The American Academy of Arts & Sciences recently released a film entitled The Heart of the Matter. In seven minutes, the film beautifully illustrates the reason STEM + Humanities = the how and why we need to create an educational system that does more than just prepare people to pass a standardized test, gain entrance to a college, or get a job.
Richard Brodhead, President of Duke University, shared some background on the commission he co-chaired during the press briefing. “We signed on to be members of this commission, not because we think the Humanities and Social Sciences are the only good thing in the world, but because we believe they are a necessary part of all the good things in the world.”
“Ultimately, this report calls on parents, teachers, scholars, the media, and the public at-large to join a cohesive and constructive national discussion of these issues. Many public and private organizations contribute to the vitality of the humanities and social sciences. Each organization has an important role in advancing the recommendations of this report.”
Richard Brodhead went on to say that, “we wanted to make some practical suggestions as to how all these causes could be furthered… Local libraries, local history societies, museums, colleges, universities, community colleges, philanthropic foundations, companies, there are a million possible partners and our suggestions are all aimed to try to get those many partners to think together about how strong we could be if we acted together and how relatively weakened we would be if we act alone.”
SOURCE: The American Academy of Arts & Sciences, https://www.amacad.org
