Isabella Martin
Elisha Emerson
English 110 Section A
18 November 2019
The
Road
To
Reform
‘A social and educational reform is needed to establish what is deemed important and of value in our society by integrating the arts into science to change how the younger generations perceive success’
When someone says what are you going to do to be successful, what do you first think of? Do you think of occupations? If so, which ones? I can guarantee most everyone thought of a doctor or an engineer, something within science, technology, and math. No one will say I am going to be a musician because if they did society would tell them to put their instrument in the case and put it far under their bed. As a society we encourage those who say they want to be doctors and engineers but we discredit and discourage those who want to pursue the humanities and arts. We have placed significant value in very few fields and areas of study while disregarding anything deemed unworthy of time. A social and educational reform is needed to establish what is deemed important and of value in our society by integrating the arts into science to change how the younger generations perceive success.
Instead of teaching the new generations that art and humanities are no longer valuable we should allow them to draw the conclusion themselves and decide if they deem it worthy or not. Currently art is being cut out of educational programs drastically. Schools have stopped offering music lessons and band, and this is teaching children that those studies can be disregarded entirely. It has even been seen on a political and economical level where the humanities are not taken seriously. The governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin “suggested that students majoring in French literature should not receive state funding for their college education, he joined a growing number of elected officials who want to nudge students away from the humanities and toward more job-friendly subjects like electrical engineering” (Cohen). These viewpoints expressed on a political level is equally as damaging as ridding the arts from education. Education and Societal views work together in establishing norms. As an idea is spread in education it affects social construct and vice versa, therefore these views on humanities are being spread extremely fast and it is negatively impacting education and society. As Yo-Yo Ma a graduate of Juilliard School and Harvard University says in his essay “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education”, “the world economy is so hyper competitive, much of the focus in education these days….is on STEM”. The economic drive is only aiding in this feedback loop where political figures and older generations help establish the negative views the younger generations have towards the arts. Instead of continuing this view there are ways to integrate the arts and humanities into STEM and there is a way to establish the importance of all subjects.
“The world of our ideas is framed by the only world we know”
Jonah Lehrer
Education should encourage the connection between arts and sciences through new classes such as the metaphors of science or just simply by integrating metaphors and physical art into science courses to establish stronger understanding. In my college genetics course every unit would integrate a hands on project where we had to create DNA sequences from building blocks and make our own puzzles showing the connection between systems and chemicals. On exams we were encouraged to draw pictures and diagrams with labels as answers to short answer questions to further our understanding in a way other than words. Diagrams, pictures puzzles and metaphors allow people to think about complicated topics in simpler ways, combining imaginative thinking with reason and logic. This opens many new doors to potential self discovery and scientific discovery. In an essay outlining how art is advantageous to science by Jonah Lehrer says “The world of our ideas is framed by the only world we know”. By viewing science through the lens of abstract thought often used in arts such as creative writing it allows them to view these topics in ways that connects what we already know and leaves room for development of thought. With this we see innovation and new scientific discoveries. By integrating art and humanities into education not only would it further understanding of subjects for students but it would also show the worth of this integration to society as a whole.
The humanities and art occupations are often overlooked because many people do not understand them and do not know how to view things from multiple perspectives. Integrating more art educational experiences will allow for this necessary change. Often in the arts emotions are valued and used to understand and express complex thoughts, another word for this is empathy. Yo-Yo Ma even says that “Empathy comes when you understand something deeply through arts and literature and can thus make unexpected connections”. Being able to make connections to your own personal life and understand other people’s perspectives is an essential skill to have. It helps create a society of tolerance and acceptance. Without these skills being taught in educational settings we are setting up the continuation of a society filled with intolerance and bias views towards the arts. In order to make this change it has to start within the younger generations in education. Teaching the value of humanities will only make the younger generations more aware and help create a social reform.
‘We must have both an educational and social reform because neither can happen without the other and we are overdue for a major positive change’
‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is a famous cliche saying, but it holds a lot of truth, regarding people’s views on art and sciences. People argue that in order to have a social reform it must start from within the generation already in the position of power. Yes, the generation in power will need to allow schools to implement new curriculums regarding the arts, however the true social reform will not begin until those younger generations have the power of voice. Most people are stuck in their ways because they were never shown another way or shown the value some things have to everyday life. This is why we must have both an educational and social reform because neither can happen without the other and we are overdue for a major positive change.
Works Cited
Berridge, Eric. “Transcript of ‘Why Tech Needs the Humanities.’” TED, https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_berridge_why_tech_needs_the_humanities/transcript.
Cohen, Patricia. “A Rising Call to Promote STEM Education and Cut Liberal Arts Funding.”ProQuest, Feb 21, 2016, https://une.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https:// search-proquest-com.une.idm.oclc.org/docview/1766935883?accountid=12756.
Duncan, Matt. “Photo by Matt Duncan on Unsplash.” Beautiful Free Images & Pictures, 23 Aug. 2016, https://unsplash.com/photos/IUY_3DvM__w.
Lehrer, Jonah. “The Future of Science…Is Art?.” Seed seedmaganize. 2008.
Ma, Yo-Yo. “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education.” Emerging Contemporary Readings for Writers, edited by Barclay Barrios, 3rd ed, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016, Pp257-261
Rebecca. “STEM vs. STEAM – What’s the Difference?” STEM Education Guide, 9 Apr. 2019, https://stemeducationguide.com/stem-v-steam/.
Multimodal Statement
In my essay I used a wide variety of graphs providing numerical and statistical evidence to my readers. The survey questions were created by myself, for a fresh and recent perspective of the topic of art and humanities in today’s education. I choose to use graphs and charts as a major component because I think it draws attention to the drastic societal views on humanities versus STEM occupations, which is a goal of my paper. I want people to really be able to really visualize the gap between the humanities and STEM, in regards to scholarships, occupational salary, and societal views on the two.
Another choice I made was to include pull quotes to really highlight important sentences that I really want the reader to digest and think about. I think pull quotes can be a nice way to transition into another section and almost work as a transition sentence to another point of an essay. In this case I choose to use pull quotes to complement my writing style and to really grab the reader’s attention in a more dramatic way. I also choose to include a picture to really capture my idea for the future that is mentioned within my conclusion. After researching a lot about STEM education and the possible introduction of arts which will create STEAM, I came across an image that breaks down the different components of each type of education and facts that goes along with each side. I felt that this image was a perfect note to end my paper on since it embodies and shows the transition that I hope is made in the future regarding an education reform with the inclusion of art.
Lastly I included a Ted Talk video that really captures the idea that the humanities are important in many ways including technology. This video provides a real world example of how STEM needs the humanities. All the multimodal elements I included were to provide supporting evidence to my argument by either showing current views, or providing a true example from another persons perspective.
