STEAM Actually comming to FRC, and im not happy

[cbale2000]

Originally Posted by s_forbes

I think they really need to add more terms to make it a more forward thinking acronym. Art is important, but Business is just as important, if not more, for sustaining a team. Another core tenant of FIRST is teaching students Responsibility as it applies to project management, and Inclusion of team mates to make a highly functional team.

The new acronym should really be RIBMEATS.

Underrated post.

While I don't speak for everyone, I don't think people who are opposed to STEAM are against Arts, just concerned that moving in the direction of including fields that aren't directly related to STEM is a slippery slope and could result in a loss of focus in STEM as a whole.

As s_forbes pointed out, in addition to Arts, Business could certainly be added as it directly affects STEM (while the other two items he listed make a fun acronym, I don't really see them as "fields of study"), but why stop there? Much of STEM draws from historical examples and research, so why not add History? What about adding Social Sciences since STEM has a profound impact on society? People in STEM fields also take a lot of notes and write technical papers, why not add English/Language Arts? Lots of "STEM" goes in to modern physical fitness, lets add PE too while we're at it. Throw in Foreign language too since, in the modern global economy many things are manufactured in other countries.

STEAMFLELAHPESS

Eventually you end up with this all encompassing mass of fields that is almost indistinguishable from General Education.


Also, this:

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

The problem I have with STEAM is that it strikes me as a money grab. STEM education has a clear and concise goal of increasing certain professions with a pretty well defined set of subject matters it caters to. STEAM is far less defined and is rapidly approaching education as a whole. It may be cynical of me, but STEAM just seems like a way for Arts educators/lobbyists to compete for funding and attention that was going towards STEM (grants/sponsorships/scholarships/etc). To me it seems like "the Arts" felt left out of STEM, and rather than advocate their own set of merits and interests, they latched onto STEM initiatives to get their slice of the pie.

Did this CA FIRST Scholarship exist before the switch from STEM to STEAM? Would it have existed without the switch from STEM to STEAM? Did it struggle for applicants as a STEM scholarship? Or are good STEM-field applicants going to be passed over for the scholarship in favor of BA majors?

None of this is to say that Arts aren't important or that the Arts aren't applicable to STEM fields. However, others have pointed out that Business and other fields are also applicable to STEM. Nothing exists in a vacuum, and the relationship between STEM and other fields can be stressed even within the confines of STEM.