What good is stem without a flower on top?

Goal of Spellings report is to restore US to leadership in STEM2 areas (includes sub-groups of nursing, bio-medicine, education.)

Raise level of Higher Ed education. No more remedial ed that should be learned K-12

Are standards in k-12 undermining teaching? Are they forcing out the arts – creativity – that teachers use as part of their teaching craft?

How do arts support STEM2?

Eg. Music training supports cognitive development, spatial and temporal reasoning; when focused on “their” music it motivates listening, writing, discerning

Eg. Playing keyboard supports development of math skills. See patterns and relationships

Eg. Music training correlates with higher SAT scores in math and reading

Eg. Drama supports comprehension, social skills, conflict resolution, problem solving, reading

Eg. Dance self-confidence, nonverbal reasoning, social tolerance, persistence, creative thinking

Arts should also not be separate learning experiences but integrated into other disciplines.