STEAM vs. STEM: the arts in education

Written by Christy Richardson on January 21, 2014

There’s a terrific article in The Atlantic Monthly on the about whether STEM education needs a new letter, to make room for arts and design. As Margaret Honey, CEO of the New York Hall of Science commented,

“It’s not about adding on arts education. It’s about fundamentally changing education to incorporate the experimentation and exploration that is at the heart of effective education.”

To this, we say, “hear, hear!”

That exploration is the heart of the Pine Cobble education. While the benefits of this exploration and experimentation can be harder to quantify than, say, a standardized test,* we believe firmly that experimentation and exploration — at every age — deepens all learning and is one of the best ways we can prepare children for a lifetime of learning, achievement, and risk-taking.

*note: our students DO take standardized tests at the end of each school year (grades 1 through 9). However, no funding rests on these tests, so we are able to use the tests precisely as they should be used — to determine how best to meet individual students’ learning needs.

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