New Directions in Education
From STEM to STEAM to Four Hopes
The high status majors in many colleges and universities are science, technology, engineering, and math - to which we might add business and finance. To many a college student these majors seem much more promising and interesting than say, philosophy, history, or religious studies. We live in a STEM world.
However, even STEM education can have its dry side. Too many courses in calculus, molecular biology, and macroeconomics can deaden a soul. A growing number of STEM advocates have added an "a" for the arts. STEM becomes STEAM: science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.
The STEAM movement includes more than a mere addition of the arts to science and math oriented education. It emphasizes qualities of mind sometimes lacking in STEM education: empathy, listening, innovation, a capacity to think holistically, a concern for local communities, and a sense of being part of a larger Earth community.
Nevertheless, the STEAM movement is itself lacking, if understood primarily in terms of service to education for a growing economy. We live in an age when economic measures have become definitive of life, and it is killing us. We live in an age of Economism. The need is to move from Economism to a sense that we belong to, and have responsibilities for, a Living Earth. Some call it Earthism.
The hope is that STEAM becomes a seed for a different kind of education oriented toward whole persons, whole communities, a whole planet, and holistic thinking. This kind of education - Four Hopes Education - can be part of all education, primary and secondary, in the classroom and at home. It points toward a better future for the world, for local communities, and for individuals. Process philosophy and theology offer a vision of it.
However, even STEM education can have its dry side. Too many courses in calculus, molecular biology, and macroeconomics can deaden a soul. A growing number of STEM advocates have added an "a" for the arts. STEM becomes STEAM: science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.
The STEAM movement includes more than a mere addition of the arts to science and math oriented education. It emphasizes qualities of mind sometimes lacking in STEM education: empathy, listening, innovation, a capacity to think holistically, a concern for local communities, and a sense of being part of a larger Earth community.
Nevertheless, the STEAM movement is itself lacking, if understood primarily in terms of service to education for a growing economy. We live in an age when economic measures have become definitive of life, and it is killing us. We live in an age of Economism. The need is to move from Economism to a sense that we belong to, and have responsibilities for, a Living Earth. Some call it Earthism.
The hope is that STEAM becomes a seed for a different kind of education oriented toward whole persons, whole communities, a whole planet, and holistic thinking. This kind of education - Four Hopes Education - can be part of all education, primary and secondary, in the classroom and at home. It points toward a better future for the world, for local communities, and for individuals. Process philosophy and theology offer a vision of it.