that benefits and supports the overall economy. Even when it came to applying for scholarships you can see the clear lack of support there is for humanities but if you wanted to be an electrical engineer they will pay for your whole education. As someone who is going to be going into the education field I feel very strongly about this topic and the implications it has on society and young students. Arts programs continue to be cut from education systems which has drastic consequences. The arts are the gateway into imagination and innovation, structure, and can overall benefit students educational experiences. We are putting our younger generations at a disadvantage and inhibiting their imaginations. Education needs a reform to better our society and to help change damaging societal views and also to help promote the usefulness art is in STEM itself. Without art and design we would not have our innovations and technology that we see today.
After using the UNE library services CRAAP test I decided this was a good first source on this topic. This article is from a reputable source The NewYork Times and the author Cohen is a reporter who covers culture and ideas which goes with my theme perfectly. The article is well organized and written, with clear and concise main points. She discusses this problem at the level of politics and in general society and allows for the reader to truly relate to what is being discussed. She also integrates real facts from national surveys and administrations. Cohen also uses a real person’s experiences and quotes them on the topic which flows nicely with her points. Cohen has ethos to discuss how our society and culture is viewing STEM and the arts and also used other credible sources to help support her argument and points.
My idea for my paper is to explore the need for an educational reform that will hopefully open the doors to a full societal reform in the near future. Currently arts programs are seen as useless and are being cut entirely out of education. The humanities are continued to be undervalued in our society and eventually there will be no one left practicing or teaching the humanities. STEM needs the humanities and it can all be integrated as Yo-Yo Ma discusses in his essay. The humanities are necessary for further advances and innovations in medicine and technology which is described in Lehrers essay. I am able to connect the need of humanities being restored socially and academically to both of the essays that we have read and discussed for class. I am really excited to do more research and really develop the argument of needing a social and education reform regarding humanities and the STEM field.
This sounds like it will make for a wonderful conversation. I appreciate you taking the time to list the different sources that Cohen used for evidence. Don’t forget to read like a reader as well as a writer, and keep up the good work.