STEAM vs. STEM: The Importance of Art in Education

The STEM vs. STEAM debate is a no-brainer.  STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is rounded out and made more holistic by including the Arts to make STEM into STEAM. 

A quick glance at the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, well-known as an anatomist, architect, botanist, cartographer, engineer, geologist, inventor, mathematician, musician, painter, sculptor, and writer attests to the importance of art education and the functionality of STEAM over STEM.  When STEM was “new” it seemed everyone was caught up in the trend.  The goals of raising test scores (especially in Math and English) led to some schools de-emphasizing Science and Technology.  This was evidenced by less funding for teacher training in those subjects and the closing of shop, science, art, music, and technology classes. Those that advocated for including art in the STEM system as well as keeping art programs alive in schools were often misunderstood as whining liberals trying to get the “soft sciences” back into the curriculum.

New York City government decided to determine compliance to NY State requirements for art programs in public schools.  They found many schools were not in compliance.  They found that dropout rates increased noticeably when schools either diminished, greatly reduced or cut arts education. Crime rates were higher in these neighborhoods. This resulted in increased in law enforcement costs at all levels. These costs of far exceeded the cost to fund the school arts programs.  To quote from the NYC Comptroller’s report:  

“Arts education has long been recognized by experts around the world as having a tremendously positive influence on children and their academic attainment, social emotional development and future employment.  The skills learned from arts education are more relevant today than ever, as New York City’s economy is increasingly focused on industries that value creativity, innovation and problem solving.”

Caricature by Leonardo da Vinci

When you consider these points and stop to take a look back at Leonardo’s notes and sketches, you can clearly see the value of integrating a diverse base of knowledge for our youth. This knowledge base and skills sets should cross the boundaries of labels such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.  Leonardo da Vinci integrated knowledge simultaneously to gain knowledge and applied the knowledge to create inventions to solve problems. This resulted in his ability to engage in critical, creative, and holistic thinking strategies. These abilities and strengths are very different from what we encourage in modern education, which is often characterized by segmentation.  The current U.S. education system creates division among the various disciplines often teaching them in separate periods and classes.  Math is taught separately from English.  Math is rarely taught in English class.  English almost never taught in Math class.  Yet most students have the most difficulty with the story problems because they have trouble understanding the language.

Unlike many other programs, S.E.E.D.S. is a systematic and integrated holistic education program.  We start with the curiosity and interests of the learner.  S.E.E.D.S. uses STEAM to weave relevant academic elements into a project-based lessons and activities. The hands-on interactions naturally leads to learning diverse yet interconnected and integrated subject matter.

Ubuntu and Child Development- How to Teach "Human-ness" at an Early Age

The term Ubuntu can roughly be translated into several different things including “Human-ness”. The most common definition for this African term is “I am, because we are.” There are different ways to interpret this saying but in essence it encourages people to put aside selfishness and embrace a sense of caring, empathy, love and generosity toward all peoples. It does not advocate for revenge and selfishness. Ubuntu encourages community. It encourages people to take a step back from themselves and see what they can do for others. This is a concept we have drastically moved away from as a society.

The core concepts behind Ubuntu are important when considering how we raise the children of the next generations. If you take a step back and look at the children of the current generation, and those soon to come you see a trend developing. People are becoming exceedingly more selfish, self-focused, in need of instant gratification and have a sense of competitiveness, which knows no bounds. The sense of competitiveness is fueled by the perspective that you always need to have more or be better than other people. This may be fueled by the perception that things are limited. But they are just that, things. This viewpoint stems from a sense of selfishness and fear. Many people say selfishness is innate. And to a certain point that may be true, but with concepts like Ubuntu, it’s possible to move away from that perspective and create a shift in thinking. It is imperative to teach a sense of human-ness to children from a young age. When children are exposed to this type of concept early on, their behaviors and view of the world are far more empathetic, loving and caring. Children raised with the model of interdependence, have a far more balanced perspective of their relevance to the community as an individual and as a contributor to the society as a whole.

The SEEDS philosophy is all about community and bringing people together. We believe it is essential to get children involved with others so they can learn to develop a sense of community and oneness with other people. It’s a simple fact that we cannot live without one another. The SEEDS community is focused on developing the whole child and therefore raising children to believe they play a key role in the whole community, just like every other person does. It is essential to use concepts like Ubuntu to help children understand that though they are unique, wonderful gifts to this earth, they are also part of a bigger whole. Many of us as parents, teachers, educators, mentors and so on, forget that while each child is unique and special in their own way, above all else, it is their special contribution to the community that is vastly more important. It focuses on the team, on the group. Without everyone contributing, and looking out for one another, everyone will eventually fall.

