The Miami Herald – Laurie Futterman
“Not long ago, Pluto was demoted from planethood when someone realized it didn’t meet the specific celestial criteria. In a similar twist, when the powers that be created the curriculum title Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM), they somehow lost the perspective of how the vigor of these four disciplines has been and continues to be linked to the A — the arts. Instating the A into STEM (STEAM), not only acknowledges the historical role of art in the evolution of technology and science, it also revitalizes the future of those whose talents make it so. A recent New York Times education article, Putting Art in STEM, reminds us of a time when art and engineering were not separate disciplines and how so many visionaries embraced the arts to create their technological feats. Back then, artists and engineers were seemingly one entity. Today, scientists and artists don’t seem to have much in common. On first look, even their raw materials appear different. But on closer inspection, they all pull from the universal pot of energy and matter. Stephen Beal, President of California College of the Arts says that artists and designers tend to work subjectively — they find ways to express what is seen and felt. Scientists focus on objective data to acquire and explain new knowledge in measurable, empirical processes.”(more)