The majors that tend to focus on preparation for after college and less on all-around education tend to be the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors, also known as STEM majors. These majors mostly focus on math and science classes throughout education and have less of a concern for the humanities. Endless research (http://www.ed.gov/stem) proves that STEM education increases critical thinking and problem solving skills, therefore, some teachers start STEM education at an early stage in a child’s education such as first or second grade Due to this, STEM education in early educational settings has increased dramatically in recent years (Linder et al. 87). This interest in STEM education is understandable considering the income advantage STEM graduates have over non-STEM majors as stated in a study by Anning Hu and Jacob Hibel (67). This study, however, was researching the decrease in this advantage. While conducting research in China, Hu and Hibel, noticed a trend in the decrease of the wage gap between STEM majors and non-STEM majors. In the private sector, the STEM majors continue to have a wide gap between the non-STEM majors. In the state sector however, the gap is significantly less …show more content…
This new education is known as STEAM, or science, technology, environment, engineering, art, and math. The addition of art into the STEM fields, which contributes culturally, connected and site specific contributions to creative economies (Keane 61). Some believe that without art and design being utilized with science and engineering some of the worlds most beautiful buildings and structures, such as the Eiffel Tower, would not exist today (Rossnagle). The buildings that would be built without a sense of art or design would be plain in comparison to the buildings we have now. Linda Keane states in her article that arts teach many valuable lessons including attention to detail use of imagination as a source of content, and the ability to view the world from a visual perspective (63). The goal of STEAM is to prepare for a better future by humanizing the use of widespread use of technology, responding to cultural change, and creating new spaces and systems. Teachers believe that by incorporating art and design into STEM education students will be provided with better skills to use in the real world. “Though STEM education is a good start for workforce preparation, the addition of art and the environment adds to that education,” said Mrs. Rossnagle in an interview. She goes on to add, “The environment is a highly debated topic and by giving students the proper education in school, they will