Let’s face it; STEM is one of the buzziest buzzwords floating around in education right now. STEM subscription boxes are not uncommon. Despite their prevalence, most of us are still feeling pretty lost in understanding STEM education and its overall question of why STEM education is important. After all, aren’t children already being taught subjects such as math and science? Well, yes, but STEM education is pretty different in both curriculum and approach.
STEM is comprehensive and inclusive, allowing it to shape the future effectively. Not sure how? STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is not only vital to preparing future generations to be successful in their careers, but it also creates a foundation of skills that extend beyond STEM into other fields. STEM helps children foster varied interests while developing critical skills needed to be successful no matter what they do.
In other words, STEM is pretty important at home and school. Let’s dive right into why STEM is important and how developing these skills could shape the future.
Why is STEM Education Important?
STEM education is important because it teaches children and young adults more than basic science and mathematics concepts. In other words, they won’t just be memorizing their timetables or quadratic formulas like you or I may have done in school. Instead, STEM toys and STEAM online curricula such as ABCmouse focus on hands-on learning while teaching real-world applications. Because of this, students develop a variety of key skill sets, particularly those that are critical in the 21st century.
What are these 21st-century skills?
Well, 21st-century skills include social skills, flexibility, initiative, communication, technological literacy, productivity, team building, problem-solving, creativity, curiosity, leadership, and critical thinking, among so many others. Each of these things is pretty important. Regardless of which path a child chooses, these skills are still useful in preparing them to be dynamic adults who make the world a better place.
How Does STEM Shape the Future?
STEM shapes the future because it lays a basic groundwork that leads to innovation and discovery. Innovation doesn’t just foster new technological advances in fields like medicine, climate, and tech. It changes the world as we know it. STEM also shapes the future because young adults have a higher chance of attaining a well-paying job. Over the next decade, more professions are going to require an understanding of STEM skills. Right now, job growth in STEM-related fields grows every year.
STEM-related careers don’t just pay well. They offer up higher degrees of satisfaction and reward. We’re all pretty aware of the tech boom and all of the latest trends/gadgets that seem to pop up every year. Well, each of these new advances was created by someone with STEM education. These innovations boost the economy, create jobs, and keep money flowing. In other words, STEM changes the future because it creates a better world for every one of us. Only a student who is skilled in STEM could cure the next disease or develop that breakthrough computer. These are skills that will shape our world today and for the foreseeable future.
Final Thoughts
STEM education is important for the future of our country and the world at large. With STEM, students are going beyond basic concepts and gaining a hands-on learning experience with real-world applications. The goal of the STEM curriculum is to create generations of people equipped to tackle our modern world with dignity, creativity, and leadership.
