Why America’s obsession with STEM education is dangerous
This dismissal of broad-based learning, however, comes from a
fundamental misreading of the facts — and puts America on a dangerously
narrow path for the future. The United States has led the world in
economic dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship thanks to exactly the
kind of teaching we are now told to defenestrate. A broad general
education helps foster critical thinking and creativity. Exposure to a
variety of fields produces synergy and cross fertilization. Yes, science
and technology are crucial components of this education, but so are
English and philosophy. When unveiling a new edition of the iPad, Steve
Jobs explained
that “it’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — that
it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities,
that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing.”