It’s you against the clock. Time feels like it’s slipping away, relentless and unforgivable. Your chemistry homework stares back at you as if mocking you. Is it a 2 or a 3 that will make this equation balanced? Meanwhile, as you sit in English class, the action of writing an essay with careful analysis and proper formatting fades away like fog, making it your last priority. It is a trend in recent years: STEM classes have taken priority in students’ minds, flourishing and consuming their focus, leaving little to no room space for English to thrive.
It is a no-brainer that STEM classes are essential for growth and success now and in the future. They help shape the innovators, engineers and problem-solvers that go on to make huge strides in our modern world. They open doors to economic stability and advancement. It is no surprise that Center Grove High School is filled with passion-driven students who want to pursue a career in STEM.
After discussing this topic with 50 students, I found that 72% of them felt that STEM classes were prioritized over English. Additionally, 64% admitted that they put more effort into their STEM coursework because they believe it will benefit their future careers more than English. When asked if they would take an extra STEM or English elective, 81% chose STEM. These numbers highlight a growing trend where students feel pressured to focus on STEM subjects, leaving English overlooked. While STEM education is undeniably valuable, this imbalance raises concerns about the diminishing emphasis on critical reading, writing and analytical skills–skills that remain essential in any career path.
The shift in focus isn’t just causing English to be overlooked–it’s causing it to become ignored completely. In my sampling of students, 57% said they often rely on spell-check or AI tools to correct their writing, rather than understanding the grammatical rules themselves. When asked to identify basic grammar mistakes in a sentence, 42% failed to do so correctly. It seemed like I found these student’s’ kryptonite. These statistics reveal a concerning trend: while students excel in STEM subjects, many are losing proficiency in essential language skills. Without strong reading and writing abilities, future engineers and scientists may struggle to communicate their ideas effectively, proving that English remains just as important in academic and professional success.
A survey by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) revealed a significant disparity between academic and industry assessments of graduates’ communication skills. While 52% of mechanical engineering department heads believed their graduates possessed strong written and oral communication abilities, only 9% of industry representatives agreed. Conversely, 52% of industry respondents rated these skills as weak among recent graduates. Yes, you can master Newton’s laws of physics, but what about the fundamentals of sentence structure?
As I sit and reflect on this idea, a quote often dives into my brain, shaped by the archaic narrative that STEM is more valuable than anything else. As John Keating once said in “Dead Poets Society,” “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering – these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
This quote reminds us that while the STEM field builds the world around us, English and the arts give it meaning. A world solely driven by science and technology may function, but without language, literature and expression, it lacks purpose in itself. Let English, along with the other arts, weave its way through the vines of STEM that have wrapped themselves around our priorities.
By adding the arts to STEM, we create STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. This approach helps us not grow in science and technology but also improve our creativity, understanding, and ability to connect with others. This integrated approach ensures that while we build and innovate, we also give recognition to English as a priority not a minority.
