So, I missed my post last week. I'm terribly sorry. I must say that I'm totally humbled by the e-mails asking what happened. In truth, it was fall break and I became so busy doing other things that I forgot all about it. By the time I thought about it - it was Sunday evening and I was preparing for school on Monday. I am sorry. I appreciate the concern. It means a lot to me that you all read my blog. Thank you.
Now, on to business... This week I want to discuss a joint effort that our team is putting together.
Our school works in teams. It's part of our project-based learning community. My team is the Sophomore team. My team deals primarily with Sophomores day-to-day. Community teaming is a great way to get arts people involved. Before this I spent most of my non-teaching time alone in my office. Now that I have a team, I feel connected. We meet on Mondays and Thursdays during our common prep time. There are several advantages to the meetings, but the greatest advantage is working together to solve common problems for students.
My colleagues John Bowers and Keith Starost teach an integrated class known as GeoIED. GeoIED is comprised of Geometry combined with Intro. to Engineering and Design. Every integrated class at our school is structured with a science (Geometry) coupled with the practical application (Engineering/Design). This is a fundamental building block for STEAM schools. Since the arts are universal they can easily fit any subject. Savvy teachers see the connections and begin to structure classes that utilize the science to create the art.
REMEMBER: The idea is that neither class suffers loss. Both sets of standards should be covered evenly. If you're doing it correctly, students should display mastery in both areas.
Throughout the year John and Keith work with local university engineering programs to create projects that prepare students for college level classes. Math and Science majors typically have a shortage of females in them, so these universities approached John a few years ago, about creating a program to advertise careers in the Sciences to female students specifically. John came up with the idea for a program we call, "LeSTEM." The last two years the program has been fairly successful. This year John, and his teammate Keith, have proposed that we add the arts to the program and re-name it, "LeSTEAM." My co-teacher, Sarah, and I are privileged to join our teammates working toward creating interest among women in both the arts and sciences.
The basic idea behind LeSTEAM is to encourage young ladies to explore careers in math, engineering, science, and the arts. The program works like a job fair, but the ladies are encouraged to share their journey with the students, to help the girls see that opportunities are available for them in these fields, and to combat the "uncool" brand many of these areas have been labeled with.
So what's the connection between these STEM classes and the Arts? Educators have long pointed out the fact that students have trouble making connections between subjects. Why wouldn't they? Prior to first grade students compartmentalized their learning. We have a system of bells that separate the subjects. We set schedules for subjects. Teachers specialize in certain areas and they teach them separately. In early education, this makes sense. Students have to have an understanding of basic arithmetic and language skills; but in high school? I would suggest that students begin transitioning to combined classes, or at the very least, combined projects, around 6th or 7th grade.
While the LeSTEAM program is about careers, it is important to note the connection. The arts are aesthetic, they're beautiful. The sciences are utility; the sciences are functional. Connecting those two things bring us the buildings of I.M. Pei, the work of Alexander Calder. Structures that are aesthetic in both form and function. Art with utility; utility with beauty. All of our packaging is design. All of our performance is design.
The greatest art is crafted and, truly, so is the greatest science.
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