Friday, November 8, 2019

Half and Half = All Bad

It was election morning.  A woman walked in to a polling place, dressed in red, white and blue, and sporting an American flag pin.  I complimented her on the patriotic attire.  She replied that she is a social studies teacher.  I told her that, in my view, social studies teachers do noble work.  I meet so many people, especially young people, who have no idea how politics, the government, law, courts, etc work, and it makes me sad.

What I heard next caused me to lose my stuff-- half saddened, half outraged.  The teacher explained that many of her social studies classes are being phased out, in favor of STEM.

Don't get me wrong.  Science, technology, engineering and match are important.  Those are the skills students need to get good jobs, and I am thrilled we are encouraging young women to enter those fields.

All that STEM knowledge can be rendered irrelevant if we don't produce good citizens.  You simply have to know how the world around you works.

Teach STEM.  Leave some room for the rest.