Can the Humanities be Saved?
Oct 4, 1957, was not just the year that marked the beginning of the space race with the Russian launch of Sputnik-1; it was also the year that marked the decline of the social value of the humanities in society.
According to Polytechnic, the humanities are facing a crisis in higher education and the job market post-graduation, a trend that has been present since the mid-20th century.
The National Center for Educational Statistics reported that humanities bachelor’s degrees continuously declined after 1987 by 48.6%.
The Atlantic further noted that the number of history majors decreased by 45% since 2007, and English has fallen by half since the 1990s. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, from 2012 to 2022, the humanities had the most substantial decline in bachelor’s degrees, falling by almost a third, from 13.1% to 8.8%.
However, this disinterest in the humanities in the status quo was not catalyzed by technological advancements in the past few decades. It has only been exacerbated as technology and innovation have driven the trend since the mid-20th century, making them a crucial part of America’s high-valued market.
“In the late 40s and early 50s, you had this change in education. You look at high school graduation rates in the 20s; most people did not graduate high school for a long time. So this push for education is very nationalistic and utilitarian, like ‘You need to help your country by becoming an astronaut.’ So when Sputnik hit, it gave the Americans this psychological trauma that we’re behind the Russians, we’re lesser people. We need to put more energy into math and science to catch up,” Dr. Paul Hoelscher, K-12 curriculum coordinator and AP Modern World History and Sociology teacher, said.
From Sputnik-1 in 1957 to the moon landing in 1969, Hoelscher argued that this was an intense period in which the shape of American education changed due to the desire for competitive success in the space race.
“You can point to that kind of 12-year period as a shift towards more of a utilitarian, nationalistic focus for your country. There was this idea that science will make us in some ways safer or more technologically advanced than our enemies,” Hoelscher said.
Amid the desire to advance in global power competition, Kate Lyons, an AP Government and World History I teacher, believes this also marked the shift in business and capitalism toward innovation and competition.
“Globally, the Cold War and the arms race and weapons manufacturing is where you start to see emphasis placed on scientific research and development,”
World History II and AP European History teacher Amy Doyle accounts for the role of the 1947 National Defense Act in furthering the American need for technological success.
“This historically has been happening since the National Defense Education Act, which put national funds as part of the space race and as part of the Cold War,” Doyle said. “So this sort of research and development into STEM has been pushed through a lot of different examples. This is what we’re experiencing now. It’s not necessarily new; it’s just taken a different shape.”
Doyle argues that even before the turmoil of the Cold War, this trend manifested before the 20th century.
“Classrooms have been highly scrutinized over time,” she said. “Even when you go back to 1815, there were documents specifically about restricting teachers’ ability to teach equity because of this fear of nationalism. So none of this is new; it just takes a different shape and form in the context of what we are today versus 1850.”
According to Alyson Klein of Education Week, in 2002, the update of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was established, an act more widely known as President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law (NCLB.) This legislation scaled the federal role in holding schools accountable for student outcomes, often manifested in standardized tests.
The NCLB law, which initially grew out of concern that the American education system was no longer internationally competitive, increased the federal role in schools’ academic progress and success. This legislation prioritized educational proficiency in reading and math over scientific knowledge or understanding of social studies.
Because of the NCLB law, the arts and humanities were consequently left behind as reported by the Hill . Although the legislation includes the arts as one of the 10 “core academic subjects” in public education, it mandates that schools report student achievement only in reading and math, which can result in less emphasis on the arts.
Robert Lynch, a reporter on the Hill, noted that “Since the passage of NCLB, 22% of elementary school leaders surveyed reported a decline in their art and music instruction.”
Lynch argued that reading and math are essential but insufficient; creativity and innovation are required, and the arts within the humanities provide both.
Many historians believe that while the NCLB law may have been well intended, it has consequently led to valuing standardized testing, as opposed to the benefits that can come from understanding in the humanities, pushing STEM to the forefront and leaving skills like comprehension and empathy to the backburner.
“You think about the number of kids going to colleges that still need to take an English 101 class because they’re not getting it. At the core of [No Child Left Behind], it was probably well intended, like, ‘Let’s raise the floor and have some minimum competencies in math and literacy,’ but then people took it to the extreme,” Hoelscher said.
Hoelscher’s work includes grades K-12.
