Focus on STEM education only, good or bad?

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by JesseK

As the population grows beyond what has been traditionally sustained on this planet, there is an ever noticeable gap between the quantity/quality of problem-solvers and problem-makers. The problems are well documented in Art, Literature and the like. However, the problems don't go away just by communicating about them. Moving forward we will need more problem solvers with work ethic than people who talk about the problems, which is what STEM programs like FIRST specifically address.

There will always be plenty of artists & writers. It takes effort and investment to make a problem solver.

Rather than write an essay on my feelings on this topic, I think JesseK nails a central part of my argument. We have initiatives pushing towards more STEM education because we need more people capable of understanding STEM issues. It's not about "deemphasizing the arts" but rather increasing the portion of the population capable of working directly with STEM and comprehending STEM problems. Increasing the portion of the population that is functional in STEM is not going to destroy the arts, and we definitely need more people who are capable STEM thinkers.