High schools, colleges, parents, and even students themselves have unknowingly promoted our society’s downfall. The humanities are disappearing.
The declining focus on language arts directly impacts our basic functioning and communication skills.
Students across the country often ignore the humanities as a legitimate career path. According to The Hechinger Report, the number of degrees in the subject has drastically declined, dropping “between 16 percent and 29 percent” from 2012 to 2020, while “majors in health and medicine fields have tripled in the past 20 years. ” A handful of normalized factors surrounding the humanities contribute to the study’s lack of popularity.
In his article, Verlyn Klinkenborg, an author for the New York Times and Lecturer in English at Yale University, understood that students “will tell you that they’re under pressure—from their parents, from the burden of debt they incur, from society at large—to choose majors they believe will lead as directly as possible to good jobs. Too often, that means skipping the humanities.”
Popularity, materialistic, and money-oriented motivations have begun to alter the course of many young people’s lives; society believes that STEM careers equate to success. It isn’t just professionals arguing the loss of humanities in society, but also students who currently exist in ever-changing learning environments.
A tenth-grade student at Wilton High School who wishes to pursue law, Ceci Costa, stated: “I just don’t think that I have enough preparation to do what I want to do whereas people who want to become scientists or doctors have been preparing for that since like sixth grade.”
The delayed interest or undeclared interest in the humanities has impacted the available resources for the specific field; large organizations and even state funding have targeted their focus on STEM materials.
Specifically, in 2016, Governor Malloy’s budget cuts to the humanities budget of Connecticut brought focus to this problem. Writers for The National Endowment for the Humanities, CT stated that the “unprecedented decision to cut Connecticut Humanities’ $1.73 million line-item will have little if any impact on the state’s overall budget situation, but it will devastate important cultural and community organizations – schools, libraries, museums – in every city and town in Connecticut.”
For the education of young minds, the exclusion of resources like these has a massive impact on the awareness of and implementation of important skills like reading and writing, among others.
The teachings of the humanities directly impact and improve how humans perform basic tasks. Although math and sciences contribute to the evolution of society, the interpersonal skills required to thrive in these work environments have slowly diminished. Forbes added to the discourse on the shortcomings of newer generations, explaining that in certain situations “…a young professional might ace a virtual presentation but stagger during an in-person meeting, struggling to maintain eye contact or articulate their thoughts clearly.”
Of course, we could blame Gen Z’s failure to communicate properly on the increase of social media presence during the 21st century, but the apparent decrease in ELA-focused careers also directly correlates to a reduction in “clear thinking, clear writing and a lifelong engagement with literature” that the humanities promote, as said by the New York Times.
The need to expose students to sufficient English and language arts beyond baseline teachings does not mean that careers in science and math lack value. Medicine and technology, among countless other fields, have evolved due to STEM professions.
Teenagers throughout the country were surveyed by The New York Times The Learning Network on their varied beliefs about math. One student acknowledged math as a necessity for routine actions: “You can’t stop with your skis at just any angle. You can’t get three points without shooting at least 22 feet away from the basket, and get this: you can’t even ride a skateboard if you can’t create four congruent wheels to put on it.”
Just as the humanities do, math provides a necessary understanding and solution to the unexplainable and confusing ideas in life. Both these fields require basic funding to operate for students. STEM and the humanities constantly seek money for new and innovative resources for students and newer technology allows for an easy fix to this problem; although helpful, artificial intelligence comes with a cost.
Threatening a large number of occupations globally, AI has been trained to mimic creative skills in a human way. Large corporations, industries, and “…businesses are already relying on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to assist, including crafting job posts, writing press releases, and building marketing campaigns, according to CNN.
It might convince some people that the presence of this technological advancement means that the humanities no longer offer any value for study; however, the relationship between STEM and the humanities defies these theories. The humanities can claim credit for teaching “STEM students how to think creatively, reason, and analyze situations. These skills aren’t limited to teachers and philosophers—doctors, lawyers, business leaders, and engineers can all be more successful in their careers by studying a balanced curriculum,” as an article in The Tulane University School of Professional Advancement clarifies.
Without the humanities, fields equally as important would not have the potential to make a lasting impact.
“I think math and science are growing more popular because they’re pushing the boundaries of our future, technologically advancing our world, but where does that leave creativity and a place to explore your passions and emotions and feelings?” asked Fiona Lee, a WHS sophomore.
Many young people ask this question; the lack of exposure to careers focused on these topics simply prohibits the question from producing meaningful answers.
Our evolving society must find ways to promote paths to success in all realms of interests and all areas of life. Colleges and universities are beginning to do so. A student at the University of Southern California, Kim Villard, spread awareness through Vogue on the opportunity of creating a unique and personalized major, mentioning, “ I became one of just a handful of students at USC to have ever created their own major, and I have found that journey opening up more doors for me than I could have ever imagined.”
Creating a major allows students to reintegrate the humanities back into their lives while combining them with a vast majority of other skill sets. To create a major, a student might draft their own proposal including a detailed description of what the study would entail. CUNY schools allow students to “combine courses from different disciplines around a career, interest, or personal mission”. This choice broadens the future of a student and allows them to incorporate the humanities into their futures.
Double majoring also allows students to explore their options in school and make connections. According to Elmhurst College, it provides the same concept as creating a major and “allows you to envision connections between ideas you may never have seen before”. Students don’t have to abandon their interests for a promising future and have the opportunity to join math, science, and the arts.
Becoming a more understanding, active, and nuanced member of society means educating ourselves about the choices available to us. Students should use the resources provided to advocate for themselves and create a more realistic future. We should break away from the norms of high schools, colleges, parents, and even ourselves.
Don’t fail the humanities because of society’s trends.
Make the necessary changes.