“The state doesn’t do much in terms of assessments for social studies, so a lot of what drives the priorities of school districts is around test results, the impression that test results give to the media and parents and those sorts of things,” he continued. “So we have literally one test. It’s the EOC.”
Additionally, Doyle remarked on how NCLB placed testing at the vanguard of academic success nationwide.
“I think when No Child Left Behind was passed, it placed the emphasis on standardization of education across the country, because of the nature of schools, who receives funding, and who receives notoriety for being top-scoring school districts,” Doyle said. “In the early days, we started to see a sort of an emphasis on reading. Literacy was taught where literacy skills were more tightly aligned to help teach how to read a science report, how to read a primary source or how to read a secondary source. Then, science and social studies became the support system or the vehicle, instead of the primary focus.”
Since the 1950s, the U.S. has consistently invested in STEM education and careers. The nation has entered a new era of STEM education, beginning at the high school level.
Dr. Trudy Giasi is the principal of Valley Catholic Grade School in Saint Genevieve, MO. She previously worked as a science and STEM curriculum coordinator for Columbia City schools in Ohio and consulted for the Texas State STEM department.
Giasi attributes the nationwide rise of STEM to exposure at the secondary education level.
“Especially in high school, the experience, the skill building and the encouragement to continue pursuing [is] causing this increase [in STEM],” Giasi said. “Now we’re seeing more STEM in different ways: summer camps, classes, STEM clubs and competitions.”
The National Science Foundation notes that from 2011 to 2021, STEM workers increased by 5.9 million people.
However, Giasi discusses the feasibility of these new initiatives, revealing that many structures, such as funding, teacher capacity and human resources, are necessary for STEM learning.
Specifically, Giasi talks about how she helped create resources such as the TEA STEM toolkit to guide and help school districts implement STEM. This has modeled how other states are prioritizing STEM.
“Multiple states have come to Texas saying, ‘Can we have this tool kit because we’re framing what STEM looks like in our state for schools?’ [STEM] looks a lot different in different places, depending on who’s in charge,” Giasi said.
Although STEM requires more resources than humanities subjects, elementary and high schools still have initiatives to support literacy.
Giasi points out that funding is tied to reading.
“We’ve got state testing; how students do on those tests is tied to funding. So there’s so much pressure on school districts and teachers to have high math scores, have high English scores [and] ELA scores,” Giasi said. “So I don’t think that’s ever going to go away as long as the accountability from the state is tied to those tests then everything [trickles] down into the classroom.”
However, at public universities with financial stress, humanities programs are being cut due to low numbers and the conservative political agenda.
A 2023 New York Times article writes that the University of Alaska, Iowa State University and the University of Kansas are among many that have suggested cuts to their liberal arts programs.
At Boston University, a large private institution of 37,000 students, this meant when under financial stress they cut 12 PhD programs, all humanities subjects from classical studies to political science.
This is following the trend with majors at the college level shifting away from humanities.
According to a 2023 Atlantic article, students pursuing a humanities path at the collegiate level has decreased by 17% in the last decade, while the number of STEM degrees have increased.
Furthermore, humanities course requirements such as language learning for students have been eliminated at large liberal arts schools such as Johns Hopkins, George Washington University and Amherst College.
Although a liberal arts education is not prioritized by many major institutions, there is not a financial disadvantage in pursuing the humanities.
A 2023 Forbes article finds that any monetary advantage of STEM majors compared to humanities is leveled by age 40. This is due to STEM skills becoming outdated after 10 years which correlates to high turn over and a slow growth of salary. Also, the soft skills developed by humanities majors can continue to be applied to different occupations.
In fact, liberal arts graduates felt that they were more competent in content knowledge, communication and diversity compared to their peers.
Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association, finds that students who seek humanities degrees in colleges are learning how to learn in order to pursue more specialized degrees, which has shown to boost median earnings by 22% in Texas.
Furthermore, in Texas, the unemployment rate for humanities majors were the same as others with degrees and significantly lower than those without a degree.
While the US economy has been driven by STEM innovation, the UK economy has benefited from the value of humanities degrees. From 2013 to 2023, 900,000 new jobs will be introduced due to the pursuit of these creative skills.
Giasi shows that STEM and humanities thrive if educators understand their interdisciplinary nature.
“A good leader in the school district understands that STEM is the application of literacy, of math, of science, of technology [and] all the things that they take these separate classes in,” Giasi said.
