The humanities: the importance of being rounded

By Dilip -
The acronym Stem – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – was coined in the US in 2001. The idea of integrating and promoting skills seen as key to turbo-charging American prosperity had been around for a while, but as Smet, which is far less catchy. Stem quickly took root and spread beyond the US, not least because of its power as a metaphor: it makes the subjects sound foundational, central, while everything else is edging. 

In a climate of rickety job prospects, high tuition fees and a correlation of degrees with starting salaries, Stem subjects are equated with employability, good incomes and stability. Nicky Morgan was not unusual when, as the UK’s education secretary, she said: “[In the past] if you didn’t know what you wanted to do … the arts and humanities were what you chose because they were useful … We now know this couldn’t be further from the truth. The subjects to keep young people’s options open are Stem subjects.”

Last year, the number of British students taking the three types of English A-levels dropped by 20% compared with two years before, while those studying performing and expressive arts fell by 53%. Over the decade to 2017, the numbers studying languages at British universities fell by 35%, while the figure for those studying biology, maths and medicine rose (by 47%, 26% and 11% respectively)...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/26/the-guardian-view-on-the-humanities-the-importance-of-being-rounded

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