STEAM not just STEM

Harvey White, co-founder of both Qualcomm Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc., knows something about the work force of the future.

Qualcomm's president since its earliest days, White was responsible for hiring thousands of engineers. Now, he says, they all need courses in art as well as science. Otherwise they will not be as creative and innovative as America needs to be in the new global economy.

White, who actually coined the phrase STEAM -- for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math -- in a talk to the San Diego Economic Development Corporation, is especially passionate: "We simply cannot compete in the new economy unless we do something now about creativity and innovation."

More than three years ago, then-president George W. Bush signed into law a bill called the America Competes Act, also known as the STEM initiative for Science Technology Engineering and Math.

The administration bill authorized $151 million to help students earn a bachelor's degree, math and science teachers to get teaching credentials, and provide additional money to help align kindergarten through grade 12 math and science curricula to better prepare students for college.

President Obama has called for yet a new effort called "Race to the Top," but has also called for a renewed STEM focus.

Today centers and institutes for STEM are popping up across the nation. STEM is on everybody's lips and dire futures are predicted unless we all get behind STEM.

In a commentary in The Wall Street Journal, Chester E. Finn Jr. and Diane Ravitch, both assistant secretaries of education in the first Bush administration, complained loudly: "This is a mistake that will ill serve our children while misconstruing the true nature of American competitiveness and the challenges we face in the 21st century."

In truth, we need a huge infusion of capital and a change in attitude about art and music, math and science. We need to define a well-rounded education and to make the case for its importance in a global innovation economy.

As demand for a new work force to meet the challenges of a global knowledge economy is rapidly increasing, few things could be as important in this period of our nation's history than art education.

Most analysts studying the new global economy agree that the growing "creative and innovative" economy represents America's salvation.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley predicted that the jobs in greatest demand in the future don't yet exist. In fact, he said, they will require workers to use technologies that have not yet been invented to solve problems that we don't yet even know are problems.

Clearly we are headed into a new and uncertain future, yet many of the critical questions are not being asked, let alone answered, in the public debate over K-12 education.

Kids, parents, educators and politicians alike are just beginning to sense that the hearse is at the back door. We have talked the education concerns to death. Time is wasting.

 

 

 

Follow John M. Eger on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeger62

Comments

[Goldie Goldwire]

05:38 PM on 10/17/2010

As a laid off art teacher I know too well that we do not value the arts as a country, which is so frustrating. Only in that subject area can you teach connections to every other subject as well as foster creative thinking. I had some students that had their first academic successes in my class and they were in middle school. And hopefully that success would encourage them to try more.

Meanwhile I sit at home, sick in the heart because I just want to go teach.

[jeger]

11:01 AM on 10/18/2010

Hang in there Goldie

[Sunsang]

10:24 PM on 10/16/2010

One of my college professors argued for something we will probably never see, a course of study that placed math, history, science, music, art, and yes religion within its historical context. Once done students could see particularly how science was influenced by religion, the connection between Da Vinci and math and science. Annenberg videos do this to some degree, but the connections need to be taught to fully expose students to the creativity of historical figures. Maybe not really relevant to this topic in one sense, but teacher training programs must require all who would be teachers to pass college algebra, statistics, and trigonometry. On the science side not physical science but an introductory course in physics, chemistry, and a biology. Too much time is spent on courses about teaching with little emphasis on content matter. Give the teacher the content and as they grow in their pedagogical skills the links required and creative connections will begin to appear to the delight of students and surprise of the teacher. Make art appreciation and music appreciation a required part of the teacher training process. This idea may assist in reaching the goal you espouse. If there is to be STEAM someone's got to pile on the coal and keep the fire burning.

[John Tarnoff]

08:08 PM on 10/15/2010

John - On the same page with you on this. See my post yesterday. Let's keep up the fight!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-tarnoff/stem-to-steam-recognizing_b_756519.html

Best,

JT

[jeger]

10:01 AM on 10/16/2010

Thx John i did not see your piece earlier.maybe the tipping point is arriving ......lets keep talking.maybe someone will hear in DC