Art Speaks
It is common sense to know that science and art are two completely different subjects. But, have you ever considered them to be related? Or have you ever thought if they balanced each other out. For the most part, the educational system is based off of STEM learning. In today’s generation we are leaning towards an educational system that is STEAM. In Yo-Yo Ma’s essay, “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education,” he believes art is important and a key factor to the learning process. In fact, he claims that by teaching art to students, that it teaches them a life skill. In contrast, Jonah Lehrer believes otherwise. In his essay, “The Future of Science…Is Art?” Lehrer explains how science is at a plateau and for science to advance, the arts are needed. The arts will help sciences further their findings in this world. Whether or not they are related and balance each other out are up to you to decide. Science and art focus on two different teachings and learnings, but together they make a strong impact, especially in the education system.
Art is extremely important in the education system and this is overlooked. That is what Yo-Yo Ma would say. He is certain, that by adding art (STEAM learning; science, technology, english, art, math) that, “The values behind art integration – collaboration, flexible thinking, and disciplined imagination – lead to the capacity to innovate” (Ma 258). The ability for the inclusion of art to lead to innovation shows the impact the two subjects have when working together. Life skills that come out of incorporating art into an educational system is the teaching of empathy. He defines empathy as, “…your capacity to imagine what someone else is going through; what they are thinking, feeling, and perceiving” (Ma 259). In addition, parents teach their kids, so I also believe that empathy can be taught as well, but a huge key factor is the heart you were born with. I strongly think that when a child is born they either have it or they don’t. For the most part, I belive empathy is something that people are usually born with and sometimes how they are brought up by parents. Ma argues that having art present in one’s life, helps to tell and explain our emotions. He expresses that today the whole education itself is wrong for not incorporating arts into learning. With arts it helps keep a person balanced with their thinking and thoughts. I would have to agree with him on this as art can help a person express what they are feeling in the form of art, rather than holding in our feelings if we don’t know ourselves how to express them.
Ma continues to go into detail about how the arts creates a balance in society. Our world is always changing so in order to keep up with it, we need to understand it. To understand it we need the arts. Ma says equilibrium occurs only when, “…science and the arts, critical and empathetic reasoning, are linked to the mainstream will we find a sustainable balance in society” (Ma 260). Science and art are already linked to society in some form, but we need a way for us to see and learn about it. To learn about it, we need to incorporate STEAM into education and starting the integrating at the younger years. With integrating the balance in society will be reached as arts can be taught into the education system.
I really enjoyed Ma’s essay and felt strongly with all the points he made about art. However, I think with all these amazing points that he makes that they aren’t really backed up with evidence. They are more based off of his opinion and his future thoughts. He gives his thoughts, but doesn’t give any examples on how to go forward with these ideas, other than saying art is needed. Ma explains that art will help teach empathy and students thoughts when he says, “STEAM will help us get there by resolving the education problem. Kids will then go to school because it is a passion and a privilege, not a requirement” (Ma 259). This is because students will be faced with a little bit of reality and they will need to engage themselves rather than turning away and avoiding conversations that are needed to be had. Having the arts helps us to connect to one another and leads us into the conclusion that their is more to us than meets the eye. That something is bound to be discovered with the incorporation of a STEAM education model.
Overtime, science has expanded and discovered more things about this world with a limit, as findings can only go so far. With this, Jonah Lehrer would argue that science is excellent, but it is at a forced stopped. With time, scientists have found so many things, but today they can’t really discover or find anything new. Lehrer strongly concludes this is due to art. That art isn’t integrated enough or not even at all into the science field. For science to advance, art has to be present, “If we want answers to our most essential questions, then we will need to bridge our cultural divide. By heeding the wisdom of the arts, science can gain the kinds of insights and perspectives that are the seed of the scientific progress” (Lehrer 2). Science is hard and to dig deeper into findings the mind needs more developing with other subjects to balance it out. I have a strong belief that this is strongly true, as arts helps the mind to be creative and think in different ways and can help one embrace aspects of the mind and the world that one doesn’t even realize without having the arts present in their lives.
After reading Lehrer’s essay he made very valid points, but his essay got lost in the fact where he kept repeating himself that science needs the arts. What makes his essay different from Ma’s is that with his points he backs them up with multiple examples. Even though he provides examples, he still really isn’t answering anything specific. He just goes on and writes the same thing over and over, with sticking to his argument throughout.
There is no danger with mixing the sciences and the arts. With giving art a seat at the table, it really causes no harm. I have no doubt because there is always room to learn and grow. It is all about giving art a chance and experimenting what it holds. There is nothing wrong with trying something out, that is all in the process of how we learn. And again, that is an experiment. An experiment is all about trial and error. We have to incorporate art into the sciences to see if it actually does make an impact. So, yes, I do agree when Lehrer states, “art can make science better” because it can open our eyes to new experiments and opportunities. And can help us open parts of our brain to discover new findings by looking at different things with a lense.
I got a new lense myself growing up, as I was always forced to take an art and school and kind of despised it because it was forced on me. But, overtime as I got the option to choose what classes I wanted, I still didn’t like it, but found myself liking art as I chose something that might please my mind. With art classes that I chose and got assignments that I got to choose what I wanted to do, I found myself super relaxed. For me it was a major stress reliever and I looked forward to going to class. Actually, I even found myself starting to do art during the weekends on my own free time.
Yo-Yo Ma and Jonah Lehrer both talk about science and art, but hold two different arguments. Ma holds the point where teaching art in the education system is a key factor to teach empathy and balance in one’s life. His essay is revolved in just teaching a person about both science and art. Whereas in Lehrer’s essay, he also talks about science and art, but more as science needs the arts. He doesn’t talk about education or teaching, but more of that scientists needs the arts to help further the world with science and their findings and explanations. In fact, even though both these men have different arguments, I would have to count on with what they are both saying. I think science and art flow well together and they actually balance each other out. I favor in that the education system should be based around STEAM because the arts can teach young students life skills or even just deep thinking, which would then help the sciences progress in future generations. It is definitely worth it to introduce and to start integrating the arts into the sciences. To open new doors and discover new areas and findings in life you have to look elsewhere and try everything you can.
Works Cited
Ma, Yo-Yo. “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” Emerging: Contemporary
Readings for Writers, edited by Barclay Barrios 3rd ed, Bedford/St Martin’s, 2016, pp 257-261.
Lehrer, Jonah. “The Future of Science…Is Art.” Seed Magazine, Seed Media Group, 16 Jan.
2008, seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_future_of_science_is_art/.
