STEM vs. The Humanities

By Alyssa Tompkins

S.T.E.M.“aka”science, technology, engineering, and math, has taken the past three years by storm. Turning many students towards the wonders that can only be provided via a scientific route seems to be S.T.E.M.’s speciality, but it has also, to society’s disadvantage, turned many students away from the humanities.

Before I begin my full opinion, I‘d like to provide a full disclosure: I am not against STEM. In fact, I appreciate the people who help to advance our society through science. That said, I will be talking about such scientific programs in a seemingly critical way. I will not pretend to be gung ho about S.T.E.M. when these programs devalue away from the Humanities and their participants.

The humanities require a seriously different type of passion than sciences do. Think about it, how much does your average teacher make? If you snickered to yourself and or cringed, you are not alone. Having a career in teaching is definitely not one that is thought of to be very profitable, and everyone knows this. You must be very dedicated to your love of helping others in a teachable way if you are to try to live life on a teaching salary. On the other hand, the sciences, are a very profitable industry for the time being. Doctors and engineers make a much more comfortable and exciting amount of money, than say, a historian makes. To be dedicated to any of the studies of humanity and its documentation (art, languages, history, social studies, writing,etc.…also known as the humanities), is a dedication to knowing your area of expertise is on a quickly approaching downhill slide.

This downhill slide is not one we as a civilization should be looking forward to. Yet, in a misguided way, we seem to be. There is so much stigma surrounding anyone who expresses a love for the humanities and not for S.T.E.M.. In my own house this mindframe is evident. I want to become an English teacher. This goal is my driving force here at Capital High and will continue to be throughout college. My own father, on numerous occasions, has asked me why I have not tried harder to develop an interest for science like my younger sister has. His seemingly favorite line to couple this question with is always along the lines of “don’t you want to be successful someday?”. The thing is though, my father has a point. The average english teacher makes only $54,740 a year, while a doctor makes $150,000 a year. This automatically sets up the thought that the humanities are not fields that people should be involved in. How unfair is it to associate the humanities with failure? I’ll tell you; it’s very unfair to everyone involved. Comparing English, writing, art, history, and teaching to failure is similar to a low blow aimed at humanity.

Without the humanities, science would be the failure. The arts and language studies are required to get humanity through the ages. Languages connect peoples all over the globe, art tells an unspoken and beautiful story to all who can see or feel, and history teaches us our past in hopes we will relive the triumphs and never come eye to eye with our failures ever again in attempt to better society. The thought that the humanities are not a valuable asset to humanity is one of this societies greatest and newest failures. S.T.E.M. may have helped us advance over the course of history, but so have the humanities. While S.T.E.M. is very vital to the running of our society, no longer can sciences take away opportunities or hinder the spirits of those who are not scientifically oriented. The sciences should no longer be able to receive special treatment as though they are the only link to the future. The future can only be bright if it is an equal balance of words, images, and sciences, not a side heavy scale.