One glance into the science classroom reveals dedicated lab spaces equipped with glassware and fume hoods, showcasing the District’s investment in STEM education.
The “M” in STEM is supported by an array of math classes with varying difficulty levels. The school offers an array of math tracks, each with a specific set of courses designed to guide students through their mathematical education. For students who complete the school’s most advanced math courses, options for collegiate-level classes such as Algebra and Number Theory, Calculus III and Differential Equations are available.
This investment is evidenced by Greyhounds’ success in various mathematical and scientific contests. Last year, students met its cap of qualifying two students for the Nationals for the American Chemical Society (ACS) Examination and having multiple top-three placements in the Academic Challenge for Engineering and Science (ACES) Interstate Finals. Students also represented the school at the national competition in Orlando for Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Math and Science (TEAMS). They qualified several students to the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) and one to the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO).
This increase in STEM efforts have resulted from the combined commitment from the school and the students. The school ensures that science classes, especially required core courses, are fully stocked with all the equipment, software and materials necessary for a rich learning experience. Every math classroom holds a set of TI-Nspire graphing calculators, and teachers utilize digital programs like Deltamath and Cengage in conjunction with traditional worksheets and assignments for effective instruction.
However, student and community motivation must also be credited for the success. In recent years, there has been a small but significant number of students taking classes beyond their grade level, specifically within the math department. For example, though AP Calculus BC students are seniors, the class also features juniors, sophomores and two freshmen.
The opportunity to take AP Biology and Chemistry concurrently in junior year is also a testament to the shared dedication of students and teachers to a rich STEM experience. The STEM program requires coordinating shared lab periods and managing scheduling conflicts. According to sophomore Chemistry and AP Chemistry teacher Mary Russo, it distinguishes the district from many others.
In her 26 years of teaching experience, Russo had not witnessed such a formalized partnership between AP Biology and Chemistry until she joined this school. She explained that only a handful of students took the two concurrently at her previous school.
“I could not believe the numbers,” Russo said.
As natural as this way of life may seem to Greyhounds, it was not always this way, according to Carolyn Blair, director of counseling services. Blair recalled a time before the Bio/Chem combination, where separate lab periods meant students spent half of their schedules in just these two classes. The creation of shared labs was driven by the popularity of taking the courses simultaneously, making this junior-year gauntlet a monument to student dedication.
Concurrent enrollment presents specific academic opportunities, Russo explained. In particular, it allows students to highlight and elaborate on connections between biological and chemical phenomena.
“We started thermochem this week, and I drew an energy pyramid on the board, and the students rolled their eyes because they were just learning about the transfer of energy from trophic level to trophic level [in Biology],” Russo said. “And we say, wait a minute, what about the first law of thermodynamics? Energy isn’t lost. What’s happening here with biologic systems [is that] we have constant input.”
But while the combination has unique perks, it’s not without drawbacks.
“I worry most about students who want it to be perfect. Science is not perfect,” Russo said.
Blair agreed, recalling a high-achieving student crying because they struggled so much with Bio/Chem. “Sometimes we have people that want to go beyond what they can handle just because they think they should to impress colleges,” she said.
Like many educational topics, the fervor for STEM finds its roots in the college system. A Bankrate study in September of 2024 concluded that the top 10 most financially valuable college majors fell under the STEM umbrella, with eight being subcategories of engineering. After many witnessed the economic aftershocks of COVID-19, the financial security one of these degrees can offer is an important consideration. Likewise, a Forbes article notes that attending an elite institution significantly increases one’s chances of a prestigious job placement and higher income. These colleges, which boast admissions rates well under 10%, emphasize the importance of maximizing course rigor. When opportunities like the Bio/Chem combination are available, the expectation is that students will take them.
Blair explained that the college admissions frenzy can drive students to mimic those admitted to the top colleges in the hope of replicating their results.
“I have people try and tell me, ‘I have to do this,’” Blair said. She stressed the importance of understanding that, while course rigor is important from an admissions standpoint, there’s no formula to guarantee that a student will get in.
Another collegiate consideration is the ability to prove achievement. With many available STEM competitions, scientifically apt students have clear paths to demonstrate mastery of their interests. For example, while the Coding Club was only started in 2023, it’s already found recognition. In the 2023-24 school year, they were ranked 10th in the Senior 3 division of the American Computer Science League, including national and some international schools.
STEM-oriented research opportunities are more widely available. Within the classroom, students learn the skills for lab work, especially in Chemistry and Biology, where they learn to prepare solutions, handle delicate equipment, and run experiments. These skills help students qualify for research opportunities, such as senior Casey Chu who did in the following his junior year.
“AP Bio and AP Chemistry definitely helped me,” Chu said. “Especially Chemistry helped with learning about RNA attractions.”
Chu’s research centered around circular RNA, allowing for clear applications of his learning.
He added that pursuing such opportunities at the nearby Washington University is fairly common, especially in accelerated classes.
Research in the humanities is much less common, partly because most people do not know what such research might look like. However, some teachers are trying to change that fact through various initiatives.
Amy Doyle, who teaches sophomore history and AP Euro, is one such teacher. Doyle’s doctoral work at WashU has enabled her to forge connections with professors there, links she’s using to bridge the gap between high school and collegiate humanities education. Along with Social Studies Department Chair Josh Meyers, Doyle has conversed with the University’s humanities faculty. These efforts led to a a professor accompanying Doyle and her students on a field trip.
“There’s always been this organic partnership,” Doyle said. “What we were trying to do last semester was formalizing [it].”
One avenue Doyle is currently exploring is the opportunity for students to get involved in the University’s upcoming undergraduate research symposium. As a whole, she hopes to expose students to humanities research and pique their interest in the field. While students conduct a research project in history their sophomore year, this remains isolated. Doyle aims to expose sophomores, particularly to collegiate humanities research, knowledge that would inform their projects and the opportunities they seek out later on.
A new development is that of the Clayton Law Review, which teacher Kate Lyons is spearheading. Lyons, who also teaches sophomore history and US Government, has taken over from the program’s initial proponent, Dr. Daniel Glossenger. The Law Review involves regular discussions of current legal issues and research that culminates in the production of original legal scholarship.
“Law reviews are not often found at the high school level,” Lyons said, touting the program’s ability to set Clayton students apart.
Lyons added that while many humanities find themselves pursuing legal careers, they often are not aware of the breadth of opportunities in the field.
“There’s a lot of things you can do with a law degree beyond a stereotypical courtroom drama,” she said. “So that’s the great thing about it, which is that it can get [students] a foot in the door in terms of law programs or pre-law programs.”
Looking forward, Lyons and Doyle share the ambition of increasing students’ horizons in regard to the humanities. Both noted that the humanities are perceived as being less economically valuable compared to other fields, which has affected their prominence in education. Doyle stressed that the value of a humanities education, however, is not in its profitability.
“The reason why we take these courses is that it’s important to understand what it means to be human,” she said.
For students interested in social studies, the perception that STEM fields are more economically valuable can influence their educational choices. Teachers like Lyons and Doyle are working to prove that social studies can provide as much academic and extracurricular rigor as math and science.
At the same time, considerations must not ignore material conditions. The financial security that STEM specializations offer is an important factor in making career decisions, since that security provides better chances of improving their economic circumstances.
Clayton teachers already enjoy the ability to teach in remarkably supplied science environments.
“I get my own lab,” Russo said, comparing her time at the district to her experience in other schools. “I spent 25 years at two other schools sharing a lab space. And every day [I find] well-appointed labs with everything I could think of and more.”
Access to STEM-related resources means that students may influence students to explore opportunities in other fields. While the school plans to expand humanities programs, it is important to recognize the relationship between STEM and humanities is not as black and white as it is often portrayed.
According to the National Science Board, there is no doubt that STEM will continue to flourish. However, recent studies and reports suggest that interest in the humanities is growing,
Holescher noted how glaring this issue is in the status quo.
“Now, as a whole, humanities majors are paid less,” he said. “Humanities majors are less in demand.”
Universities face challenges aligning students’ interest in pursuing humanities majors with current educational trends. However, he believes that positive high school experiences can influence the potential rebirth of the humanities.
For instance, Hoelscher’s love for history and the humanities stemmed from his travel experiences. At 16, he went to Honduras with the Jesuit Catholic school districts as part of a commission project and became infatuated with the history of race in northern Honduras. To him, travel and history go hand in hand, meaning that exposing high schoolers to travel experiences could serve as an avenue to pursue humanities subjects.
For Hoelscher, the teachers in his high school experience were limiting his ability to make real-life applications to STEM subjects, making them feel disconnected.
“I wish I had better science teachers. I wish science teachers had gotten more curious about the present day. I felt like chemistry was very cold and distant,” he said. “I did not see biology in a daily sense. I missed a significant chunk of understanding the application of science.”
Similarly, Doyle, while always fond of English and History studies, sought to understand what it means to be human and how human beings navigate the human experience, which she was able to explore through humanities studies in college.
Lyons’ interest in the humanities was sparked by her government teacher in high school.
“I always viewed politics and political conversations as something for adults. As a teen in high school, I wanted to be a part of that and to grow into myself and my political ideas that way. It kind of flourished from there,” Lyons said.
Hoelscher explained that through efforts on the secondary education level, the humanities can grow if teachers and administrators provide adequate opportunities and resources for students interested in pursuing subjects that fall under the humanities.
The school plans to maintain its focus on opportunities within the humanities by continuing and growing the English Writing and Conferencing Program. Hoelscher remarks how the program has benefited the well-roundedness of students who graduate.
“Kids that graduate from here are good writers,” he said.
Additionally, Hoelscher remarked that while the humanities may be less appealing for students who wish to pursue more tactical and hands-on careers, changes can be made on the primary and secondary education levels to help better those trends, starting with the appeal of the subjects.
“It seems at times, history, social studies, whatever it happens to be, can be distant, but also abstract, so I think we could do a better job making daily applications,” Hoelscher said. “I like our elective process in that there’s a lot of choices, but I don’t think you see that in other schools. I would love to see other schools trying to kind of trick kids into liking social studies or history. Making those sorts of appeals is the key.”
He further noted that the NCLB program has reprioritized school subjects, leading to the consequences that are observed here.
“One thing that you can look at very clearly is elementary math. As there is [an] increased focus on math and English, what tends to be cut is social studies,” Hoelscher said. “Right now, we have social studies every other day, but science every day. [In] a lot of elementary schools, the first thing to go is social studies. That’s going back six or eight or 10 years academically.”
However, according to The New Yorker, the future of the humanities, especially at the university level, may differ from that of primary and secondary education.
Lyon articulated how oftentimes, in society, it can be easier to show success and innovation through scientific investment in research and development. Similarly, according to the Eagle newspaper of American University, success in the public education system tends to be more tangible within STEM research and discoveries.
“Oftentimes, it tends to be a little bit easier to measure and show success through STEM fields than in humanitarian development and social progress. Social progress is much more difficult to measure and quantify than research and development and innovation through those STEM fields,” Lyons said. “But these are important questions that ultimately push society and humanity forward, and so we need to keep having them, despite funding or lack of potential material value and success.”
However, future methods for measuring success in the public education system may evolve, influenced by factors such as educational policy changes and political turmoil and tension.
“I don’t know where we’re going next. It seems as if [the] focus on STEM is still going strong, but I think we might start to see, especially in terms of political outcomes and electoral outcomes, potential redirection of focus to more social equity issues. But I think it’s hard to predict,” Lyons said.
While predicting the future may be challenging, educators and recent studies emphasize the ongoing significance of the humanities in developing critical thinking and cultural awareness.
“I think that there is a trend towards STEM that’s going to continue, but I also think that there’s other writing out there defending the humanities. So maybe these two fields will remain imperfectly balanced,” Hoelscher said.
Doyle stated that despite the apparent competition between STEM and the humanities in the status quo, these fields work together and must be valued at the same weight.
Lyons echoes this sentiment.
“I think both literacy in terms of the English language and general humanitarian literacy is just as important as mathematical literacy,” she said. “They’re just different skills.”
Experts from the University of Texas Permian Basin suggest that values derived from the humanities may continue to influence education and society significantly.
“We need more people thinking about the world in a critical way, with humans as the focus,” Lyons said. “And I think humanities is the way to do that.”
Hoelscher recognized how comprehension, understanding and emotional intelligence stem from learning that comes from these subjects.
According to the Maine Policy Review, politically, this field holds gravity in creating peace and negotiation.
“If we want to figure out how to navigate through a complex world, being able to figure out how human beings get along and work together and interact and resolve conflict and negotiate, and being able to talk about views that are different, are key,” Doyle said. “The only way to do that is through the humanities. To think about how to move forward as a democracy.”
Both the humanities and STEM contribute significantly to society. Biology, engineering, mathematics and computer science are all crucial roles that have their place in developing and benefiting the greater population. But when technological advancement and success become the forefront of a nation, what does that say about its convictions?
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