As a journalism student, I often categorize myself as a “humanities-focused” individual. And for a long time, I confused my interest in writing articles with an ineptitude to comprehend mathematical concepts. Similarly, after having a discussion with a “STEM-focused” friend, I realized that they confused their preference for science classes with a disinterest in reading literature. Our misunderstandings propel us to believe one thing: we are only capable of learning within a particular subject group. From the moment we entered high school, I, like many others, embarked on a mission to exceed my personal limits; however, our expectation for greatness results in a fixed, linear pathway to excel in a singular discipline. Instead of using school resources to learn as much as possible, it is more common for us to focus on one subject matter: either STEM or humanities.
As a result of restricting ourselves to certain subjects, we prevent ourselves from fully exploring the concepts in all academic areas. The STEM-humanities dichotomy creates divisions in our education, forcing us to neglect the importance of combining the two subject matters. To diverge from strictly focusing on just STEM or just humanities, we can adopt an exploratory mindset: to learn all subject matters–even those you might not enjoy or be particularly good at. The teenage years are the perfect time to explore interweaving interests that will aid in the development of our personal characters as well as future goals. We can participate in activities like robotics, art, science and music to gain a greater sense of our interests. We can join clubs that pique our current interests, while trying out new activities that harness skills of another discipline. Taking an interest in various academic and social activities is the best way to gain a more well-rounded understanding.
Additionally, when we explore a wide variety of subjects, we begin to see the value of interdisciplinary learning as humanities and STEM build off one another. In English class, we learn to analyze texts and how rhetorical devices operate to convey a theme. Likewise, we use this skill in STEM classes to form hypotheses through meta-analyses of research papers. Understanding how to process information and think analytically is crucial to both STEM and humanities disciplines. In fact, integrating STEM and humanities is beneficial to expanding our abilities in either subject group. For instance, calculus requires us to write proofs, engaging humanities concentrations’ creative skills and imaginative qualities. No subject area is concrete: every class or even career demands qualities of both the STEM and humanities. The experience we gain from learning a variety of skills will inevitably help us with any matter, regardless of whether we truly enjoy one narrow interest at the end of the day.
STEM and humanities really are NOT a binary; in fact, combining them will ensure that we are well-equipped with the necessary skills to prosper in the future. Instead of confining ourselves to one discipline, we must approach every subject with an open mind, accumulating knowledge to help us in all walks of life.