The Wonders of Respect

One of the guiding principles of S.E.E.D.S. Community-based Education is the idea of mutual respect, mutual benefit.  We firmly believe this approach is a sound way to begin a relationship.  When it comes to education, everyone (students and teachers) has something in their knowledge base that is of potential value to others.  Teachers may be in front of the class and may have years of formal education to their credit.  Yet an uneducated farmer from a small rural village may have a better understanding of raising crops than a college graduate with more degrees than the average thermometer.

When meeting strangers, it is easy to misjudge or judge them by their appearance, the circumstances, or whatever biases and preconceptions we hold consciously or unconsciously.  Fundamentally we are all human beings, homo sapiens, and share many traits.  Some people feel they are superior to others and demand respect from those whom they deem inferior.  Granting strangers the minimum modicum of hospitality and respect could be the first step toward creating an opportunity to exchanging knowledge.  This begins the process of understanding to bridge the knowledge gap of other peoples, cultures, etc.  You may be surprised what others have to offer once they feel welcomed and secure. S.E.E.D.S. programs focus on facilitating learning and creating opportunities for people to learn.  The credo of “mutual respect, mutual benefit” is very appropriate as the true power of information is only fully realized when it is shared.

Learning is a Continuous Experience

S.E.E.D.S. Co-Founder Gregory Lee created a number of cyclic sayings during his nearly 3 decades of teaching.  The sayings are looped around a yin-yang symbol.  Originally he roughly arranged the worlds in a circle.  The original form of this cyclic saying was a single “loop” of words starting “Teachers should be students should be…” and ending with teachers.   Late versions used two simple phrases “Teachers should be students; Students should be teachers.”

This cyclic saying was borne out of the realization that as a student, he learned better when trying to teach the lesson to other students in a study group.  Sometimes the repetition helped him to more fully absorb the information.  Other times, trying to explain the topic to another student helped to clarify it in his own mind.  And then, in the spirit of life-long learning, a teacher continually learns new things to keep up proficiency and is therefore a student.

Personal experience and repeated validation keeps this cyclic saying current in S.E.E.D.S.

Teaching Children to Guide Themselves

This week we are featuring a quote from S.E.E.D.S. Co-Founder Natalie Zartarian.  Toward that end, this card sums up one of her goals and guiding principles.  S.E.E.D.S. strives to empower people to learn how they learn best and to be life-long learners. 

We live in a modern high speed technologically saturated world.  A common lament is the near total connectivity of modern life that people seem to lack face-to-face human interaction.  In less technologically advanced societies, families bond when sharing food.  Look around, and you see people sitting together in restaurants and coffee shops.  Each seems totally absorbed in text or email exchanges while connected to the world, yet isolated from those sitting at the same table next to them.

Retrieved from http://www.cartoonaday.com/thanksgiving-table-family-texting/

As early childhood educators, we advocate direct human interaction as important for the development of the whole child.  S.E.E.D.S. lessons and activities are student-centered, project-based and involve group interaction.  How else will children learn to develop concepts and skills to interact with other people?

As Ghandi once said, “Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency.  Man is a social being.  Without interrelation with society he cannot realize his oneness with the universe or suppress his egotism.  His social interdependence enables him to test his faith and to prove himself on the touchstone of reality ”

The Common Core- Could it be more dysfunctional?

The Common Core is fast becoming the Common Bore as many students and parents are thrown into confusion and despair over the new style of basic mathematics.  “An Iowa woman jokingly calls it "Satan's handiwork.'' A California mom says she's broken down in tears. A Pennsylvania parent says it "makes my blood boil.''  “Simple arithmetic isn't so simple anymore, leading to plenty of angst at home.”  [These quotes appeared in “2+2=What? Parents Rail Against Common Core Math” from http://www.nbcwashington.com by Michael Rubinkam Thursday, Oct 9, 2014] 

When students get frustrated, they can readily give up and get bored having to sit through lessons they don’t understand.  They are not having fun.  This is not a very conducive learning environment.  As Walter Barbee said “If you’ve told a child a thousand times and he still does not understand, then it is not the child who is the slow learner.”  The Common Core does not give the child a real opportunity for success.  The Common Core is top down curriculum that is not student centered nor is it student friendly.  It takes simple math operations and makes them more complex.  The resulting confusion does not make students creative thinkers or problem solvers as was hoped.  The Common Core proponents and advocates lament the confusion is a result of poor program implementation and lack of adequate teacher training.  If this is so, you have to wonder why they launched the program if it wasn’t ready.  It makes you wonder if student success is really a consideration in this curriculum. So who is the slow learner now?