“Math, science and computers are the future of humanity.”
As a person who has grown up almost entirely in the 21st century, this has been drilled into me from a very early age. In elementary school, my class was among the last of the long line of students to learn cursive, in exchange for rigorous typing lessons. In middle school, I was discouraged from taking extra art classes because I was required to take CAD. And in high school, I was mocked for having done well in my higher level English and Social Studies courses, while I struggled to get B’s in my standard Math and Science courses. When I would explain that I was “more of a humanities person,” people would retort with a response along the lines of “you’re not actually smart, you’re just good at doing work.”
However, after a lifetime of having been told that my strengths are useless, I have had enough. I firmly believe that studying humanities and arts are just as important as STEM fields, and I am f*cking tired of hearing anything else.
It’s a well accepted opinion that believing in yourself is the key to success (hey DJ Khaled). And, in my experience, it’s totally true. Since coming to college, I have achieved things that I could not have ever imagined achieving in high school, all because I’ve been confident in my abilities and my strengths. I credit so much of my success to having the opportunity to study in an institution which emphasizes the humanities and the arts to an equal level as the hard sciences. However, much of my life was spent living in fear that my abilities were not applicable to anything, and that I would never be able to be a useful member of society, because I wasn’t a “math and science person.”
Of course, I knew I was good at things. I was good at memorizing every capital of every country in the world. I was good at spelling. I was good at writing stories, coming up with crazy new ideas, and singing my heart out. But I didn’t think any of those things mattered. I knew my brother was good at fixing things, adding numbers, running experiments and following directions, and that I was good at none of those things. I knew that, to be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, or any other prestigious, well respected, high-paying job, I needed to be able to do all those things. I knew that the environment in my high school encouraged the hard sciences and mathematics over the arts and humanities. I knew that many of my peers were doing science fairs and getting A’s in AP Chemistry and AP Calculus. Those were the only things that mattered, right?
Well, I’ve recently decided that I don’t give a f*ck about those things, and I’ve also decided that none of those things are true.
Telling kids that one ability is more valuable than another is toxic, telling students that they’re “just not math and science people” to make them feel better, while actively emphasizing how much more “important” math and science are, is hypocritical, and presenting this obvious de-emphasis on creativity from such an early age is dangerous. Yes, it is true that math and science are extremely important in this day and age (hello climate change), but that does not mean that creativity isn’t important.
Imagine a world with only STEM-educated people, and no humanities and arts educated people. It would be very technical and logical. There would be massive advances in technology and medicine. Everyone would know every mathematical and scientific theory, and they would be extremely efficient at performing their tech-related jobs.
Except, this is not what the world would look like in that case.
The world simply cannot function without the arts and humanities, because the arts and humanities teach flexibility, creativity and the ability to think critically. Without any of these things, the hard sciences cannot move forward. If students are only taught material that they cannot argue against, then how are they expected to become inquisitive, innovative adults? How are they expected to come up with the theories and loopholes that mark the evolution of the hard sciences?
Favoritism of certain types of students over others is also very dangerous to self-esteem, and promotes a convoluted idea of what it means to be successful. Yes, if one is basing success off of a traditional idea of material wealth acquisition, then yes, many science and mathematics students will likely be more “successful” than many arts and humanities students. But if one is basing their definition of success off of a more holistic approach, which appreciates leadership and contribution to one’s field of study/work, then arts and humanities students should be on equal footing with math and science students. There should be no difference, because this definition of success does not play favorites.
Before coming to college, I followed the traditional definition of success that is so widely appreciated in our capitalist society. And it wore me down. I distinctly remember being in Bed Bath and Beyond before coming to college, and having a cashier ask me what my major was going to be. I responded shyly, saying that I was not entirely sure, but that it was likely going to be in the fields of arts or humanities. She responded very rudely.
She told me, with a fake grin, that I was “taking up space”. I was still really nervous about college, and this was a huge hit on my self-esteem. I felt that there was no point in doing what I was interested in, because I would always just be “taking up space”. However, since I came to college and flourished in ways I had never imagined I could, my definition of success has changed radically. In my mind, success is defined by how happy you are with your work, how much you do in your life to the benefit of other people, and how good you are at what you do. It should not be based off of how much money you make whatsoever.
I truly believe that this transformation in my worldview has been a direct result of my being in an environment that encourages, supports, and appreciates students like me. We aren’t thought of as hopeless dreamers here, we’re successful members of society. I also truly believe, right now, for the first time in my life, that I, a quirky singer, writer, people-lover, geography-whiz, and math idiot, am a successful person. I sincerely hope all my fellow arts and humanities people think that they’re successful, too.
