Last week my post on STEM disciplines and Obama's State of the Union Address got some attention in the blogosphere. To follow-up, I want to call your attention to Danielle Allen's piece in today's Washington Post. Allen, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, warns against becoming a "nation of technocrats." Here is a taste:
Let’s not forget that you can’t do well in math and engineering if
you can’t read proficiently, and that reading is the province of courses
in literature, language and writing. Nor can you do well in science and
technology if you can’t interpret images and develop effective
visualizations — skills that are strengthened by courses in art and art
history.
You also can’t excel at citizenship if you can’t read,
write or speak well, or understand the complexity of the world and think
historically. History helps us understand the features of our worlds
that are changeable and that require either reform, because they are
damaging, or protection, because they are valuable but vulnerable.
Read the rest here.
HT: James Grossman at AHA Today
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