Should the M in STEM be Music?

If you have children, or you’re interested in education, you’ve probably heard the acronym STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. There’s a growing belief that because of the prevalence of digital technologies in our world, and the increasing importance of machine learning and artificial intelligence, many of today’s jobs will be replaced by machines in the future. The theory is that people with technical education will be assured of - or at least better positioned to get - jobs. And, by implication, the rest of us will be out of work.

STEM is one of the buzzwords of the decade in schools today. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that unless you’ve caught the STEM craze your child will be left behind. As a corollary, there’s a movement among educators and parents to push kids into STEM courses of study and careers. Although it is undoubtedly good to encourage this in children that are genuinely interested in these fields, it does raise the question of whether it’s wise to promote STEM if it comes at the expense of other valid and meaningful career paths in the social sciences and humanities. It’s probably true that students well trained in technical fields will have decent employment options when they get out of school. But there will also, today and tomorrow, be a need for excellent critical thinkers, problem solvers, collaborators and written communicators. These are skills that may not be as well developed in technical courses, particularly in high school.

And what about the kids that just don’t like - and don’t excel at - math and the sciences? It’s true that an inspired teacher can convert a reluctant learner. But not every science and math instructor is good. In fact, at many schools, most aren’t. I’m intellectually curious and sought out a number of science selections in college (although I ultimately majored in a social science). By far the worst academic experiences of my life were in large lecture-based science classes at any Ivy League college where I sat among hundreds of other bored students listening to the droning of a sage on the stage. Many suffered through because of bigger picture goals. But what of those students that don’t passionately aspire to careers in medicine or engineering?

I’m also troubled by a larger trend that I’ve seen in my kids’ education, and the strategic focus on STEM is emblematic. It seems to me that a lot of the joy has been taken out of learning. Even in elementary school, kids are saddled with an hour or more of homework a night, and that’s on top of required reading. We’re at a sad point in the history of civilization when a 10 year old in the wealthiest country in the world can’t hang out with friends after school because if he does he’ll be too tired to summon the intellectual energy to complete his homework. And it’s not busywork; it’s actually hard. I fear that many teachers (and parents) also conflate complexity with quality. I’ve seen an alarming number of developmentally inappropriate assignments that I would have struggled to complete on my own late into high school. Is it any wonder that parents have to intervene?

There’s a lot of talk about how budget cuts have squeezed out enrichment subjects like music, art, drama and gym. What’s unspoken, and in my experience undebated, is that the STEM craze is also playing a part in this shift. When I was in elementary school, we didn’t have a science class per se, and I think that was ok. I have plenty of peers who ended up in eminent positions in science fields notwithstanding their almost complete non-exposure to the formal discipline in the early years. Today, it’s the rare elementary school that doesn’t offer both science and some kind of computer class.

So what’s the price of subordinating music, art, drama and gym? There are too many to count. But one significant cost is the removal of classes that are fun, and creative and unpressured. School is supposed to be a time of intellectual and social exploration. These days, it feels like everyone from kindergarten through 12th grade is on a long, slow and often anxious march to college. For many adults, life is hard, and exhausting, with stresses that are hard to control. It’s a gift to be able to raise a child who loves school and learning and doesn’t associate either with stress and anxiety. In my experience, that’s pretty rare these days, especially by the time kids reach high school.

What’s the answer, then? I think we need to work hard to bring joyful subjects back into school. Music is just one example. And don’t make it music theory because you believe that music and math are connected. Make music about expanding the mind, and the pleasure of listening and singing and banging on an instrument. Require everyone to participate in a school musical, and encourage kids to expand and challenge themselves to do something that is fun but not purposeful. There’s a great story in our community about the year that the football season got cancelled because of shenanigans and all of the athletes were required to join the school play. And they loved it! Kids who’d never been on stage discovered things about themselves, and made new friends. Maybe school can’t be all fun and games, but we need to figure out how to bring more of that back into the classroom. Learning is not just about test scores, and for many of us school is the best and also the last place we have the time and the freedom to do it. Kids will keep marching toward college; let’s help more of them dance to the beat while they’re on that road.