Art is a Strong Part of Education

Yo Yo Ma is a very famous cellist and songwriter. He Is an Asian man that has won 27 Grammy’s from his strong work as a cellist. He is a well educated man that studied at the Juilliard School and a Harvard University graduate. The essay “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy and Education” was originally published in 2014 for the Huffington Post. Ma wrote this essay to describe why it is so important to incorporate art in the accepted way of learning: STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

I understand why art should be incorporated into the STEM belief on education. When I did an art class in high school, it really opened up my imagination an helped me think clearer. I was focused on what I had to do and it increase my learning in other classes. It gets me thinking and calms me down so I can easily concentrate on the net assignment I have to do, weather it is in math, science or english.

The rhetorical way Ma explains his theory is by relating edges. Ma makes a strong point about how people have too types of thinking: critical thinking and empathetical thinking. You need both ways of thinking to properly make proper decisions in whatever circumstance. The problem with this is that it is hard to you both aspects when making decisions. Impulse takes over and you will use one or the other. Art is at the edge that allows for both ways of thinking to be used properly. It is, as Ma puts it, like a savannah and a rain forest that come together. One has a lot of diversity and the other barely has any; but at the edge, the ecosystems allow for great diversity in that area. It is where the shift occurs and can be related to the way we think. If we made STEM into STEAM, then it would allow for more empathy and can further or knowledge.

Vocabulary:

Posit: Assume as a fact; put forward as a basis of argument.

Lewd: Crude and offensive in a sexual way.

Lascivious: (of a person, manner, or gesture) Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire.

https://www.dictionary.com

One Comment

  1. elishaemerson

    I enjoyed reading you reflect on your past experiences in your high school art class and how they influenced your learning in other areas. I think this experience is especially valuable/interesting because you explicitly stated that you didn’t particularly enjoy the class. What a fascinating dichotomy to explore!

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