Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even worse is the NEW buzzword, "STEAM." The "A" is for "Arts." Why must it be thrown in with STEM? Let the humanities stand on their own, for pete's sake. They have worth.

I've seen that A as Applied Math.

At my kids' school, it stands for Arts too. You should've heard the conversation between my husband and me when the school year first started. The kids and I were talking about STEAM and he kept saying, "You mean STEM" and we would reply, "No, STEAM" and so forth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My rule of thumb is that, if I hear anyone actually use the word STEM in an in-person conversation, I assume they are incompetent in any of the things it stands for.

What an odd thought.

Not odd to me. I'm a humanities person by inclination, but I have picked up the tech I need to do my job well. I hear a lot of parents fretting that if their elementary school kids don't learn to code, they're doomed professionally, and these are the parents who can't master squat technologically yet have well-paying careers.

Even if all the careers for people in humanities and the social sciences disappeared, STEM wouldn't be the golden ticket. Ask someone with a PhD in biology how the employment market is. Ask someone who loves theoretical mathematics if that's going to be her/his career.

Anonymous wrote:I'm an engineer, and I hate the buzzword. I also hate the belief that you can "inspire a passion" for "STEM" by having kids build with LEGOs, or some other such nonsense.

How do you know that you can't "inspire a passion" for STEM. What if a kid takes a class and says, "that was fun and I am good at it".

I agree that liking legos does not equal being an engineer, but my son did some sort of CAD clinic and has been programming since he was in 7th grade and he loves it. Grant it I am an engineer, but I never really thought hey let's do CAD and programming on a Saturday morning.

My son edited video last night, just because, it was not a school project, it was just for fun.

I appreciate the emphasis on STEM, because not everybody is inspired by The Illiad and The Odyssey.

I'm an engineer, and I hate the buzzword. I also hate the belief that you can "inspire a passion" for "STEM" by having kids build with LEGOs, or some other such nonsense.

I think it became a buzzword when liberal arts majors, myself included, realized there are no jobs for us and the good jobs go to STEM fields. I've already told my kids they cannot major in a humanities. Take classes for fun if they want but career focus should be on stem or business.

I only wish there was a Humanities magnet high school in the area, so that TJ wasn't the only game in town for kids with exceptional ability. Some kids are geared toward literature, writing, history, and the social sciences and there should be a school where they are made to feel like "rock stars" too. The Maggie Walker Governor's School in Richmond is one example. Those kids are incredible.

Anonymous wrote:Even worse is the NEW buzzword, "STEAM." The "A" is for "Arts." Why must it be thrown in with STEM? Let the humanities stand on their own, for pete's sake. They have worth.

I've seen that A as Applied Math.

In the 1990s, the National Science Foundation coined the term. You can go visit them in Ballston to air your grievances, if you wish.

Because Technology and Engineering are important and kids that are good at these things are generally treated like 2nd class citizens, so "programs" were created for these kids, until they started getting into MIT and Ivy League schools, now everybody wants a piece of the action.

Anonymous wrote:My rule of thumb is that, if I hear anyone actually use the word STEM in an in-person conversation, I assume they are incompetent in any of the things it stands for.

What an odd thought.

My rule of thumb is that, if I hear anyone actually use the word STEM in an in-person conversation, I assume they are incompetent in any of the things it stands for.

I'm 46. I think we called that going to school.

Anonymous wrote:Even worse is the NEW buzzword, "STEAM." The "A" is for "Arts." Why must it be thrown in with STEM? Let the humanities stand on their own, for pete's sake. They have worth.

Because few people outside of the ed world are recognizing the importance of the arts, and the ways in which they work hand-in-hand with "STEM" subjects.

Even worse is the NEW buzzword, "STEAM." The "A" is for "Arts." Why must it be thrown in with STEM? Let the humanities stand on their own, for pete's sake. They have worth.

For some reason it really grates on me. What's wrong with "math and science" or some non-acronym variant?