By
T. R. Shaw Jr.
In
what was called the “American Century” we built railroads, created the
automobile and the highway system. We
built aircraft and went from early flight to landing a man on the moon all
within a one hundred year period.
We cured diseases, won two World Wars
and advanced civilization more than we did in the previous thousand years. Historically, the world has turned to us for a
glimpse of the future; not so much anymore.
Late
in the 20th Century that began to slip away as other industrialized
nations caught up with us. We ceded our
high ground of science, technology, and innovation to Asia and Europe and we
saw our educational base in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM
Education) fall behind.
The
Obama administration embraced STEM Education as a targeted goal of the
Department of Education. It was to be
“Education to Innovate and Inspire.” In
2009 only 16 percent of K-12 students were involved in any form of STEM
Education and nearly 57 percent of those students were projected to lose
interest before they graduated.
In
2014 the Department of Education invested $3.1 billion of federal money in the
areas of K-12 computing, traditional engineering, physical science, and
mathematics. It’s not clear if that
investment has paid off, but hopefully it’s shoring up our global education deficit. Let’s hope the Trump administration sees the
merit in STEM education as a global competitive issue.
In the
U.S. there are 2.5 STEM-related jobs for every non-STEM bachelor’s degree
earned. Obviously there’s a great need
for STEM education. Michigan is rated as
“average” in STEM education.
Massachusetts leads the nation as “best” in STEM, followed closely by New
York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and surprisingly, Minnesota. Michigan can do much better in this arena.
One
way Michigan and our area can improve STEM education is to embrace a new
movement of “STEM to STEAM.” Simply put
its STEM + Art and Design = STEAM. Art
is missing in the larger picture of STEM education.
STEM
to STEAM is a movement championed by the Rhode Island School of Design and the
concept is catching on and being adopted by many schools, institutions, and
corporations; all of whom see the value of Art in a comprehensive educational
system and a factor in global competitiveness.
Their
website www.stemtosteam.org highlights
many studies that show how involving students in the arts, especially at a
young age, greatly increased their aptitude for science and technology and
helps keep kids interested in education.
In short, the Arts create better people.
Isn’t this what education is striving for?
The
main tenants of STEM to STEAM are to transform Research Policy to include Art
and Design, encourage Art and Design in K-20 education and encourage industry
to hire more Artists and Designers to drive economic innovation. It’s a concept that is starting to pick up “steam”
and rightfully so. Think about the “art”
that went into designing the Mackinac Bridge and other great engineering structures
today.
Locally,
we know the struggle public schools are facing.
Arts and Music are easy targets as “frivolous” when dealing with tight and
non-existent budgets. Often these
programs are the first to go when times get tough.
Battle
Creek is fortunate when it comes to arts and especially music. For the past four years, the Brass Band of
Battle Creek has created a Youth Brass Band and reached out to area
schools. This Youth Brass Band brings
together the top high school bandsmen to learn from the professional mentors in
the BBBC. The results of this movement
have been overwhelming and positive.
Already alumni of the YBBBC are now playing in the University of
Michigan and Michigan State Marching Bands.
One alumni credited the YBBBC as the factor that landed him a spot in
the Michigan band as a freshman. Several
former youth band members are now enrolled in top-level music programs at major
colleges and universities.
 |
| Scott Vanden Heuvel, a graduate of Dexter High School, and mechanical engineering student at Michigan landed a spot in the Michigan Marching Band as a freshman with the help of his involvement with the Youth Brass Band of Battle Creek |
Battle
Creek also has the Music Center of South Central Michigan and the vibrant
Community Music School, teaching music skills to every age and experience level. The Center also oversees the Battle Creek
Symphony, the oldest symphony orchestra and arguably the best in Michigan. Both the BBBC and the Symphony put on Young
People’s Concerts free of charge each year.
For many kids this is their first exposure to the power of music.
While
the politics of public funding for the arts plays out nationally, the need to
maintain vibrant arts in our schools is paramount for creating leaders and
“Making America Great Again.” As Federal
dollars likely evaporate, the need for personal and private investment will
grow exponentially.
What can we do? We can advocate for STEAM Programs as an
educational priority and demand that arts of all kinds, stay in the
schools. We can attend and support art
and cultural events here in our community, buy tickets and take advantage of
world-class music right here; there’s lots of it. We can take responsibility and invest by
picking up the slack as public money disappears, and we can encourage kids to
take up music and expose them to the arts.
If we want government out of our
lives, we need to ante up and support what’s important, before it’s too late. We need to keep building the “STEAM
Useful Art, Music and Cultural Websites in Calhoun County:
Brass Band of Battle Creek: www.bbbc.net
Music Center of SC Michigan: www.musiccenterscmi.com
Cereal City Concert Band: www.cerealcityconcertband.org
Art Center of Battle Creek: www.artcenterofbattlecreek.org
Barn Theatre: www.barntheatreschool.org
What a Do Theatre: www.whatado.org
Cornwell Dinner Theatre: www.turkeyville.com
T. R. Shaw Jr. is CEO of Shaw
Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan.
He is a graduate of Central Michigan University, a former funeral
director and Navy public affairs officer, Writer, Columnist, Speaker, and
Aspiring Author. He is also serves on
the Board of Directors of the Brass Band of Battle Creek. He blogs at:
The Reluctant R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment