The world is always changing, and so is the education system. Our society's increased ties to technology mean that our generation must learn to use these properly and innovate upon what has already been made. Computers and smartphones are owned by almost everyone, and all types of information are accessible at any time. It only makes sense that the education system would like to use such a vast resource, and many schools, districts and states are now focusing on STEAM education.
STEM jobs alone have an amazing outlook, so it would make perfect sense why our educational system would invest in a probable future. My school, for example, is a magnet school dedicated to biotechnology and health care, two fields that will likely grow in the future. The biotechnology students learn how to conduct experiments and the development basics of innovative treatments and techniques, all in our own lab. Each student has the opportunity to conduct their own research to learn all about the process of research, culminating in an attempt to publish their own scientific article.
This could only happen with the free, vast resources that are available and the hard work of the teachers and students supporting and cultivating the program after many years. I can only imagine that if every school had programs like ours, maybe in different scientific fields, we could have more students more willing to study STEAM careers and be active innovators.
STEM and STEAM programs promote the kind of curiosity that modern schooling cannot achieve. The programs also teach students skills applicable to everyday life, as this is an investment in their future. I cannot imagine having the opportunities I currently have with my school somewhere else; no other place can provide that to me.
I'm proud, but I would like others to have the opportunity to experience and learn what I have learned. We must learn to use technology in interdisciplinary careers like biotechnology and others as well. Almost every single job will at some point require a form of technology because of how our society has evolved, and we must embrace that and use that to our utmost advantage.
That means making some of the most impressive robots, medicine, treatments, inventions and techniques the world has ever seen. Not only that, but the promotion of the arts is important, as art is also intertwined with technology and provide a form of expression that may not otherwise be shown in a typical STEM program.
If our future is dotted with even more of our life intertwined with technology, then we should teach the masses how to effectively use it. If we want to get more women in science, technology, math and engineering fields, we need to start from the high school level where all the students can experience the scientific process. Everyone who wants to should participate and become innovators to help the world.
In general, if we want people to fill those technology jobs in the future, we need to teach them from a younger age rather than when they're in college, so later on, they can choose a field they love and can be successful in. Any school that invests into STEM and STEAM programs is doing their students a benefit that will help them later in life in possibly unexpected ways. Society as a whole will benefit from new innovations that help our health and lifestyle altogether.
