A comment left me a link that explains more about STEAM implementations elsewhere. It's a good article, worth your time to read and consider. The premise is that there is synergy to be had in adding an arts component to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) to get STEAM as the article explains. It's a fair assessment, too, identifying limits and the absence of supportive empirical data so far.
I like how the article speaks of the "intersection" of art and science, the latter referring to all of the STEM components henceforth. They are indeed different disciplines, indeed different approaches to life itself. They cross more than overlay each other. That's true of people, too, the consumate art and science masters like Leonardo Da Vinci relatively rare. So I'm again inclined to ask, can we implement both without limiting one or the other?
The article does blur an important distinction, like when it observes that "Nobel laureates in the sciences were 22 times more likely than scientists in general to be involved in the performing arts." One can deeply appreciate and enjoy performances far beyond their own ability. It's the difference between real guitar and air guitar. Similarly, an artist does not need to understand the science of his craft or his tools. Abraham Lincoln wrote his immortal Gettysburg Address on the back of an evelope while thousands of would be novelists can't write anything memorable on a MacBook Pro.
The article also raised a question for me: just what is science in the STEM/STEAM world. Certainly the physicial sciences like physics and chemistry, biology close enough. But as everyone tries to get in on the premiere platform, will science broaden as in dilute to include social sciences like Sociology or Economics, even misnomers like Political Science?
As many have said, if everything's a priority, nothing's a priority. While this article may be right, that STEAM can rise higher than STEM, trying to cover those additional bases won't be easy, especially for a new program in a district with no prior experience.
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