Have you heard of STEM? This four-letter word is actually an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Sometimes, you may also stumble upon STEAM, which includes Arts, along with the other four subjects.
Nowadays, rather than teaching them as four (or five) separate and distinct subjects, STEM is being cohesively incorporated into school syllabuses to form part of students’ overall curriculum.
Believe it or not, STEM is vital to the future of our economy and has a part in everything we do. How? Let’s find out!
STEM EXPLAINED IN MORE DETAIL
°SCIENCE
Science helps us gain a better understanding of the world in which we live. It's the study of matter and energy (physics and chemistry), and the life around us (biology). It's the study of plants (botany), the universe (astrology and astronomy) and the earth (geology).
Everything from the weather to earthquakes, to ocean's waves, to the sand at the beach, to what we eat and drink and the clothes that we wear, to the soap that we use, to the medicines that we take, to the flowers that we plant—it's all based in science.
°TECHNOLOGY
Technology has sneaked into our everyday lives and now affects everything we do. It affects how we sleep, play, study, work, travel, shop, diagnose and treat sick people. If we look around us right now, we'd be hard pressed to find something that has not been advanced by technology.
°ENGINEERING
Engineering is the application of scientific knowledge to solve problems in the real world through building and design. It encompasses everything from construction (houses, roads, bridges), to tackling climate change, to modes of transportation, to household appliances, and cell phones. It's the study of architecture, mechanical design, robotics, avionics, information technology, technology, engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical).
°MATH
Math is the language of science, technology and engineering. No matter what our job is, math is an essential part of our lives. When we think of math we often think back to the horrors of calculus class. We wonder why it was so important to know how to do prime factorization because well, let's be honest, have we ever needed to do that since grade school? But math is so much more than that.
WHY IS STEM EDUCATION IMPORTANT?
It's no longer enough to be proficient in English and math. It's no longer enough to just memorize a ton of facts. According to the National Math and Science Initiative, 15 of the 20 fastest-growing careers currently require a background in math or science.
“The innovations and creativity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will be the drivers of tomorrow’s economy,” astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said in an interview with CNN. “If you are not a participant on that frontier, you will trail behind it and possibly get left behind entirely.”
